<p>I have to replace the carpet on my stairs soon and in a couple of guest rooms, one of which is where the cat lurks most. Currently I have one of those patterned ones which looks very nice after I vacuum each step, then flattens out after anyone walks on it. I don’t like that when a tuft is pulled loose (cat again?) it can pull an entire strand off the glue so there is a hole.</p>
<p>What styles of carpet are ‘in’ but not trendy now? How dark can one go with neutrals? I really don’t want to see cat barf stains right after buying new carpet, but the cat is only around 10, since they often make it to 15-20, I don’t think I can go that long without new carpet.</p>
<p>Do you have a good retailer in your area that sells only carpeting and flooring? I’ve found that people who are really in that business tend to know their products very well. When we decided to replace our flooring last summer, I went to the same store where we had purchased flooring eight years ago, and the same sales people were still there. They gave us some great advice- knew when it was worth it to pay for quality, etc. I’d head to the best carpet/flooring retailer around and find the manager, ask advice.
A good store will have someone come out to your home, measure, look at the other qualities of the house and make some recommendations.
In your case, you want carpet that can stand up to steam cleaning at least twice a year, regardless of color, I would think. Stainmaster?</p>
<p>I assume you’re talking wall-to-wall so I’m likely of no help. But anyway, oriental rugs hold up very well, even if they start to dig on them. We have wood floors and orientals all over. We pick them up mostly in auctions for not much money. I wouldn’t pay for good ones and wouldn’t pay oriental rug store prices.</p>
<p>Try Flor tiles. They are generally kind of modern looking but they are pretty flat, very durable, and the squares can be removed to be scrubbed or replaced if they get damaged. I have four of them drying outside as we speak due to an incident involving a 110-pound dog and an entire bag of fancy duck treats.</p>
<p>Smartstrand is suppose to be the best for stains. I would stay away from the Silk line of it because it is so soft it is hard to vacuum. Regular Smartstrand is sold in Home Depot and Lowes as well as at carpet stores. People say it is amazing for stains.</p>
<p>I just yesterday cleaned up the entire contents of a large dog’s stomach from a wool Wilton weave carpet, using a quart of club soda, liberal amounts of X-O Plus, and a large stack of white towels for blotting. You can get barf out of almost any carpet fiber except polyester. On stairs I would go for nylon, or hardwood.</p>
<p>Ah but picture this…my barfing cat will not barf unless her front feet are on a rug. You all know what that means! She never hits the wood floor…</p>
<p>“Best carpet when you know there will be cat barf?”</p>
<p>If you must have carpet… Carpet colored like cat barf - beige. And lots, lots of cans of SpotShot. </p>
<p>"Ah but picture this…my barfing cat will not barf unless her front feet are on a rug. You all know what that means! She never hits the wood floor… "</p>
<p>Thumper, are our cats related to each other? My old cat would not barf unless she got to the top of our carpeted stairs and faced downward :eek: She had a nickname the Barfing Queen.</p>
<p>This kitty is 16 years old and a sweetie (who is now getting along with the new cat for those of you who followed the old thread). She has barfed periodically since the day we got her. Not everyday…just once in a while. She is healthy…vet says “some cats just do that”.</p>
<p>We won’t replace the carpet until she goes to kitty heaven.</p>
<p>You are not asking about area rugs, but I can tell you from experience NOT to get area rugs with fringe if you do buy them in the future. We used to have a cat who barfed on the fringe of the rug all the time. No, he was not chewing on the fringe right before tossing his cat food, he just liked that spot. Very difficult to clean up.</p>
<p>Have an older (17-18 y.o., he was a stray so we’re not quite sure) cat who probably has, according to the vet, stomach adhesions due to the surgery he had when he was a mere 10 or so after eating yarn and developing a blockage. He’s also a long hair and very fastidious in his grooming which means frequent hairballs. Not a week goes by without him barfing someplace. Often several someplaces and usually in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>I’ve had good luck with a high density plush stainmaster carpet (blanking the brand right now). I’ve even had better luck with ceramic floor tile.</p>
<p>Oh, and I stopped feeding him anything that has red food dye in it. Red food dye cat barf leaves stains that will not come out ever.</p>
<p>And the cat’s favorite place to barf—on aniline leather upholstry.</p>
<p>Our cat ONLY hocked up his stomach contents on our Oriental rug, never on the cheaper carpet. He too would stand on the rug and barf into it rather than away from it on the wood floor! We started giving him Petromalt and it seemed to help.</p>
<p>I had a cat who used to barf constantly. My personal favorite was when he perched on the windowsill and would barf down the wall and into the radiator fins. That said, I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth it to replace slightly stained bedroom carpet before putting the house on the market next year–I don’t know whether buyers want turn-key or to choose their own colors (obviously, I would choose a neutral carpet).</p>
My old cat would not barf unless she got to the top of our carpeted stairs and faced downward :eek: She had a nickname the Barfing Queen.</p>
Very difficult to clean up.</p>