ᐅ Hardwood Flooring or Tiles with Cats – Are There Valid Concerns?

Hello,

we are currently building a semi-detached house with underfloor heating and are still unsure about the flooring for the ground floor. The entrance area and guest toilet will have floor tiles.

So far, the plan was to install oiled hardwood flooring in the living area including the kitchen. However, since we have two cats who sometimes vomit, we are worried this might be harmful to the hardwood floor.

The alternative would be wood-look tiles. We currently live in a rental with plain white tiles, so wood-look tiles would be the only compromise. However, we would really like to enjoy the indoor climate that hardwood provides, but we have the concerns mentioned above.

What are your experiences in this regard?

Best regards and thanks!
Gatho

How quickly does such a "misfortune" usually become noticeable?
We also have oiled parquet flooring in the kitchen, and spills do happen sometimes (coffee, tomato sauce, etc.). Usually, you notice it quite quickly, and then it can be removed without any problems.
How it behaves if cat vomit goes unnoticed overnight is hard for me to assess.

Before considering which type of flooring to choose, it would be useful to understand why the cats are vomiting. In most cases, this is caused by a worm infestation. So, possibly a deworming treatment is needed.

Regarding the wooden floor:
If it is properly oiled and finished with an oil-based treatment that makes the surface more resistant, and stains are removed promptly, it should definitely be manageable. Parquet that has been oiled has the advantage over lacquered parquet that it can also be repaired quite easily.

We have had oiled hardwood flooring for about 14 years. Anything that is noticed quickly can be easily wiped away without leaving any marks. Vomit from our cat that was left overnight and in places that were noticed late has left some stains—there is acid involved in that. For those, I cleaned the area, lightly sanded it, and then treated it with some cooking oil or walnut oil (our flooring is solid cherry wood). This works well; it doesn’t make it perfect again, but the damage isn’t worse than some stains from red juice or red wine spilled by adults or children that were also noticed too late.

It is probably easier to clean on tiles. Still, I would never want to switch to a cold flooring surface.

nasenmann schrieb:
How quickly does such a "mishap" usually get noticed?
I find it hard to estimate what happens if cat vomit is left unnoticed overnight.

Assuming you leave the house early at 7 a.m. and only return at 4:30 p.m., there is a chance that something like this could remain on the floor for a longer time.

Neige schrieb:
Before thinking about which flooring to choose, wouldn’t it be wise to find out why the cats are vomiting? In most cases, a worm infestation is the cause. So maybe a deworming treatment would help.

Thanks for the tip – medical care is already provided. Our two cats are a bit older, and unfortunately it does happen more often that some stomach acid – which is naturally worse for the hardwood flooring – could remain on the floor for the time mentioned above.

Ibdk14 schrieb:
We’ve had oiled hardwood flooring for about 14 years. Anything that is quickly noticed can easily be wiped away with no traces. Vomit from our cat that was left overnight, especially in places noticed late, has left stains – since there is acid involved. In those cases, I cleaned it, lightly sanded the area, and then treated it with some cooking oil or walnut oil (we have solid cherry wood flooring). That works well; it doesn’t become perfect again, but it’s no worse than some red juice or red wine stains from adults or children that were also found too late. Tiles probably handle this better. Still, I would never want to switch to a cold flooring type.

Thank you for sharing your experience, so I guess it comes down to weighing the pros and cons. In your case, it’s naturally frustrating that the stain is still visible (despite the aftercare).

Good luck
Gatho

Have you already considered vinyl flooring as an alternative? Nowadays, there are attractive options available, including wood-look designs.