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annova914

Pet Food Dye-stained carpets

annova914
14 years ago

Well, I just tossed out a 3/4 full bag of Pounces tuna flavored. That is the source of the pink stains in our carpet thanks to kitty trying to throw up hairballs and only throwing up whatever she's just eaten. I've used my new SpotBot, trying different cleaners - Little Green and OxyGen2...the pink stain is still there. From now on she'll just have to endure the chicken/turkey flavored Pounces. the SpotBot works great on brown or yellow stains but I guess I'm going to need Stanley Steamer to return to work on the pink stains. I am not happy!

Comments (15)

  • jannie
    14 years ago

    Have you ever tried pouring hydrogen peroxide on those stains? It works for me, my cat throws up nearly every meal. I know about pink food, trust me. Peroxide costs 99 cents a bottle, tho if I had to I'd pay much more!

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    14 years ago

    annova914, if you do call Stanley Steamer please report back here as to what happened.

    They told me they could not remove red food colorings. Pink is close to red isn't it? I really don't know, just curious.

  • graywings123
    14 years ago

    Sorry this happened to your carpeting, but maybe it is a blessing in disguise. Do you really want to be feeding dye to your cat? Maybe a better brand of cat food, such as Wellness or Inova? Both make good quality dog food.

    As for the carpeting, have you tried using Spot Shot on it? It has never failed me.

    Here is a link that might be useful: What to look for in cat food

  • lindac
    14 years ago

    And there is a sort of dog treats made by Kennlration that are green red and yellow.....and even if they don't get barfed up, but just left in "mid chew" on the carpet, they stain.
    I mean really.....does anyone have a dog or cat who "says"...."no! Not eating that! the color is just too pale"
    Don't buy "dyed" dog treats!!
    Linda C

  • stir_fryi SE Mich
    14 years ago

    Wish I could help but I also have a pink stain on my carpet in my master bedroom from a middle-of-night hairball puke.

    One thing that does help I have found is to use a wet cloth to blot up as much of the fresh stain as possible -- do this before trying any kind of cleaner on it.

  • annova914
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Hi everyone - thanks for your posts!

    Tiger Lily is back on only chicken/turkey Pounces these days (it's also been "quiet" on the home front..i.e., no hairballs). Note to albert>135...stanley steamer was here a year ago and got rid of some faint pink stains (ones I'd worked hard on but couldn't completely get rid of). Note to stir_fry: honest...I just about stand over that cat with my roll of paper towels, some damp, to immediately start work on the mess even while the poor thing is still bringing up stuff. That awful, familiar sound, "harrup harrup" can wake me out of a deep sleep!!

    I'm going to try the OxyGen2 in my SpotBot again on the pink stains upstairs,now that the previous efforts have dried. So thanks again everyone for your posts. I think I'm going to try some hydrogen peroxide on one of those stains first to see what happens :)

  • Janice
    14 years ago

    Ever tried Lysol Deodorant spray? I got that tip from the Home Decorating forum, I believe
    and it works wonders on stains on my carpet from pets, etc.! Just spray it on heavily, wait a min
    or two then dab or scrub the stain! Hope it works for you!!

    Linda--you're so right and so funny!

    Animals aren't color cued to food but people sure can be. As a 'side', my mother was discussing the notion
    of 'Green Eggs & Ham' as per Dr. Seuss' story and my Dad just sniffed and said it didn't matter to him what
    color his food was--it was just plain "stupid" to think it would matter to anyone!!

    I'm sure you have an idea of what happened the following *breakfast*--yep--green eggs and blue biscuits!
    And, yes, he did eat it all but he had to admit, afterwards, it had a decided effect on his ability to 'scarf it down',
    as usual! My mother could hardly restrain herself from bursting out laughing as he ate it!

    Pretty sure, my cats and dogs could care less about the color of their food--but, apparently, the marketing folks
    believe it affects our decision (as though we'd be eating it) as to what our pets would like to eat! You know,
    they're probably right--we're so VISUAL you know! :o)

  • chicagocanine
    14 years ago

    Use cat food and treats without dyes and it will be better for your cat AND your carpet!
    One my cats go crazy for is called "Now! Grain Free" cat treats. Even my picky cats like these and they are all natural with no dyes.

  • Darsway
    11 years ago

    This is how to remove ANY stain even dog food vomit. Take 1 part ammonia and 3 parts water, put in spray bottle if you have one. Spray on stain. Take a white cloth or towel and put on top of stain. Take a hot iron with steam and put over towel. Let sit about 1 min moving it back and forth after about 30 seconds. The stain will transfer to the towel before your eyes. A carpet cleaner man showed me this trick many years ago and I still use it. I just did this 10 mins ago because the tricks on here didnt work so I did what I always revert back to and to be honest that stain was so red I didnt think the iron would work but it did like a charm. You may have to do a couple of times but it will come up. Trust me, all pet stains will come up, lipstick, eyeliner and makeup. You name it. Hope this helps all of you because it works. Peroxide dont. I tried it.

  • carolrwheeler
    8 years ago

    OMG!! I just tried this cleaning method and it certainly did remove the red stain. I've been working for an hour with stain removers, hydrogen peroxide etc. All to no avail. It took about 5 minutes and I had to repeat about three times but each time I could see results. This works!! Thank you so much for sharing.

  • dragonsanddreams
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Years ago I got a pink stain on brand new carpet from a cat throwing up. Professional steam cleaning didn't work. I called Purina and they told me they didn't know any way to get it out! I had to have the carpet patched. Wish the internet had been around then.

    By the way, the ammonia method will NOT WORK on urine stains! It will only make your pet more likely to go back to that same spot to pee.

  • jadanielsrn
    6 years ago

    I too had pink stains from my cat throwing up and tried everything to get them up. I used the ammonia and water, covered with white towel and used a steam iron. It worked great! I couldn’t believe it. I was ready to give up but this trick really works!

  • Just Jacquie
    5 years ago

    Just tried Darsway’s ammonia hack. Not only did it work like a charm. It took ONLY 10 minutes! Check it out ⤵️

    BEFORE photos at 6:35pm

    AFTER photos at 6:45pm

    DARSWAY, you’re my hero! Where have you been all my life???

  • margeetx
    4 years ago

    My favorite hair ball/emesis is when, first thing in the morning...you STEP in it bare footed. Oh joy.