Parquet or tiles with cats - are there concerns?

Hello,

we are currently building a semi-detached house with underfloor heating and are still undecided about the floor covering in the ground floor. The entrance area + guest WC will have floor tiles.

Until now, the plan was to install oiled parquet in the living area including the kitchen. However, since we have two cats that sometimes vomit - we are worried that this might be harmful to the parquet!?

The alternative would be tiles with a wood look. Since we currently live in a rental apartment completely covered with white tiles, this (wood look) would be the only compromise. However, we would really like to enjoy the living atmosphere with parquet - but we do have the concerns mentioned above.

What are your experiences in this regard?

Best regards & thanks!
Gatho

How quickly does such a "malheur" usually become noticeable? We also have oiled parquet in the kitchen, where something sometimes drips (coffee, tomato sauce,...). However, this is usually noticed quite quickly and then everything can be removed without any problems. How it behaves if cat vomit lies unnoticed overnight, I find hard to assess.

Before considering which floor to choose, it wouldn't be a bad idea to investigate why the cats are vomiting. In most cases, a worm infestation is responsible. So maybe a deworming treatment if necessary.
Regarding the wooden floor:
If it is properly oiled and finished with an oil finish that makes the floor more resistant, and stains are removed promptly, it should definitely be feasible. Oiled parquet has the advantage over lacquered parquet that it can be repaired quite easily.

We have had oiled parquet for about 14 years. Everything that you can quickly recognize can be easily wiped away. There are no marks. Vomit from our tomcat, which sometimes sat overnight and also in places that were discovered late, has left marks – there is acid involved. I wiped it, then lightly sanded and reworked it with some cooking oil or walnuts (we have solid cherry wood as parquet). It works well, it won’t be perfect anymore, but also not worse than some stains from red juice or red wine from adults or children that were discovered too late.

It certainly works better on tiles. Still, I would never want to switch to a cold floor covering.

How quickly is such a "malheur" usually noticed? I find it hard to assess how it behaves when cat vomit lies unnoticed overnight.

Assuming you leave the house early in the morning at 7 a.m. and only return at 4:30 p.m., there would indeed be the possibility that something like that stays lying around for longer.

Before thinking about which floor to choose, wouldn’t it be good to find out why the cats vomit? In most cases, a worm infestation is responsible for that. So maybe a deworming treatment is in order.

Thanks for the hint – however, medical care is given. Our two are a bit older and unfortunately it does happen more often that some stomach acid – which is naturally rather bad for the parquet – could stay lying on the floor for the time mentioned above.

We have oiled parquet for about 14 years. Anything that is noticed quickly can be wiped away without problems. There are no traces then. Vomit from our tomcat, which sometimes lay overnight and also in places that were noticed late, has left marks – acid is involved there as well. I wiped it, then lightly sanded and treated it again with some cooking oil or walnuts (we have solid cherrywood as parquet). It works well, it never becomes perfect again but it is also no worse than certain stains from red juice or red wine from the adults or children that were discovered too late. On tiles that surely works better. Still, I would never want to switch to a cold floor covering.

Thanks for the report. So you have to weigh things up then. It is of course annoying in your case that the stain is still visible (despite after-treatment).

Best regards Gatho

Have you already considered vinyl flooring as an alternative? There are now attractive floors available, also in wood look.