Removing acrylic paint from a cat

sstick · Oct 11, 2015

*sigh* So I was doing a little painting and my cat decides she wants to explore the white paint. Then she freaks out because it's gloopy and feels weird, runs around my apartment getting paint everywhere and getting quite upset with me for trying to grab her to clean her off before it dried. I got it out of everything she stepped on (because inanimate objects don't get angry with me...usually) but she went and sulked and now it's dried onto her paw and on a couple spots in her fur. It's non-toxic acrylic paint, and she doesn't seem to be excessively grooming that area. But it's weird and has to be uncomfortable. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting acrylic paint off a cat's paw? Acrylic is super hard to get out of things once it dries.

newmamaof3 · Oct 11, 2015

Poor kitty! I had to laugh at the image of the feline paint brush tearing through the house painting everything in her path. lol!! You could try running a warm bath and the getting her to stand in the water for long enough to moisten things up for a bit and then use a mild soap like baby shampoo or dawn dish soap on the affected paw. Most of it will probably come out with some gentle rubbing. Like a paintbrush soaking in warm water! Do you have a picture of the poor girl?

sstick · Oct 11, 2015

I do not because she is currently sleeping on my phone. Lol. It really isn't all that bad now, at least not bad enough to incur her wrath with water. I was more asking for the inevitable future (she's pretty good at learning things quickly, but I just have a feeling that this will take a couple tries. Thankfully it's self-punishing. Lol) She's had a long day I think.

Also after I cleaned up the paint (like I said, it's REALLY hard to clean once it's dry) I could laugh about it because it's pretty typical for this cat to make the biggest mess she can.

sstick · Oct 11, 2015

I was able to sneak my phone out from under her without waking her up so I got a picture. The gray areas are supposed to be black.

20151012_000609.jpg

sstick
Oct 11, 2015

newmamaof3 · Oct 11, 2015

Poor girl! It will wear off! Maybe she will be smart enough no to try finger painting again! [emoji]128513[/emoji]

kntrygrl256 · Oct 12, 2015

Well that's one way to mark her territory, LOL

She just wanted to give the house her artistic touch.

cat nap · Oct 12, 2015

I wonder if Vegetable Oil would work for removing the paint. We use it to remove latex, oil based paints and other messes that we get on our own hands, around the house and garage. It seems kind of strange,...since I put vegetable oil in my salad, too...but it does work quite well on my hands. Perhaps try out a little dab on your own hands first with a paper towel or cotton ball.

I'm not sure how well it would be to 'moisten things up' like @newmamaof3 suggested, so perhaps Dawn dish soap is better.

As others have said, she is super cute...with an artistic flare. Good luck. (I'm not laughing at you...just with you...now that the place is cleaned up.

)

newmamaof3 · Oct 12, 2015

Cool trick with the vegetable oil! I had no idea about that! I would give that a shot for sure - if it works on hands I bet it would work on paws! Kitty hands [emoji]128576[/emoji]

fyllis · Oct 12, 2015

I agree with all the above suggestions - warm water if it is still wet; vegetable or other cooking oil if it has dried, and then wash the oil out of the fur with a drop of Dawn dish soap and rinse very well.

Looking at the picture: oil won't soften or dissolve the little 'chunks' of paint in the fur, but it will leach up the hair shaft and lubricate it from the inside and the dried paint should slide off with gentle manipulation (roll the little pieces of paint/hair between your fingers and work it off). Otherwise, you could snip the small pieces of paint from the fur, but I imagine that would take some effort - especially if your cat is not used to having her paws messed with. Realistically, the paint is non-toxic and, fortunately, there is such a small amount that I would just leave it to come off on it's own. The little pieces shouldn't pose a problem as far as causing intestinal injury if ingested because they are so small and the paint will easily break down and soften when it reaches the stomach acid.

I must say, you were very brave to attempt painting with a cat in the house! LOL I am an artist and I haven't gotten my paints out since I brought my two boys home a year ago! I have a hard time just with graphite, charcoal and colored pencils! They are constantly running off with pencils and laying right on top of what ever I am working on! As a matter of fact, I have a hard time just writing a check because while one is trying to steal the pen, the other is trying to chew the check up!

What a darling paw! I love the 'one pink bean'!

sstick · Oct 13, 2015

I TRY to wear them out with vigorous play before I attempt anything they may be interested. I'm actually amazed at how little they tend to interfere with my work. I rarely have to shoo them off my computer! ANd usually that's the little hellion that painted my house, and it isn't even the computer she's after - she wants to sit on my lap and the computer is in the way. I thought there MIGHT be a little distraction from the cats, but my other cat was just chilling in the windowsill (until the painter went wild).

Actually, when I hear about other pesky behaviors some other cats have, I'm amazed at how well behaved mine are. They're barely destructive (one just LOVES one of my sofas, but it's okay - it was salvaged for free and she seems to leave the rest of the furniture alone). The younger one still wakes me up at four or five AM walking along my dresser and knocking things down, but I just toss her out of the room. She doesn't even cry about!

I do keep a LOT of cat stuff in my apartment, though. I kind of treat them like roommates. They have their own furniture, their own beds, their own entertainment center (a box of toys). I invested in a couple automated toys, too, to keep them occupied if they're in a playing mood but I'm busy.

It's just once and a while I get "typical cat moments" like one deciding to paint my apartment.

fyllis · Oct 13, 2015

Sstick said:
I TRY to wear them out with vigorous play before I attempt anything they may be interested. I'm actually amazed at how little they tend to interfere with my work. I rarely have to shoo them off my computer! ANd usually that's the little hellion that painted my house, and it isn't even the computer she's after - she wants to sit on my lap and the computer is in the way. I thought there MIGHT be a little distraction from the cats, but my other cat was just chilling in the windowsill (until the painter went wild).

Actually, when I hear about other pesky behaviors some other cats have, I'm amazed at how well behaved mine are. They're barely destructive (one just LOVES one of my sofas, but it's okay - it was salvaged for free and she seems to leave the rest of the furniture alone). The younger one still wakes me up at four or five AM walking along my dresser and knocking things down, but I just toss her out of the room. She doesn't even cry about!

I do keep a LOT of cat stuff in my apartment, though. I kind of treat them like roommates. They have their own furniture, their own beds, their own entertainment center (a box of toys). I invested in a couple automated toys, too, to keep them occupied if they're in a playing mood but I'm busy.

It's just once and a while I get "typical cat moments" like one deciding to paint my apartment.

While my boys are truly fairly well behaved, they ARE cats... and adolescent cats at that! They do things that some people would go ballistic over, but I don't let it get to me like that.

I just bought a $1500 sofa

and 'somebody' occasionally uses it as a nail file! Fortunately, they only do it to the back of the sofa and, unless you pull it out and look closely (which I actually did!), you can't even notice it. Microfiber shows very little to no 'cat damage'! I do discourage it when I catch them. If I hear them scratching, all I have to do is say - in my best annoyed, motherly voice - "What are you doing back there"?, and they will saunter out and go right to their corrugated cardboard scratch pad. Of course, they always give me a sideways glare like I am the meanest mother ever! Unless I have company over, it is always covered with a quilted bedspread to 'deter accidents'.

Accidents happen and if I wasn't prepared to accept that fact, I would never have cats - or children, for that matter! When I look at the big picture, what is a little fabric damage, a broken knick-knack or two, puke on my bed, or even paw-prints of paint throughout the house compared to the boundless affection, entertainment, pure joy, and unconditional love they give me? In 100 years, the accidents won't matter, but that love will always be in my heart - even after we all cross that Rainbow Bridge together!

walkingrock · Oct 16, 2015

You might try a hand degreaser like "Goop". Very carefully, then carefully shampoo the area to remove all the degreaser to make sure kitty doesn't ingest it. I did an online search to find out how to get excess oil out of the fur around my cat's ears after giving a week long oily antibiotic ear treatment. Several professional groomers (they said they were) said they use it to degrease, then they bathe. Some also use dawn or joy dish soap, but don't think that would take out the paint, but the Goop should.

Removing acrylic paint from a cat

sstick

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