Meet Patches. She’s like a member of the family but sometimes, she finds herself in the doghouse! Why? Barf cleanup! If you licked the hair off yourself all day, I guess you'd barf, too! The most common form of cat throwup is the hairball and the easiest way to clean that off your furniture or carpet is to just let it dry and then simply lift or scrape it away. Don't use liquid cleaners on a hairball barf— those will smear the hairball goo into your carpet. If the barf is not a ball or logshaped clump of hair, but an icky liquid or foodbased slime, here's what to do: Carefully blot up the excess throwup with a rag or paper towel, taking care to rub as little as possible into your rug. Then mix one tablespoon of baking soda with onehalf tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. This will make a thin, spreadable paste. Spread this paste over the barf spot, covering it completely (double the mixture if needed). If the barf is on a delicate or patterned material such as an Oriental rug, test the paste on an inconspicuous area, since hydrogen peroxide can yellow some materials. Let it sit until its dry (two hours to overnight), then vacuum it. The barf goo should come up with the dried baking soda paste.