Removing the Smell of Cat Urine
How to Effectively Get Rid of Cat Urine Smells.
How to Remove the Smell of Cat Urine
Did you know that owning a cat can improve your life? It’s true. Petting your cat can help lower blood pressure and cat’s can make you laugh.
They seem to know when you’ve had a bad day; they’ll come and sit next to you or sit in your lap at just the right time and kids love cats. It’s so much fun to watch the way they interact with cats. How gentle and patient they can be.
In many ways, cats are very low-maintenance pets but there will be times when your independent little fuzz-ball has an accident and pees in the house. It’s bound to happen.
Whether your cat has a true accident or is a little miffed and punishing you for your transgressions, the result will be the same, a mess to clean, the odor to remove, time and patience.
Remember what we said above. Cat’s can make you feel better. So when you’re done cleaning up a stain and removing the smell of cat urine, sit on the couch or the floor and pet your cat.
Clean Cat Urine Stains As Soon As Possible
If your cat urinates in the house and if given the chance, your cat will seek out the same place to pee if it’s not taken care of.
Time is important. Clean up the urine as soon as possible. The less time it has to soak the better.
If it has been allowed to sit, it can be difficult but not impossible to remove.
So if you’re here wondering if there is anything you can do, the answer is yes – if you know what to do.
Removing Cat Urine
For this I put on a pair of cleaning gloves to keep my hands clean.
You may have read that you should never rub at a carpet stain since it will only result in embedding the stain further into the carpet’s fibers.
The same is true for urine – and its odor.
- Using paper towels or a clean cloth, blot the area – HARD.
- If your hands are not that strong then stand on the cloth or paper towels if it helps and jump up and down on it. (Don’t think about how silly this must look!) Or just step on it. The goal is to soak up the urine and the more urine you can get up the easier it will be to neutralize any odor left in the fibers.
- Once all the cat pee is gone, mix a solution of 50/50 plain white vinegar and water and liberally douse the carpet fibers. Be careful not to over saturate the area and force the cat pee into the carpet padding.
- Grab another clean towel and repeat the jumping up and down process one more time.
Do not use cleansers containing ammonia to clean a urine stain. It has a similar odor to urine, and will draw the pet back to the same spot.
Removing the Smell of Cat Urine
There are homemade and commercial products that do a very good job to deodorize and neutralize the odor of cat urine.
Homemade Cat Urine Odor Remedies
Some people prefer not to use potentially toxic chemicals in their home. If you feel the same, then by all means whip up a batch of this homemade solution:
- Mix about 1/2 cup 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup of baking soda, and a few drops of dish liquid to make a paste.
- Wearing your gloves, apply the paste to the urine spot, carefully getting it down into the carpet.
- Let it sit until it dries. Then vacuum up the residue.
If any odor remains (unlikely but it could be possible), sprinkle about 1 cup of baking soda on the carpet and leave it for about 24 hours. When times up, vacuum it up completely.
Commercial Cat Urine Odor Remedies
There may be times when baking soda can’t tackle the strong smell of cat urine. Commercial odor removers work really well to eliminate the odor your cat’s mess can leave behind.
If this is the case find an enzyme based cat urine remover to handle this particular job.
It has just the right mix of ingredients to get the smell out of your carpet. But, be sure to follow the directions. Some of these products are very strong and can damage carpets if not used correctly.
Getting Cat Urine Odor Out of Hard Surfaces
Getting cat urine odor out of your rugs or fabric may seem difficult enough, and it’s no different when it comes to eliminating the smell from hardwood floors and walls.
Natural Odor Removal
The natural way to address this issue to your hardwood or vinyl floors is to mix together 1 gallon of warn water and 1 cup of plain white vinegar.
This is how we clean floors at Mrs Clean the cleaning company. (Do not use vinegar and water on stone floors)
Commercial Cleaners
Again you can also try to remove the smell with a commercial odor remover designed for eliminating cat smells on hard floor surfaces. Just make sure it’s safe for your type of flooring.
What if the Hard Surface is Damaged Beyond Cleaning?
If your cat has marked a specific area time and time again and the smell just won’t go away, it may be necessary to replace floorboards, a cabinet, section of wall or other hard surface material.
This might be the time to call in the professionals. And do be careful, make sure you get all the damaged surfaces when replacing any of these things.
If any odor has seeped into the underlayment or deep inside the wall, changing a few floorboards or wall boards won’t matter; your cat will continue to wreak havoc on the area.
There’s a product called “Kilz” specially made for targeting and blocking odors such as urine smells that can encourage your animal to continue urinating if not eliminated.
After Cleaning, Keep the Cat Out of the Room
To keep your pet from turning a corner of your floor into an ad hoc litter box, be sure to cover the area after cleaning to keep your cat from continuing to pee.
Better yet, if at all possible, keep your cat completely out of the room for a few days.
Why Won’t My Cat Use the Litter Box?
Check with a veterinarian for any health problems your cat could have.
If your cat continues to pee in your house you may have bigger issues, medical ones.
Contact your vet and make an appointment for your cat. I’m sure you’ll want to make sure there are no underlying medical issues causing this behavior.
