The Ultimate Guide To Eliminating Cat Pee Smell
When your cat starts urinating outside the litter box, the smell can be difficult to get rid of and nearly impossible to mask.
Whether your cat pees on the carpet, a piece of furniture, bed linens, or your clothes, its important to neutralize the odor to prevent your cat from becoming a repeat offender. Cats often return to a spot where they have previously urinated if the odor is not eliminated.
Its also important to determine the cause of this behavior, which could be a sign of a health issue or stress.
Here is your ultimate guide to eliminating cat urine smells and determining why your cat is urinating outside the litter box to begin with.
Reducing Cat Stains And Odors
After you’re done cleaning, shine a black light on a troublesome spot. It will show if cat urine is still present in the area. Sometimes it may seem like the urine is gone, but it can crystallize and stay present in carpet fibers. A black light shows the size of the stain that isn’t visible to the human eye or picked up by the human nose.
Finally, Vetstreet suggests having your vet evaluate your cat’s urinating behavior to make sure that their missing the litter box isn’t a sign of a urinary or other medical condition. You should make an appointment to see your vet for a possible therapeutic nutrition solution. Now that you know how to make your own stain remover, you’ll be able to take quick action and stay diligent in cleaning up messes.
Sprinkle Baking Soda On The Stain
For the final step of the cleaning process, youre going to need some baking soda. This is an excellent stain-remover that laundromats and dry-cleaning services swear by. Theyre a household item as well!
You could either directly sprinkle some baking soda on the stain or create a paste by combining two parts baking soda with one part water. Rub this paste onto the surface of the carpet.
The baking soda will aid in removing the pungent odor of the urine as well. Or, you could also mix some baking soda with detergent and throw your carpet into the washer for a good spin.
You May Like: Is Blue Buffalo Good Cat Food
How To Find Invisible Cat Urine Stains
The first challenge of eliminating odors is finding them. Cats tend to urinate in corners, hidden areas and against borders. A helpful strategy is to check the perimeter of the carpet first. On some carpets, stains may be visible, but in many cases theyre not. There are several ways to locate the source of the smell. The first is to purchase a hand-held black light. The ultra-violet rays used by black lights use the same wavelength as biological waste such as urine. When using a backlight to find cat urine spots , turn out the lights and shine the black light over all areas of the carpet. Most urine stains will produce a noticeable glow. Use small objects to mark stained areas youll need to find them again with the lights on. Unfortunately, black lights dont work 100 percent of the time. Sometimes you may have to find stains the more difficult and distasteful way by crawling on your hands and knees and using your nose to sniff out smelly spots.
Baking Soda Vinegar & Peroxide Method
Recommended Reading: Is Blue Buffalo Good Cat Food
Removing Cat Urine Odor From Carpets
Our cats bring us great joy, but sometimes they do things we dont understand. When they urinate on our carpets, its a frustrating and smelly issue. Cat urine is possibly one of the most potent, unpleasant smells youll ever experience. When it has dried into your homes carpeting, it can be a source of embarrassment and annoyance. Complicating things further, the urine is likely to be in the carpet for some time before its discovered, which makes the odor even harder to eradicate. Although standard carpet cleaners provide little help, its usually possible to remove cat urine odor. There are several different approaches to try, and it may take more than one remedy to get rid of the smell completely.
Two: Mop Up Any Fresh Urine
If the urine puddle is still wet, absorb as much as you can with a highly absorbent white cotton cloth or good quality paper towels. Keep pressing and dabbing, being careful not to rub, which can damage carpet fibers, and drive the stain even deeper, until your cloth is no longer absorbing additional liquid.
If the pee is old or already dried, skip this step.
You May Like: Is String Of Hearts Toxic To Cats
Ensure That All Odors Are Gone
Baking soda is an excellent ingredient to help eliminate stubborn odors for good. “Sprinkle it on your rug or carpet as needed, and let it sit for at least 15 minutes or longer for set-in odors,” Sole says. The editor, who owns a Great Pyrenees, will sometimes let the baking soda sit overnight for best results.
RELATED: 5 Tips for Getting Pet Odor Out of Your Home & Belongings
Directions For Removing Cat Urine From Carpet:
To assure color-fastness, spot test on a small inconspicuous area of the surface to be cleaned.
Spot Cleaning
Machine Cleaning
TIP: Simple Green Cat Pet Stain & Odor Remover can be used to remove stains on other fabrics like upholstery and bedding.
Also Check: Blue Wilderness Adult Dry Cat Food
Removing Cat Urine Smell From Carpet Steps
Without further ado, here are the steps to remove cat urine smell from your carpet. The items you will need for cleaning up the smell are:
- Some paper towels. You can use a cloth if you are prepared to throw it away.
- A cleaner that has enzyme ingredient in it. I prefer to use this one. It has awesome reviews and gets the smell out. You should probably test the cleaner on a hidden spot on your carpet first to see if it has colorfastness.
Step one:
Use some paper towels to blot up the cat urine from the carpet.
Step two:
Apply a generous amount of cleaner on the target area and allow it to soak for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Step three:
Blot up the target area with a paper towel and let it dry up naturally. Dont try to speed up the drying process. You should let it run its course. If you speed up the drying process it will interrupt the enzyme doing its job breaking down the ammonia smell.
Tips: You should clean the urine as soon as possible while it is fresh. You dont want to wait until it is dry to do it. By then it will be hard to see it.
Then you would have to locate it by either smelling it or with a black light to clean it. It is definitely a lot harder to clean it up. for a black light and
When To Use A Professional Carpet Cleaner
A professional carpet cleaner uses superheated water and heavy detergents to gets stains and smells out of furniture and carpets. The problem is that hot water can bond urine protein to the carpet fibers, so the urine is never really gone.
If you have a new stain, start by treating it yourself with cold water and natural cleaners. Enzymatic cleaners work particularly well. If you have an older or deeper stain, you can bring in a carpet cleaner, but only after you try to change the composition of the stain. You may also need to address the carpet padding and other levels of the floor if the stain is large. If you plan to hire professional carpet cleaners, be prepared to pay about $50-$75 per room.
Don’t Miss: Can Cats Eat Mayonnaise With Tuna
Home Remedies Vs Full Restoration
We are going to cover both some home remedy cat urine carpet cleaner options to try as well as the surefire in this post. Feel free to try the home remedies first with the caveat that many times they are not fully successful due to the pungency of the cat urine.
Usually the solutions will be more successful with recent, wet cat urine spots, instead of areas that have been repeatedly used as a cat bathroom and/or sprayed and marked with cat urine. For those, full restoration is likely needed.
How To Get Cat Pee Out Of Carpet
Here is a handy and concise guide with step-by-step instructions of the best way how to get cat pee out of carpet:
Recommended Reading: Stop Cat Scratching Carpet By Door
How To Get Cat Pee Out Of Carpet A Step
by admin
This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
Without a doubt, the most common set of questions that readers ask us all have to do with finding the best way how to get cat pee out of carpet. Thats why Ive put together this handy guide for removing cat urine stains and odors from the carpet and rugs at home.I have lived and worked with cats my entire life. Ive loved every single one of them, and for the most part they have all been great, but that doesnt mean that I havent run into my fair share of issues with inappropriate urination over the years.
Having to clean up cat pee is never fun, but the worst instances always occur when its on carpet. Figuring out effective ways how to get cat pee out of carpet can be tough it took me years to get a process that actually works down pat. Thats why I decided to write this article: to share my experiences and the techniques that Ive found have worked for me when trying to get cat pee out of carpet.
They Are Having Some Health Problems:
The first cause you should immediately think of is something wrong with your cats well-being. It is probable that your cat is suffering from some kind of illness that prevents him/her from urinating at the appropriate places.
Some diseases that negatively affect your cats health are diabetes, feline lower urinary tract disease, infection of their urinary tract, etc. These can be the main causes that make your cat feel uncomfortable being in the litter box. In this situation, consulting your veterinarian is the best solution to tackle this problem.
Also Check: Wilderness Blue Cat Food
Why Its Difficult To Get Cat Urine Out Of Carpets
Aside from removing urine odors from concrete , carpet is generally the most difficult surface to remove odors from. Lets take a look at a this diagram to understand why.
When a cat pees on the carpet, its actually peeing on 4 different surfaces the carpet its self, the carpet backing, the carpet pad, and the sub-floor. The longer the pee saturates in the carpet, the more layers it will effect, and the more layers it effects, the harder it will be to remove. Regardless of what approach youre using to get rid of the smell, its important to remember that, to be effective, the solution needs to reach any part of the carpet that that the urine may have touched. One of the biggest mistakes people often make is only focusing on the upper layers of the carpet. This is partly a result of the packaging that is common with cat urine odor removal products, i.e. the spray gun bottling. Nine times out of ten, youll need to take the top off of the solution and pour it on the spot. This type of saturation allows the cleanser to reach all instances of urine and/or uric crystals, greatly increasing the likelihood of success.
The Most Effective Solution For Inappropriate Urination
Cat pee is a pain it will stain your carpet, furniture, and walls, cause unpleasant odors to linger around your home, and oftentimes can cause respiratory and other breathing issues sometimes even serious health problems. Thats why the absolute best way how to get cat pee out of carpet, and keep it out in the future, is to stop your cats spraying issues altogether.
But for fighting urine marks and stains right now, there are a number of simple steps that you can take to negate and get rid of unsightly spots and unflattering odors.
Read Also: Is Blue Buffalo Good Cat Food
Detect Old Stains To Get Urine Smell Out
What if you remove all fresh stains from your carpet, and still there is the smell of dog or cats pee?
Of course, there will be some old stains that will be causing the smell. Therefore, to get rid of this smell, you have to detect whether there is any other old stain on the surface of the carpet. You can do this easily with the help of black light.
In detection, if you find any old stain, remove it with the help of enzymatic cleaning solution that are usually used in Hoover carpet cleaners. This is how you can not only get rid of lingering urine smell, but the carpet will also have become germs and bacteria-free.
In this way, you can avoid dogs and cats urine smell from your carpet.
Clean The Carpet By Using Plain Old Soap And Water
This method is probably the most straightforward way to get cat urine out of the carpet. Just wet the area with water and pour as much or as little as you think you need of the soap of your choice. A preferable choice to get cat urine smell out of the carpet is dish soap. A lot of people swear by its effectiveness in getting rid of that offensive odor.
You May Like: Cat’s Paw Swollen And Limping
Three: Treat The Spot With An Enzymatic Cleaner
There are a number of excellent products on the market, but be sure to choose one that states that it contains enzymes on the container. You don’t want all of your efforts to simply reactivate your uric acid crystals. You want to destroy them.
Some excellent enzyme-based cleaners include Angry Orange, Simple Green, and Natures Miracle.
Note that each of these brands sells more than one formulation of their products. Some formulations come ready-to-go and can be sprayed on the stain directly others need to be diluted in water first.
Read and follow the instructions carefully. Some companies recommend spraying or soaking the stain and waiting for a certain period of time before blotting. Other products should be applied and left to dry.
You may need to repeat the application of the stain remover more than once for old or stubborn stains.
When you are satisfied with the results and your carpet has dried completely, vacuum to fluff the carpet fibers back up.
Note that enzymatic cleaners themselves break down over time. Don’t buy too big of a bottle all at once, and be sure to replace it as frequently as the manufacturer recommends.