Removing smell of cat urine

shaldna · Dec 16, 2014

Okay guys, I have scoured the internet for this one, and every board and thread is full of conflicting info.

Basically, small kitten peed on the carpet - carpet now smells very strongly of cat pee. I disinfected teh carpet straight away, and went over it with the carpet steamer. the smell still lingers.

Is there any way to get the smell out without having to resort to a new carpet?

Maryn · Dec 16, 2014

Professional carpet cleaning services have access to products we cannot buy. The ones here specifically mention they can remove pet odors.

What's probably the issue is that not only did the carpet get pee on it, but the absorbent foam pad beneath it. That needs to be either truly cleaned or replaced.

If you're intent on doing it yourself, pull up the carpet to get at that pad. Identify the margins of where it got wet. (It may still be wet, or just marked if the urine is dry.) Carefully cut the pad out several inches beyond the wet markings, in a shape which guarantees you will put it back in place correctly. Wipe the floor beneath it and allow it to air dry. Hand-wash the foam in sink or tub, depending on size, using dish or laundry detergent. Squeeze dry, then allow it to air dry. If any trace of odor remains, you will need to replace it. Luckily, you can do that for free if you don't mind raiding old carpet and padding set on the curb for trash collection. Take a piece far larger than you'll need, and don't make a mess. Nobody will begrudge you.

Maryn, who had a similar problem with a wet baby on her carpet

ULTRAGOTHA · Dec 16, 2014

Nature's Miracle. At your local pet shop. Lovely stuff. They make a fairly miraculous clumping cat litter, too.

Myrealana · Dec 16, 2014

ULTRAGOTHA said:
Nature's Miracle. At your local pet shop. Lovely stuff. They make a fairly miraculous clumping cat litter, too.

Second that.

We had an older cat who stopped using her litter box. I was sure we were going to have to replace all the carpet, but the Nature's Miracle actually worked. Follow the package directions and REALLY saturate the area. Check with a black light to be sure you get it all.

heza · Dec 16, 2014

I also like Nature's Miracle.

When I was a kid, we had house cats who had accidents on the carpet sometimes. My mom would get a huge load of towels and throw one down and stand on it, folding it over to a dry spot and standing on it again, until nothing else came up.

Then she'd scrub the spot with a cleaner.

Then she would make a solution of hot water and a liberal amount of white vinegar, pour it on the spot, and do the sopping again. She'd do that with the vinegar several times. After it dried, if it still smelled, she'd do the vinegar treatment again.

Looking back, it probably wasn't great for the padding.

Cyia · Dec 16, 2014

If you can't get nature's miracle, then I second the trying vinegar. Inject it into the carpet, over the spot where she peed, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then clean the carpet again.

asroc · Dec 16, 2014

Steaming sets the stain, I'm afraid.

Try a pet stain remover, like the others said. In addition to vinegar you might also have some luck with baking soda.

Duncan J Macdonald · Dec 16, 2014

We've had two dogs, and three cats over the past 20 years. Still have two of the cats (15 and 10 respectively). Nature's Miracle. 'Nuff said. (They also make a Feline Specific Nature's Miracle, and that's what I use now.)

Mr Flibble · Dec 16, 2014

Dry cleaner here

Get thee to a dry cleaner who holds a Rug Doctor machine. They should also sell a Urine Remover spray. It works really well (though tom cat pee may be an extra challenge - you might need to hire the machine to go over the carpet)

Alternatively, a dry cleaner may well hold various chemicals to help you out (I have some really magic stuff which we don't sell, but I might lend to a nice customer

)

ETA I'm not sure if Nature's Miracle is available here. I've certainly never seen it in a pet shop

ULTRAGOTHA · Dec 16, 2014

Ah, I missed the Belfast. My-country-centricity strikes again!

Nature's Miracle has enzymes that attack the smell directly and break it up. There may be other pet products in Ireland that have enzyme-based odor control mechanisms.

Duncan J Macdonald · Dec 16, 2014

ULTRAGOTHA said:
Ah, I missed the Belfast. My-country-centricity strikes again!

Nature's Miracle has enzymes that attack the smell directly and break it up. There may be other pet products in Ireland that have enzyme-based odor control mechanisms.

I can find Nature's Miracle on Amazon UK site.

I can't get to the site from my office -- the UK is only a friendly allied power, so of course the Pentagon servers won't let me go there.

Cella · Dec 16, 2014

I'm afraid you'll have to have your nose removed...

shaldna · Dec 17, 2014

Thanks guys.

I'm gonna try the dry cleaners on the way back from the school run, have already lifted the foam underlay as suggested and it's currently washed and is drying over the bath. Scrubbed teh floorboards underneath with zoflora.

My daughter says she can't smell it anymore, but i'm convinced I still can. Also, with a new kitten in the house it will be handy to have something tokeep around - i'm sure this won't be the last accident we have.

cornflake · Dec 17, 2014

shaldna said:
Thanks guys.

I'm gonna try the dry cleaners on the way back from the school run, have already lifted the foam underlay as suggested and it's currently washed and is drying over the bath. Scrubbed teh floorboards underneath with zoflora.

My daughter says she can't smell it anymore, but i'm convinced I still can. Also, with a new kitten in the house it will be handy to have something tokeep around - i'm sure this won't be the last accident we have.

It's not particularly usual for a kitten to have accidents like that.

If she wasn't taken from her mother too early, and you've shown her the litter properly (shown her where the box is, put her paws in and made scratchy motions), she should be good.

If she's peeing outside the box, that may be indicative of a medical issue, like an infection. It may also be something like a change in litter to one she doesn't like, or an issue with the box or its location, but if she's been using her litter and suddenly doesn't, you probably want to check that out.

Dogs need housebreaking but cats are usually shown by their mothers and get the idea just fine by the time they're a couple of months.

shaldna · Dec 17, 2014

cornflake said:
It's not particularly usual for a kitten to have accidents like that.

If she wasn't taken from her mother too early, and you've shown her the litter properly (shown her where the box is, put her paws in and made scratchy motions), she should be good.

If she's peeing outside the box, that may be indicative of a medical issue, like an infection. It may also be something like a change in litter to one she doesn't like, or an issue with the box or its location, but if she's been using her litter and suddenly doesn't, you probably want to check that out.

Dogs need housebreaking but cats are usually shown by their mothers and get the idea just fine by the time they're a couple of months.

It's the first time she's done it - she's been fine til now. Shewas upstairs and was coming down to use the box, bless her. But yeah, in all she's good, and has no issue with the big cat usuing the same box - which I was worried about. I know that sometimes that can put a kitten or less dominant cat off, butI suppose only time will tell.

At least I don't have the same problem my brother had with his dog - she used to pee when she got excited - so literally every time the doorbell rang, or someone came into the room. she grew out of it eventually though.

heza · Dec 17, 2014

shaldna said:
At least I don't have the same problem my brother had with his dog - she used to pee when she got excited - so literally every time the doorbell rang, or someone came into the room. she grew out of it eventually though.

We were walking our dog, Maddie, a couple of months ago and came upon another dog walker. Her dog was so, so excited to see Maddie and danced around and wiggled and made play bows. My husband cooed and was very complimentary and pet the pooch and was generally very pleasant.

We parted and, as we were walking away, I said to my husband, "that was a cute dog."

And he said, "Yeah.... he peed on my flip-flop."

We were still pretty far from the house, so my husband had to walk several blocks with excited tinkle all between his toes.

And those had been his favorite flip-flops.

WeaselFire · Dec 17, 2014

shaldna said:
Is there any way to get the smell out without having to resort to a new carpet?

What do you need for your story?

And, since it doesn't sound like you're actually researching a story, what did Google find you?

Jeff

shaldna · Dec 17, 2014

WeaselFire said:
What do you need for your story?

And, since it doesn't sound like you're actually researching a story, what did Google find you?

Jeff

I need to get the smell out of my carpet. lol

I scoured the internet but got a lot of conflictingadvice - use zoflora, don't use zoflora, use fabreeze, don't use fabreeze, use baking soda, use hydrogen peroxide, use vinegar, and every where I looked the advice was split half and half between those agreeing and those disagreeing.

Rachel77 · Dec 18, 2014

shaldna said:
I need to get the smell out of my carpet. lol

I scoured the internet but got a lot of conflictingadvice - use zoflora, don't use zoflora, use fabreeze, don't use fabreeze, use baking soda, use hydrogen peroxide, use vinegar, and every where I looked the advice was split half and half between those agreeing and those disagreeing.

I've used a white vinegar solution, followed by Febreeze, with success.

But it's also not whether you can still smell it, but whether the cat can. If the cat can still pick up some of the odor, she may try to "freshen it up". That's why enzyme-based odor removers like Nature's Miracle have been suggested. (I'm not personally a fan of Nature's Miracle these days; my experience is that it doesn't work nearly as well as it used to.)

Speaking of Nature's Miracle, the company split in 2003; the name went to one half, the formula went to the other. The original Nature's Miracle formula is now marketed under the name Petastic Stain & Odor Remover. I'm not sure if it's available in the UK, but it might be worth checking out.

Old Hack · Dec 18, 2014

Shaldna, I use Simple Solution (brand name) to get the smell of cat pee, vomit, or anything biological out of our carpets. It works well but you do have to saturate the area with the solution, and repeat it if the smell's still there afterwards (which it won't be, if you'd done it right first time).

We buy it online, or at Pets At Home, or at other pet shops. Do you have a PAH where you are?

If you use strong-smelling cleaners like vinegar the cat might find it so objectionable that it tries to cover it up by peeing on it. So be careful what you use.

cornflake · Dec 18, 2014

shaldna said:
It's the first time she's done it - she's been fine til now. Shewas upstairs and was coming down to use the box, bless her. But yeah, in all she's good, and has no issue with the big cat usuing the same box - which I was worried about. I know that sometimes that can put a kitten or less dominant cat off, butI suppose only time will tell.

At least I don't have the same problem my brother had with his dog - she used to pee when she got excited - so literally every time the doorbell rang, or someone came into the room. she grew out of it eventually though.

Ah, didn't know you had a cat already, sorry. I've just heard 'have to housetrain,' and related comments a few times from people that have only had experience with dogs, about cats, and thought that might have been where you were coming from with a new kitten.

Aw, she was coming down to use it, heh. 'I'll make it! Oops.' Maybe one up too? I've heard number of cats + 1 = number of boxes, but if they'll share, :Shrug:

Casey Karp · Dec 18, 2014

cornflake said:
Aw, she was coming down to use it, heh. 'I'll make it! Oops.' Maybe one up too? I've heard number of cats + 1 = number of boxes, but if they'll share,

Additional data point, for what it's worth: Five cats (soon six) here, four boxes--one on each floor. They share quite well. Much better at sharing the boxes than the food bowls, but they do that too. We find that if they're introduced to shared resources as kittens, they adapt to it very easily.

Brightdreamer · Dec 18, 2014

Seems to have been solved, but as someone who formerly had six cats, you definitely want one of those enzyme-based urine cleaners on hand... to clean the litter boxes periodically, if not for accidents.

My boys only had accidents when there were medical - or possibly stress - issues. (The last one probably had some manner of dementia at the end; he had multiple episodes where he intentionally urinated on my bed... and me. On my face, to be specific, which is not a wake-up call you want. The vet had never heard of such a thing, but not long after Orion's issues, he had the same thing happen with one of his kitties.) If the kitten has another accident, you might consider whether there's stress involved. That Feliway pheromone stuff seemed to help Orion calm down. Or it could be that you just need a second litter box. It's ideal to have one per floor in a multilevel house. And the number-of-cats-plus-one rule is a sound one. (I got away with less, but I always had extra-large litter boxes.) Even if they share, it's better to have an extra option than to deep-clean the carpet every month...

Okelly65 · Dec 18, 2014

Ive discovered that removing your nose tends to work best, how ever thats not really an option for those that want to date, stay married or just like to smell flowers and not terrify children.

there used to be a commercial enzymatic cleaner that could do it, but for the life of me I do not remember what it was called. I think you could get it from Graingers back then.

Old Hack · Dec 18, 2014

Another pee-related tip: I use Ikea plastic storage boxes for cat litter trays. I buy the biggest and deepest they have, which I think is the Samla 60 litre size; and then I cut a hole in one of the sides, about six inches up from the bottom of the box, and there you go.

They have lids, which you can leave off if your cats don't like to be too enclosed; they're a milky transluscent plastic so they're scrubbable and easy to clean, the cats get some light so can easily see what they're doing while having some degree of privacy, and they're very cheap compared to cat boxes of the same size. They just about fit into our bath, so I can clean them without too much trouble.

Also, I use Cat's Best litter, which is corn-based and fully flushable; but if cost is an option look for medication-free poultry crumb, which is a chicken feed but which works well as cat litter and is extremely cheap: it clumps up like real cat litter, too. You can flush it but you probably shouldn't, as it does have grit in it which might well block your pipes.

Removing smell of cat urine

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