Help me please. I just discovered that a neighborhood cat has been spraying in my cellar window onto my
carpet. The smell is enough to gag you. What can I do to get the pee out of the carpet? I have closed
the window, so he won't be able to continue to do it. Any help you can give me I thank you for already.
1 part vinegar to 2 parts water will get rid of the smell. It will also keep your dog or cat, if you
have one, from spraying in the same spot. If it has stained, the spray bottle of Oxiclean, "not" the dry
powder, works great on stains. Hope this helps! (06/30/2004)
By Barb
I used a product made by Woolite specifically for animal stains on my carpet when I had the same problem
and it worked great. It also smells wonderful. (07/01/2004)
By longfarm
Vinegar, straight out of the bottle. Pour it on the stain or area that smells. I have poured it on my
carpet, mattresses, and sofas. I pour a lot (4 cups or more), let it sit and then if it's the floor I
place a towel over the spot and step on it to remove some of the wetness. Do this more than once if
necessary. Since it has been sprayed from outside, I would put vinegar in a spray bottle and spray all
around and then pour vinegar on a cloth and wipe the walls and baseboards. The vinegar smell will be gone
by morning. (07/01/2004)
By Ann
Since this is in your cellar, I presume that you don't have wood floors. If you do have wood floors, the
cat pee ruins them, turns the wood black. I had this problem with a cat of mine peeing on carpet that
was covering wood floors. Also, if there are any baseboard or wall heaters, they suck the smell in. I
had to replace heaters and flooring, and carpeting, it was a $4000 expensive mess! (07/02/2004)
By Ann
I've heard that hydrogen peroxide works to get the smell out. The peroxide can have a bleaching action so
try a little bit in an out of the way place so it doesn't bleach your rug.
You could also use baking soda if you have any, but don't use it on anything that is wet because it
will cake up and make a mess.
Susan from ThriftyFun (08/16/2005)
By ThriftyFun
My cat peed on the king size mattress in our guest room several times before we noticed what she was
doing. I bought some smell remover from the vet for $8, sprayed it on the mattress until it was wet,
opened the windows, closed the guest room door and left it alone for a couple of weeks. When we checked,
the smell was as bad as ever. I didn't think the product from the vet was ever going to work. I thought
that we were going to have to get rid of the mattress.
On a lark, my significant other sprayed a product called Sol-U-Mel on the mattress. He left the
windows open, closed the door, and we ignored it for a couple of more weeks. When we checked last night,
the stains were completely gone from the mattress and there was "no" odor. I have also used the Sol-U-Mel
on our concrete floor after she peed on it. No odor. She now has two litter boxes that get scooped 3X a
day and totally switched out weekly. No more peeing anywhere since we gave her the second box. She uses
one for #2 and both for #1. We just seek to please. There is a phone number for ordering Sol-U-Mel on the
bottle: 1-800-282-3000 or www.melaleuca.com. Please do not ever put this product on your cat or kitten.
It contains tea tree oil which is fatal to kitties. (08/26/2006)
By Donna
For cat smell, you can buy a product called Nilodor from Revival Animal Health. It is a concentrate. You
will want to get the deodorizing cleanser. (10/14/2007)
By Sally
Science! Charcoal is a wonderful odor absorber, but won't remove the source of the problem. Use it as a
final step.
To begin, you need to create a chemical reaction that actually breaks down the odor causing substances
by bonding the molecules with a reactive agent such as oxygen. You can create this reaction using the
same common recipe used against skunk spray:
Mix 1 cup water with 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 tsp liquid dish soap. (The soap breaks down oils.)
Finally, add up to a quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide. (The oxygenating agent.)
Be careful, as someone else mentioned, peroxide can bleach, so be sure to test a spot first.
I have roaming cats around my house. Although I can't deal with them in the winter, the remainder of
the year, I bought these cool motion detector based sprayers that hook up to your garden hose. The cats
learn really fast to stay away! (02/22/2008)
By Retep Cat Man
Spraying information, first; vinegar, shampoos, soaps, etc. will "not" work to remove cat spray or urine!
At the most, they only temporarily neutralize the odor to you. Even if you can't smell the odor, the cat
still can and will continue to use that area. Plus, the odor will eventually come back, especially when
it's damp or humid outside. It's important to completely remove the source of the odors because the
biodegrading ammonia in cat urine/spray can be harmful to your lungs and cause many respiratory problems,
especially for babies/children, anyone with asthma, and other pets.
Cats will spray an area or an object to claim it as their property or territory. Spraying is different
than urinating and has a much stronger odor. It is meant to be able to withstand the harsh conditions of
the outdoors. Both males and females can spray. Once a cat starts spraying, it is very unlikely that it
will ever stop, especially with older cats. The best way to avoid the behavior is to get the cats spayed
or neutered while they are still kittens, before they learn how to spray! Some younger cats may forget
how to spray after being fixed, especially if they feel safe and non-threatened. There are no quick or
simple fixes to getting rid of cat odors. It takes time and diligence. These steps are helpful for a
large area or for old/ set-in odors. For new, untreated or small urine stain, do the steps once instead
of twice.
First locate the area/areas of spray/urine. Using a black light in a completely dark room is helpful.
The light causes the proteins to slightly glow a faint yellow. Keep in mind that it will cause many types
of stains to be visible as well, not just the cat urine. When you locate the source, completely saturate
the area with an enzyme based cat odor remover. Nature's Miracle does work when used properly. The enzyme
remover must soak all the way through the carpet, the padding and down to the base floor. Keep in mind
that if a urine stain looks to be the size of a dinner plate, its five time bigger under the carpet! You
need to treat a large surrounding area as well as the stain. It`s best to keep the cat out of the room or
block it from reaching the area until the process is complete. They will keep re-spraying or urinating on
wet carpet.
It is much more effective to pull back the carpet and padding and treat the floor underneath first. If
you have woods floors underneath, do not use Nature's Miracle. Many pet stores and home supply stores
sell special products to remove the odor from wood floors. If you have wood sub flooring, soak the area
with enzymes (Nature's Miracle), keep the area moist or damp by covering it with wet rags for 24 hours,
remove rags and then let it air dry naturally. Do "not" use a fan, heater, or blow dryer!
After completely dry, use a wood sealant to lock in any remaining odor. Home Depot sells it. It's made
by Zinsser, called Bullseye shellac in "clear". This can be used on finished wood floors as well. After
shellac is completely dry (24-48 hours), soak the padding with enzymes. Keep the padding wet for 24 hours
and then let dry naturally. Once dry, re-soak the padding and let dry again.This process could take a
couple of weeks as padding does not dry easily. I find it easier just to remove that section of padding,
buy a new piece, cut it down to size and fit it into place.
Once the padding is complete, repeat the whole entire soaking process with the carpet. Make sure the
enzymes soak through to the backing. Remember to saturate an area 5 times larger than the original stain.
After it's dry, repeat the process. It's important to keep the enzymes (bacteria) wet for at least 24
hours. If the area dries, the enzymes (bacteria) dry up as well and die. They obviously can't eat if
they`re dead and the odor will persist.
After completing this whole process, steam clean the carpet with a shampoo that contains pet odor
removers. Afterwards, spray the area with something that has a strong lemon scent. I usually spray the
carpet with lemon scent Lysol daily for a couple of months. This will keep cats from re-using the area
because they hate lemon scent! Keep in mind that while going through these steps, the odors will become
stronger temporarily as the enzymes are doing their job. If the odor persists after 2 weeks, repeat the
process. Sometimes it's necessary to keep repeating the soaking processes (even as many as 5 times or
more), until all odors are gone.
Make sure that the walls and baseboards are treated as well by spraying the areas or using a squeeze
bottle containing the enzyme odor remover. Let dry, then scrub with water and lemon scented dish soap. If
you have a heater vent close by, remover the cover, thoroughly clean with enzymes and soap and water and
squeeze or pour some enzyme solution down the register! Be sure to change your furnace and air filters as
well. These can trap the odors and then diffuse them back throughout your whole house!
If you've done the process and a month later you notice a musty/dusty odor creeping back in, then you
know you'll have to repeat the whole process. It is a lot of work, but it is the only effective way to
completely remove the smells to both you and your cat. Also, don't be fooled by carpet cleaning companies
advertising that they remove cat odors! They merely use a strong scented spot cleaner which "hides" the
odor from you temporarily and then charge you extra! I've owned and rescued cats for 27 years, plus I've
owned my own home cleaning business for 18 years! (04/23/2008)
By Wendy
To keep cats from entering your yard, off your porch, or even off your furniture, there are many products
available at pet stores, Wal-mart, home improvement stores, vets, etc. for this purpose. There are sprays
and powders for outdoor use, such as Cat B Gone. Most can be safely used even on trees, shrubs, flowers,
etc. Just make sure to read the label first or ask an employee for help in finding a product that will
safely work on vegetation.
For indoors, there are sprays that can be used on carpet and furniture. (Kitty Behave is one). For
areas that can't be sprayed, such as wood or plastic surfaces, spray a rag with the product and then
place on or in the area that you want the cat to avoid. The smell is very offensive to cats and quite
effective at keeping cats away from the treated areas! (04/23/2008)
By Wendy
Re: Problems with cats urinating outside of box or on floor/carpets.
Cat urine and cat spray are different. For cat spray problems and for odor removal of urine and/or
spray, see post below about spraying information.
Info, most cats will consistently use their litter boxes if they are kept clean. Remove solid waste
daily and completely clean and wash cat box once a week with dish detergent and water. Some smells and
chemicals are offensive to cats, such as lemon and vinegar. Using these to clean a cat box may deter your
cat from using that box!
Cats are finicky. There can be many reasons as to why they won't use their litter box or why they
might suddenly stop. Some cats prefer a certain litter or a certain type of box while other cats in the
house might prefer something completely different!
Some cats don't like to urinate in the same box that another cat is urinating in, but will continue to
use the same box for bowel movements! This is due to "territorial confusion" and dominance order. Urine
(and spray) are used to mark areas or objects as "personal property" for cats. Feces is not. It has no
distinct territorial scents or makers. If an older or more dominant cat in the house is urinating in a
particular cat box; a younger, less dominant cat might view/smell the box as being the older, more
dominant cat's territory. It is inappropriate for the less dominant cat to urinate (mark its scent) over
the more dominant cat's scent. The dominant cat can take this as a threat and fight to defend it's
"territory". Having a bowel movement in the box poses no threat or territorial issues though because the
feces has no territorial markers or scents to it. Therefore, most cats will almost always use the same
box to have bowel movements in, but will go elsewhere to urinate.
If there is not another cat box in the house to use, the cat will find a "safe" place to urinate, such
as the floor, the carpet, your bed, laundry, counter tops, tubs, sinks, papers, furniture, etc.
Everything is fair game! As a general rule, it always is best to make sure that there is one cat box for
every cat in the home!
Some cats just prefer to use one box for urinating in and another for bowel movements. I have 2 cats each
who will do this, so I have 2 cat boxes for each of them (total of 4 boxes for 2 cats). They share all of
the boxes, but they will only urinate in 2 of them and have bowel movements in the other 2.
Cats do not like changes either. They are creatures of habit and thrive on routine. Any change, big or
small can trigger emotional problems and stress in a cat and cause it to stop using its box for
urination. The changes could be a new pet or baby, having a visitor that the cat determined he didn't
like, changing your daily schedule, moving furniture around, moving the cat box or changing the type of
cat box (big trigger!), changing the type or brand of cat litter (another big trigger), moving the
food/water dishes, even changing the type of food.
Cat boxes and litter: one cat may prefer to use a large box while another in the house may prefer a
smaller box. In general, the smaller the cat, the smaller the cat box. The larger the cat, the larger the
cat box! Kittens need very small, low to the ground boxes. It's too much effort for them to jump so high
to get in the box when they can easily find a convenient place to pee right on the floor. If they become
used to doing that, it becomes routine or habit for them and they will most likely always use the floor
instead of a cat box. If the box is too small for a larger cat, he won't have enough room to find a
suitable peeing spot or enough room to dig/scratch. In that case, he'll look for a larger area to suit
his needs, usually the floor!
Some cats like privacy and will only use a box that's sheltered from sight and mainstream activities.
Some cats will only use a box that's covered while others will refuse to use a covered box. Some cats
might prefer unscented litter over scented or clay litter over clumping litter.
Self cleaning litter boxes can pose more problems for shy or timid cats. If the cat happens to be in the
area or notice when the box starts moving, it can seriously scare some cats from ever using any box
again. If this happens, get rid of the self cleaning box and go back to the same thing your cat used to
use. If the cat still seems frightened or avoids the box, continuously call the cat over to the box, coax
it with treats or place the cat in the box. Let the cat see and learn that this box will not move!
If a cat suddenly stops using its box for urination and it's using multiple areas of your home
instead, the culprit most likely is a urinary tract infection. The cat will associate the pain of
infection as being caused by its litter box. It will then find another area to urinate in. When the cat
realizes that there is still pain even though it's urinating in a different area, it will then associate
that area as being the source of pain. And so on and so on. Take the cat to the vet and let them know the
details. Once the infection is cleared up and if you have effectively removed all the urine spots and
odors throughout your home, the cat will go right back to using its box!
(04/23/2008)
By Wendy
I made a thick paste from baking soda, peroxide, and hot water (if you have darker carpets just take out
the peroxide) applied it to the area and let it dry. Vacuum it up and if the smell is still there,
sprinkle some dry coffee grounds on the area for a couple minutes. At first it just smells like coffee,
but after an hour or so you can't even tell the cat sprayed! (01/02/2009)
By Jessica
Like many of y'all, my cat decided to start spraying one night. I woke up to the terrible smell. I did a
lot of online search. A lot of it was on this site and reading what other people had tried. So I took
bits and pieces from each story and now I have my own to share.
First off, to help get the smell of urine out you have to temporarily place the cat that is marking out
of the house either to run, or like me, I only have inside cats, so I took him the the vet and boarded
him for 3 days. While he was gone I got my choice of deodorizers and got to work.
The first one is Out! Natural: Lemon Grass Fragrance Stain and Odor Remover, 32 fl oz. It can be bought
at your local Walmart for like $8.00.
It has bacteria and enzymes that feed on the bacteria of the urine so that way the smell is gone.
Another deodorizer was Odoban for pets. On the back says gets rid of cat urine smell and a few other
things.
The last deodorizer was a Hertz spray that deodorized and has perfume in it to make a pretty smell. All
of this can be bought at your local Walmart.
Don't forget the black light. You can either buy a pet one. It's small and runs on batteries. A lot
easier than the way I did it, but I went to the light bulb section at Walmart and got a big black light
and a extension cord. I am so glad I did it this way. Bigger black light equals more light than the small
one. It was around $12.00.
How I got rid of the smell was I blacked out the room and then got my black light and found the spots
and soaked my carpet in the spot with the Natural stuff. Make sure you put enough to go down to the
padding in the carpet. Then I came back with the Odoban and the Hertz spray and continued to soak the
areas.
When all was said and done the smell did linger for a few hours, but the beauty of the natural stuff is
that the enzymes and bacteria start to go to work on eating the bacteria of the cat urine. The next
morning no smell. It took about a week for the carpet to fully dry. Then I went back to Walmart and got a
steam cleaner and then the pet stain remover stuff, the cheap one and steam cleaned the heck out of the
carpet.
It has been 2 months and the smell has not come back. Also while the cat was at the vet I had him
neutered. I know a lot of people don't want to do that, but that is the only way to get the instinct out
of the cats, both male and female, as I have both. Also when you clean the litter boxes you need to fill
the bottom of the litter box with water and bleach to clean that.
If you have more than 1 cat you need to have a litter box for each cat. I know that sounds bad, but as
the vet told me male cats are very picky. They don't like to use the litter box after other cats and most
likely you will notice with 2 cats they will pee in one box and poo in the other.
Since my cat has been fixed there has been no other spraying.
Oh, by the way just so you know, after you get a male fixed and you smell the urine smell. Don't think he
started to spray again. It could be the litter box, male cats, even after having been fixed will continue
to spray as they pee in the litter box. Hopefully this will help someone. (01/19/2009)
By AJ
width="400" height="300" alt="RE: Getting Rid of Cat Spray Odor on Carpet" />
I had a basement apartment. I also had a cat. The neighborhood cats would pee on and by the basement
window. I got a realistic statue of a black and white tuxedo cat and put it near the window. Those
neighborhood cats did not come within 20 feet of the window anymore. (02/19/2009)
By Mike
Cat smell out - there is a product by Natural Touch called "Enzyme Odor and Stain Eliminator". It
penetrates and eliminates the most basic and pervasive odors and stains caused by urine, feces, etc.
(11/14/2009)
By Catfifty
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