HELP!!! My cat got sprayed by a skunk. He walked through the house before I was able to get him back outside. Now the odor is hanging in the house. How do I get the odor out of the house? How do I clean the cat? he will freak out if I try to give him a bath.
There is a product called Skunk Off. You can only get it at pet stores, vets, etc.
Might be a better solution than trying to bathe a cat!
GL.
Tomato juice does not work. It's a waste of time. Believe me, I once tried. (Mythbusters tackled it as well and found that it is a strong smell on its own so it sort of masks the smell of the skunk, but only for a little while. It doesn't actually get rid of the oil the skunk sprays on your animal. Only the mixture below works.) I use a variation of what DVMMOM says to use.
Mix 1 quart hydrogen peroxide (fresh, not already opened)
1/4 cup of baking soda
1 tsp. of Dawn dish soap
Mix it in a bucket and stick him in your tub and have someone else hold him while you use a sponge to squeeze it all over him. Use gloves because it will irritate your skin. Be very careful not to get it in his eyes! Keep it away from his face. You have to rinse it off after letting it sit for a bit. It's not going to be easy so get some help. If you fill the rinse bucket somewhere other than the tub then he won't be so scared by the noise of the running water.
Your house... well that will just take time. We've had our run-ins with skunks around here and it's not fun. It does eventually go away.
http://dan.drydog.com/patsyann/skunk.html
Mix baking soda, Dawn dish soap (lemon scent seems to work best), and hydrogen peroxide in equal amounts (will create a kind of paste) and bathe the cat in it. If you can, let it sit on the cat for 5 or 10 minutes, then rinse. If you not up to the task, you can try finding a vet office or pet groomer who is (not worth you getting hurt!)
As for your house, can't help you there. I would imagine it will just take time, but maybe burning some incense can help?
The recipe that Bobbi posted is what I used when my dogs got sprayed by a skunk repeatedly.
It took two washes to make the dogs stop stinking, but they had been sprayed several times by the skunk when they cornered it. The next time a skunk sprayed them it wasn't as bad and one wash in that mix got the job done.
The recipe works best if you use it immediately after mixing it.
As for the house: If you have carpet sprinkle baking soda on carpet and let it sit for a few hours before vacuuming. And put a bowl of vinegar in the room. The vinegar gets rid of odor in the air.
Ugh. My dog got sprayed then got inside.
Boil water cinnamon & cloves on your stove. Place dishes of ground coffee all around.
People suggested I boil vinegar but honestly, that made us GAG.
Forget the tomato juice/sauce, etc. It makes YOU stop smelling it, but does nothing for the pet's problem, although it might allow you to tolerate getting close enough for the bathing.
For the cat (and I tried them ALL) use the Dawn (skunk spray is an oil--yay!), baking soda & peroxide. Then Nature's Miracle (from the pet store).
He needs a bath. If you can't safely do it without getting scrached or bitten, take him to the vet or a groomer asap. They are trained for this type of thing.
Also some big Pet Store Chains do it too.
The reason tomato juice doesnt work for most people is because they dont know that it's supposed to dry on the animal not be rinsed off right away. you'll need to keep him in something while it dries, we have a big cage we use to transport fowl, but a kitty carrier would work in a pinch. make sure you saturate him, right down to the roots, then let him dry completely, then rinse off the juice. good luck!
Wash him in tomato sauce..like V8 or an equivilent.
