I Can't Seem to Get Away from This!

There is a product that I have used called Anti Icky Poo. You do have to apply it several times but it does tone down the smell quite a bit. I found it at a Chuck and Don's but you should be able to find it at any pet store.

The only thing that will remove the smell completely is a product from Petco or PetSmart. There are several on the market, but it must have an enzyme in it for it to be effective. Anything else will just mask the odor, only making it go away temporary.

If you have a male cat, get it neutered.

Try using plain listerine to clean the area. This works really well on clothing too (just run some in a load of laundry). Also, try sprinkling pepper in the areas that they are going as cats smell and scratch the area before they go.

Good luck!

K.

I have a female cat that has a problem with a throw rug by the front door. Seriously, I put a rug down and no more than 24 hours later she pees on it...I'm lucky in the fact that I can throw them in the wash or throw them away after to many washes, but who wants to do that all the time...UGH! So, I read some of your responses and I went to PetSmart and got some Feliaway...it has been 3 days and so far she hasn't gone on the rug. The thing is this stuff is EXPENSIVE. A little bottle of spray for $35..UGH! I stood there and debated it for a very long time and then I thought, what the heck, it cost less than washing and buying new throw rugs all the time. Our vet did give us medication as well...but to give it to her is like trying to hold down a lion...even the vet said she is a very big and very strong cat so I have to say we aren't very good at giving it to her on a daily basis. As far as the other person that told you that your house is dangerous to your child...well, I think that is abit much. Maddie (our cat) did target the bottom of the steps for about 2 months..we bought a "spot bot" and that is worth it's weight in gold I tell ya. We always got it cleaned up instantly and you couldn't smell a thing and believe me I have nose that would know..my husband thinks I'm crazy as I can smell when a child might have a dirty diaper in the store. :)
My house is very clean..Army clean as my husband puts it...So having a cat that has a problem doesn't make your house "dangerous" or however that other person put it. So, now it is the throw rugs and so far so good. I hope you find something that works for you. Just keep a watch on your cat..if need be lock him/her up when you aren't home. We lock the cats in the basement when we go on vacation. Good luck.

Take Care,
Tammy

Don't use bleach! My cats did this for a while, and my mistake was using bleach. The ammonia just made them pee on things all the more!

We got our male cat neutered about a year ago, and that helped a TON. We still had a few problems with it though, and so we now use Tidy Cats "Complete - for Cats". It's a cleaner/deterrent. It will take the smell out of your upholstery and carpets, and will keep them from marking their territory there again. It's been a God-send in our house!

One thing that we have tried that seems to work is Urine Gone. We bought it on ebay and spray it where they have sprayed/gone pee. Hope this helps! T.

I had the same problem with a male cat that had a urinary tract infection. Tried everything that was supposed to work and didn't, then finally I got this recipe on eBay for $10, but I'm happy to pass it on for free. It worked every time. I no longer have cats, but still use this on the kids beds if they wet their bed.

1 cup peroxide
1 tsp baking soda
1 drop liquid soap or dish detergent

You have to mix it fresh every time, that's why no one sells it.

Be careful using it on fabrics, though, it tends to bleach them out.

Hi H., We were in a similuar situation where we had a male cat marking his territory. He was fixed and we took him to the vet but they didn't find anything wrong with him. I'm a HUGE cat lover but I finally made the decision to get rid of all three of our cats because they had peed all over our house and on the bedding and clothes. You have to decide what is best for you and your family. It's not healthy to live like that and plus your floors may be ruined and may need extensive work done on them to actually get them to not smell anymore. You can try an inexpensive spray called Complete which I got from Target but that is only good for small spots. It breaks down the enzymes in the urine though. Don't use bleach because when this is mixed with cat urine (ammonia) the fumes can be quite dangerous not only for you and the kids but it can make the cats sick. That's why they say not to use bleach to clean the kitty box either. So, long story short, I'd get rid of the cats. You'll be so glad you did because the stress will be lifted off your shoulders. It might cost a lot in the long run to get your floor fixed but again, it's whats best for you and your family. Regarding the kids, I let my daughters take pictures of Kali our last cat and then they said their goodbyes. On the day I brought her to the humane society I had my husband take the girls to the park. When I got back my oldest cried but overall they handled it pretty well. We plan on putting the pictures of Kali in frames and hanging them on their bedroom wall. Regarding humane societies I brought all of our cats to a really nice and clean humane society where they asked for a small donation for dropping the cats off. There are also some no-kill humane societies as well if that will give you peace of mind. Good luck and hang in there!!

My DH and I were renting half of a duplex and there was one room where the previous renter had cats and we had to have the carpet removed, ALL of the base boards, parts of the wall, and all the flooring down to the sub floor! It cost our landlord about $10,000 to fix and the house smelled like cat urine for a year after all this was replaced.

The previous renter is being sued for damages.

Maybe you want to consider what this could end up costing your family.

Unless you don't mind your kids playing in cat pee, I would get rid of them. I'm sure they will get over it. Get them a pet that doesn't pose an unhealthy situation. I'm sure your landlord wouldn't appreciate having piss soaked carpets either, and I'm surprised you're still able to live there. This is unhealthy for your children. Get rid of the cats. Oh... and spraying bleach won't help. That's like pooping in the corner of your bathroom and just laying a towel over it. It's still there. You'll need a carpet cleaner that will put liquid into the carpet and then suck it back out.

Nature's Miralcle stain and odor remover. They make one especially for cat urine. It works great! They make a spray and a detergent. This shouuld help with the stains but I don't know what to do to get them to stop. Good luck!

Hi H.,

If you go to Petco or Petsmart, they have several different products that are made just for cleaning up cat urine--just ask one of the clerks to help you.

To stop the spraying from happening, there is a product called Feliway. I have used it with success. It is a spray pheromone that stops cats from urinating everywhere. You can now also buy plug ins with it (like the Glade plug-ins). Feliway is also readily available at Petco or Petsmart.

Hi H.:
I have had this expeience too. Go to Petsmart, they have some good stuff to take the smell out. I have an area rug over a hardwood floor and had a cat that would use the room as her litter box. She got my slipcovers and my rug in there. The Mr. Clean with Frebreze worked good on the floor and the slipcovers, I washed them in the washer with it. And mopped the floor with it .
I used the stuff from Petsmart first on everything but it felt ucky, the smell went away but the urine was still there. So then I washed everything with the Mr Clean with the Frebreze in it. Then used a carpet scrubber with pet odor remover. It works well. But this is a process and can take several days. You may have to go back with a bottle of Frebreze a few times.
Good luck and love those kitties.

Hi H.
Go to wal-mart and by Out it is in a white bottle with a pink lable in the pet section it is pretty cheap but works wonderful. It takes the scent of urine out of the carpet so will not keep peeing there. Good Luck

Hi H. - I am sorry to hear of your cat pee issue. We had a similar problem with our cat when we first built our new house. I was working as a GM for a hotel and we had our carpet cleaner guy out and him and i were talking about it and what I could do about it. He gave me this stuff called Consume. OMG it is awesome. My dog also had a potty issue on our cememnt and it took the smell right out.

Let me know ifyou want any more details. It is expensive, but it last a long time.

E.

We had an older cat who had an accident right on our guest bed - egad. Fortunately I found a liquid product at Pet Smart that claimed to remove the odor of cat urine. I bought it and figured if it didn't work, what'd we have to lose...at least it was an attempt before having to replace the mattress. Well it actually worked! Took out the scent entirely - I was shocked. This was 4 years ago and I don't know the name of the product. I do remember that it was in a white plastic bottle. I'm sure that one of the clerks can help you find it. Good luck!

We have a product that we use for our pet messes. It not only illiminates the odor but it takes stains out too.!

Let me know if you want to hear more.

J.

Please take your cats to the vet- even if there is no medical reason for it, sometimes just switching them to an Rx food called C/D will fix the problem. I have seen this work on a handful of shelter cats that were a problem when I was volunteering there.

You might want to try a product called Nature's Miracle. You can find it at pet stores like PetCo or PetSmart. My mother-in-law swears by it for the same problem with her cats. I've never smelled anything when I've been at her house. I used it for puppy accidents at first and now use it for all carpet stains. It really does work great. Good luck!

Moving from place to place is VERY h*** o* cats. They would rather change owners than change territory. Hopefully you will be able to stay put for awhile.

We have had cats pee around the house, both an aging female with incontinence and a male cat spraying. The only thing that works IMO (and it works REALLY well) is Nature's Miracle. You spray it on and leave it to soak in and dry. The enzymes in it break down the cat pee and bacteria.

Check a pet store for special enzymes to get rid of the smell.

I believe the product Judy is talking about is Natures Miracle. It works wonders. We had a cat that peed, we ended up seeing a cat behaviorist because giving up my pets is as bad as giving up my child (but that is just me and I have no ill will that you had to give yours up, I was just saying my choice.)

Anyway, we worked with the behaviorist and finally put our cat on kitty prozac (praxotine). And we cleaned all her pee spots with Natures Miracle for cats. It has now been 1 year since she has peed.

Good Luck, and I hope you get to solve the problem.

I would have never believed it until I tried it, but Nature's Miracle really works! I have used it for my dog pee on our spare mattress and also the skunk version for when we had that awful fresh smell come in the house. It worked wonderful! Since I used it my dog stopped peeing on the mattress. I would say no matter the cost, I think it is like $10 or $15 for a good size bottle, it is totally worth it. You can just pour it on and let is soak all the way thru to the pad and when it dries, your problem should be fixed! Good Luck to you, I could never get rid of my "babies" either!

i once used boiling water and baking soda to clean a rug the cat had peed on. it worked pretty well i recall. The water has to be super hot to actually break up the urine or nothing will remove it. I just kinda soaked the spot in boiling water then dumped baking soda on the spot and let it dry. Then vaccuum it up. i didn't even do any scrubbing, just made sure it was real wet. maybe there are some specialty cleansers out there, but this worked for me.

I agree with going to the vet to look into other issues. I have a cat that gets stressed easily and her response is to pee on my stuff:(

She was on kitty prozac for awhile, but we also managed it with diet and removing her from extra stressful situations (such as when company is over).

We had good luck with Nature's Miracle, but we had to use a lot of it. You also have to let it sit for awhile -- we covered the areas with plastic and let them sit for 24 hours-- and then clean with regular cleaner.

Bring your cats to the vet!!!

Cats can have bladder issues that causes them to associate using the litter box with pain. They can get crystals and stones in their urine, which can cause a ton of damage if left untreated (even complete blockage, which spells death).

So the first step in getting your cats to stop inappropriate urination is making sure they're healthy. Neutering really helps too if they're not yet.

Everyone has good suggestions about products to use. Also, urine glows under black light, so that would be a good way to make sure you get it all.

I would take a multi-pronged approach. Bring kittys to the vet to be sure they're not sick. Get a Feliway plug in and use an enzymatic cleaner of some sort to clean up the existing urine. Check with the black light to be sure you got it all. Keep the litter box clean (a messy box is like us going in an unflushed toilet - they don't like it either). Also check the location of the litter box. Could it be close to something that might startle them (like the washing machine)? Have at least as many litter boxes as cats. They don't like to go potty where they eat too. There's a ton of literature out there about litter box habits, so do some reading. A behaviorist is also an option to help.

Good luck! Its a tough thing to get rid of.

Not fun. We have two cats and similar problem. They usually resort to peeing in our daughters bed. My aunt stayed here while we were out of town for two weeks and one peed in her suitcase. It is very frustrating. We use a product call Pet Magic. It works well. It is supposed to remove skunk odor on contact (luckily haven't had to test this yet). It is a eco-friendly product so you don't have to worry about using it around the kids or pets. Not sold in retail stores. Let me know if you would like additional information.

the chair is prob sprayed too

"Urine Gone" you can get it online. It is expensive but works really well, it is an enzyme spray. We used it in our apt when our dog was marking, before we got him neutered. (I know with dogs once they are neutered the urge to mark is gone maybe it is the same with cats.) When we moved out of the apt there was no charges for dog pee smell they said everything smelled just fine, so the spray did it's job.