Elimininate Cat Urine Smells

Inappropriate elimination (referred to by veterinarians as perichezia or periuria) is the technical way of describing a cat that pees anywhere but inside his or her litter box. This behavior results in rooms or entire homes to become filled with malodorous feline pee. When trying to determine why a cat isn’t using its litter box, several factors must be evaluated. Among these is the type of litter box used in a household.

Until recently, there was a fierce debate about whether a cat is more likely to use covered litter boxes or uncovered litter trays. (Cat behaviorists usually argued that cats with inappropriate urination problems were more likely to use a litter tray without a covering.) Thankfully, a recent academic study by the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine puts the “covered versus uncovered” debate to rest.

Litter Boxes: Covered vs. Uncovered

The study, led by three well known veterinarians, diagnosed the potty preferences of 28 cats. Over an extended period of time, each cat was given the option to use a covered or uncovered litterbox. The vets scooped the waist daily to compare which litter trays were being used the most. What they found was interesting.

For the most part, there wasn’t a significant statistical difference between open and closed boxes. Most cats would even switch between them, showing no preference whatsoever. However, 25% of the cats (or 8 of them) did show a covered vs. uncovered litter box preference. Of these, 4 preferred covered and 4 preferred uncovered. The results befuddled even the vets conducting it. The chances of this 50/50 split were nearly one in a million.

How to Choose for Your Cat

The study concluded that if a cat’s toileting facilities are kept clean (scooped a minimum of once a day), it probably won’t matter what kind of litter box you use for most cats. But when it comes to getting rid of cat urine odors, prevention is the best offense.

Whether you’re researching a litterbox for a new kitten or solving a kitty pee crisis, you should:

• Provide your feline friend with options. Make an open and a closed litter box available. Once the cat has made it clear he or she has a preference, you can give the other litter box to the local shelter.
• Maintain good litter box hygiene. Cats like clean environments. Scoop every box in your home at least once a day.
• Avoid electronic litter boxes until you’re certain the litter box isn’t the source of your cats inappropriate urination problem. These are far from natural and further complicate the situation.

Do cats prefer covered or uncovered litter boxes? As usual, the answer is complicated. Follow these tips and you won’t have to worry if you have the right kind of litter box for your kitty.

Source:

Grigg, Emma K., Lindsay Pick, and Belle Nibblett. “Litter box preference in domestic cats: covered versus uncovered.” Journal of feline medicine and surgery (2012).

Pet urine (whether it be from cats or dogs) can ruin any leather items, it is anticipated that it will leave a terrifying stain as well as unpleasant odor that later on will cause wrinkle and permanent damage to the leather.

Pet urine (whether it be from cats or dogs) can ruin leather. In fact, leather is probably the surface and material most susceptible to being permanently damage by cat urine. The good news is that if you take the right steps to properly clean leather after being peed on, you have a good chance at restoring the original smell and texture to your leather possessions.

The cat urine removal and cleaning steps below have successfully been applied to leather:

• Purses
• Furniture & Couches
• Jackets, Pants, & Other Clothing
• Car Interior
• Other Leather Items

The most important thing to remember when removing pet urine from leather is “the sooner the better”. As soon as you realize a cat or dog has urinated on something leather, follow these steps immediately and don’t procrastinate. If the area is still wet, you have a really good shot at completely eliminating the smell. If it’s dry, you definitely still have a chance but it will be more difficult and might require multiple attempts. Basically, the sooner you attack this stinky problem, the higher the likelihood the condition, odor, and texture of the leather won’t be permanently damaged.

Items You’ll Need to Eliminate the Smell

• Enzyme Odor Removal Solution Specifically Engineered for Pet Odors
• 2 Kitchen Towels
• Tupperware  Box w/ Lid
• Borax
• Gallon Sized Ziplock Back (Or Trash Bag for Larger Items)
• 2-3 Pieces of Activated Charcoal
• Saddle Soap
• Tea Tree Oil

9 Easy Steps for Removing Cat Urine Smells from Leather

1. Moisten a kitchen towel with enzyme odor remove and absorb as much of the cat pee as possible. This eradicates the microbes that causing unpleasant smell.
2. Saturate the affected area with the enzyme cleanser. If you’re using a spray bottle, you might want to take the top off and pour it directly onto the place of the pet’s accident.
3. Saturate another towel with more of your favorite cat urine odor removal product. Place the towel on top of the area and let it sit for 3 hours. If you’re able, place another towel (or wrap part of the other towel) underneath the leather so your getting both sides of the leather.
4. Find a large Tupperware box that’s large enough to place the item in. Pour borax into the box until the borax is 1 inch deep. Place the smelly item into the box and pour additional borax on it so that it’s completely covered. If your try to remove feline or dog urine from a large a couch, car interior, or something else that’s very large, just pour the borax directly on area where the pet peed.
5. Fill one cup of activated charcoal and place it inside a plastic bag (ideally a Ziploc or other airtight bag). After it has soaked in the borax box for 24 hours, place the soiled leather item into the Ziploc along with the charcoal.
6. Now you’ll place the plastic bag back into the box with borax. (So, you’ve got the soiled item inside the plastic bag, and the plastic bag inside the box.) Seal the box with as close to an airtight lid as possible. Let the item sit in the sealed box for 3-5 days. (Allow for a longer time if the urine was initially untreated for longer than a 24 hours.)
7. When you remove the leather item (purse, cushion, jacket, etc.), the cat urine smell should be completely removed. Let the leather naturally air dry to prevent damage or water stains.
8. After it’s dry, use clean the leather with a very generous amount of saddle soap. This will ensure you retain the natural condition of the leather and give the leather a natural scent too. If the leather seems to be dry, you can also try gently massaging a soft cloth that has a few drops tea tree oil on it.
9. The pungent urine aroma is still there, repeat steps 1-8. Only do this two more times to prevent damaging the leather.

Pointers and Warnings

• Always test a small amount of cleaning products on a small, hidden piece of leather to make sure it doesn’t harm the texture, condition, or color of the leather.
• To maintain and restore the softness of the leather, try applying very light, unscented baby oil.
• Do not use ammonia or alcohol-based solutions. Ammonia will only make the smell worse. Alcohol will dry out the leather. (Be careful. Nature’s Miracle Pet Odor Remover contains alcohol.)
• Avoid cleaning the leather frequently. It can cause the material to crack. Clean it only when its stained or develops strong smell of pet urine.
• Cat urine is much more concentrated than dog urine. Try to clean cat accidents as soon as possible.
• If your pet urinated on a leather couch, be sure to check the carpet next to or below it. Getting rid of pet urine odors from a carpet requires different steps.

By following the steps outlined above, you should be able to treat, clean, and eliminate pet urine that’s come in contact with most leather items.

Getting the cats you own to stop urinating in the house is difficult. Trying to prevent stray or neighborhood cats from peeing outside of your home, on the porch and patio, or even in your plants or garden sounds impossible. But, it’s not. By taking the proactive and holistic approach outlined below, you’ll prevent cats from peeing on your property and win the “best neighbor of the month” award. Before you get too excited, it’s important that you understand this might not be the easiest solution. But, it’s by far the most effective and humane.

Trap, Neuter, and Release (abbreviated as TNR) is the strategy used by “no kill” shelters to curb pet overpopulation. The premise is simple. Dogs, and especially cats, create offspring at very fast rate. By ensuring that animals in your neighborhood (referred to by TNR experts as a “colony”) are spayed and neutered, you stop pet overpopulation at its source; the breeding of feral or stray cats. (To learn more about TNR, visit the Feral Cat Coalition’s website.)

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Eliminating cat urine smells from a carpet can be tough. So, I decided to put this video outlining my battle-tested methods. You’ll learn how to effectively remove stinky cat urine from your carpet, once and for all.

Unfortunately, cats that urinate outside of their litter boxes often choose to pee on their owner’s clothing. Some cats prefer to pee on piles of dirty clothing, while others, like ours, seem to like fresh, clean laundry. It is not pleasant to pick up a favorite jacket or shirt and find that it reeks of cat urine. Since most clothing is washable, it is usually easy to remove urine stains and smells. The following steps can help you restore your urine-soaked clothes to an odor-free state.

Removing Cat Urine Odors from Washable Clothing

1. First, make sure that the cat only peed on your clothes. Sometimes the smell of your feline friend’s urine is so strong that it seems to come from all over the room. So, triple check to make sure that you have located every item or surface that is affected. If he or she “missed” and also urinated on the carpet, you need to learn how to remove cat urine smells from your carpet.
2. Whether they are clean or dirty, place all clothes that were close to the your cat’s place of choice in the washing machine. If you have affected items that are not machine-washable, put them aside.
3. Set your washing machine for a normal cycle. Use warm or hot water if the affected fabrics will tolerate this safely. Hot water helps remove odors by killing the bacteria that grows in the presence of kitty urine stains.
4. Add your regular laundry detergent in the recommended amounts. The brand is not particularly important, but use an effective product for the best results.
5. Include about one cup of enzymatic odor remover in the wash load. This step is important!. This product is specifically designed to remove animal urine smells; it is usually sold with laundry supplies or pet supplies.
6. After the cycle is complete, check the clothes for any residual odor. If there is any urine smell at all, repeat the washing process. Once the odors are gone, dry as usual.
7. If you have any urine-affected clothing items that can only be hand-washed, fill a sink or basin with warm to hot water and soak clothing in detergent and enzyme odor remover for up to an hour before washing and rinsing. Repeat as necessary until no odor remains.
8. For clothing that is not washable at all, consult a dry cleaning company for advice.

Tips for Getting Rid of Cat Pee Smells in Your Clothes

• Always wash urine-exposed clothing items separately from other dirty clothes. This avoids the chances of contaminating other clothes with urine odor, which could lead to wasted water and detergent if repeated cycles become necessary to remove odors.
• When large, delicate or expensive items are soiled by cat urine and machine-washing is not an option, consider taking an enzyme odor remover to your local dry cleaners and ask if they can use it while restoring the piece if their usual methods are not successful. Believe it or not, it’s something dry cleaners deal with on a regular basis. In fact, we helped our local dry cleaner come up with a solution that he now uses for all “cat pee” situations.
• In an emergency, white vinegar is a safe, effective and inexpensive replacement for enzyme cleaner. Add a cup to the water in the sink or washing machine and allow clothing to soak in it for at least 30 minutes before washing normally. The vinegar smell will dissipate when clothing is rinsed.
• To discourage a repeat performance, keep all clothing put away while it is clear that your cat is suffering from a behavior problem. Search for an underlying cause of inappropriate urination and treat the problem so your home can once again enjoy peace and a fresh atmosphere.

Walking into your bedroom after a long and harrowing day at work to be greeted by the unmistakable smell of cat urine is probably one of the most frustrating experiences you can imagine. It becomes worse when you discover that the smell is not coming from your curtains, your carpet or that throw pillow you never really liked. Instead, the smell emanates from the very place you hoped to lay your body to rest. The cat peed on your mattress. The sheets, comforter and even the pillows could be thrown into the washing machine for a quick fix, but getting cat urine odor out of a mattress is a little more complicated.

Don’t panic yet; there is a very effective remedy. Enzyme-based odor removal products are designed specifically for this type of problem, and they work well. Follow the steps outlined below to eliminate the smell of cat urine and restore your mattress to a clean and odor-free state sooner than you imagined possible.

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