Most of the cat lovers I know living with felines tell me they feel extremely blessed. After all, avid felinophiles delight in watching their cats play together. The creative games cats invent to tickle their fancy can entertain us for hours on end.
Of course there is nothing more rewarding than the soft, gentle touch of a kitty’s paw on our cheek that lets us know we are loved. And after we return from a hectic, stressful day, what could possibly be more relaxing and rewarding than the sound of a deep resonating purr made by a contented kitty?
This said there are those times when significant challenges present themselves which can test the patience of even the most die-hard kitty guardian. Top on my list of these unpleasant occurances are when one of my cats suddenly starts anointing our carpets with urine, our unmade bed, clean clothing and the basket of clean laundry. Trust me, I was very upset when Sir Hubble Pinkerton started lifting his tail and began spraying on the window sills, dresser drawers and around the bed which soon became soaked with cat pee.
In Sir Hubble’s case it turned out that a stray cat hanging out in our side yard was visibly taunting him while making a “guest appearance” at our bedroom window. Totally frustrated, this drove him up the wall. Fortunately, a few months following his disappearance, Sir Hubble felt more secure and his frustrating behavior slowly came to an end.
However, when a cat’s elimination behavior changes radically, the first thing to check out is whether the litter boxes are too dirty, or its location is inconvenient making their “toilet” unacceptable. Since cats are picky creatures by nature, if their litter box is filthy, can you blame them for going on strike out of protestation? Is there more than one box for every cat in the household? Do they like the litter that is being used?
Once the box is clean and all the other requirements are met, the next thing to consider is a urinary tract infection or bladder stones. These are serious conditions which need immediate attention, making a quick visit to the vet essential.
Once all problems are resolved, dealing with the unpleasant lingering odor of cat urine is next. Since the pungent and lingering scent of “Eau-de-Chat” pee can turn into repetitive unwanted behavior, it’s necessary to take quick action to eliminate the smell.
Commercial Products
There are several enzymatic products available to both help break down odors and remove stains. Two of my favorites are Nature’s Miracle and Simple Solution.
These products are available in most pet stores and the Internet. To help locate affected spots, I recommend purchasing a good ultra-violet light flashlight.
Homemade Cleaner
Using commercially made enzymatic products is more convenient, however for folks preferring a more “natural” method, there’s a popular home-remedy to help eradicate the stench of cat urine.
Important: Before proceeding, to ensure that the hydrogen peroxide component of the remedy won’t bleach out the color; test this mixture on an obscure area of your carpet.
Begin by using old rags or paper towels to soak up as much urine as possible. Combine 3 parts water with 1 part vinegar and saturate the spot with the mixture. Dry the spot thoroughly. Once it is dry sprinkle it with baking soda. Mix ¾ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with one tsp. dish detergent. Sprinkle the mixture over the baking soda.
Final step: With an old tooth brush or your fingers work in the baking soda. Vacuum the entire area once the area is completely dry. If a slight odor remains, repeat the entire process. For laundering “soiled” clothing, blanket and linens, add ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar to your laundry detergent.
What other methods work for you? Share them with a comment.
Jo
Photo credit: Flickr User alan_i_think
Amy!
I don’t know if this would help or not, but once Sir Hubble and Dr. Hush Puppy joined our family, for the first time I had two kitties that were very macho and had to stand up to pee. LOL. I put the litter boxes in tall cartons, so if they missed the box itself at least the urine wouldn’t end up on the wallpaper.
It was a mess- the carton was disgusting- So I put a big plastic bag-inverting it, over the carton- and under the litter pan. That was worse.
I found a litter box that finally solved the problem- the brand is CleverCat. It is available on Amazon. They are about 14 inches tall anda foot wide. There is an optional cover which has ridges- keeping most of the litter off the floor. Our boys LOVE it and they can stand up as much as they please but no more urine on anything! We have 4 of them. Two of them are at least 12 years old and are still pristine!
Hope this helps! How many boxes do you have right now?
Caroline..
I think my knowledge of cat pee stink removal was solely from baptism by fire!
But since it is such an issue, thought a blog giving suggestions from many cat people would really be a help!
But it is not my favorite topic by any means:) LOL
Now this is going to sound a little crazy. All my life I have had cats, most of them way back when were from the streets. I had males & females and even though they were neutered I had what I thought were problems with just the males. So after each of the males passed on I vowed to only have females thus eliminating what I thought was the problem. Boy was I wrong!!! My middle three sisters are bullies and I believe they are the ones causing the problems. I have tried Natures Miracle with very little results. My question is do you think if I bought super sized boot trays underneath the litter boxes that would help? I understand that the trays would have to be cleaned but I would rather do that instead of ruining more carpeting? I have 7 cats and 10 litter boxes around the entire house. My house is a single built like a double so there are littler boxes on 3 different floors.
His first bout of spraying was just after John died (Babz husband) and Popsy came to live here, He loved John and we can only think he resented Popsy being here when John wasn’t, because he never did get along with her. Since then, any change upsets him, he was very insecure as a tiny kitten when we rescued him from the awful place he lived, he just needs stability to be happy. He’s even sprayed on Babz and me once each lol to mark us as his.
We still laugh about Jozef, who one day seeing Walt spray when we’d moved a chair he likes to sit on and forgot to put it back, thought he’d have a go too. He must not have liked doing it because he’s never ever done it since, but he obviously wasn’t going to be to be left out lol
Elisa, do you know the reason why they only like that brand of dry cat food? It’s quite interesting to someone like me that a group of cats will only eat a certain brand of dry cat food. Perhaps it contains something which separates it out from the rest: although I doubt that.
I like the way you know exactly how to do your best to keep Walter de-stressed. Interesting that he doesn’t like furniture being moved. Even small changes in his environment upset him, it seems.