What’s worse than a cat who just urinated out of his litter box and onto the living room floor? It’s probably the cat urinating on the living room carpet. Given just how hard it is to remove the cat urine smell from pretty much anywhere else, the lovely absorbency of carpet makes the situation quite hopeless. However, this type of urine isn’t any different from types excreted by other animals — it’s just when bacteria settles on it that the chemical reactions create the horrid cat urine smell that all cat owners dread.
The first thing you should immediately do when your kitty relieves herself where she’s not supposed to is to clean it up. The keyword here is “immediately.” The success rate of you getting the cat urine smell out completely is related to other factors, such as a) the length of time the urine has been left to soak on your furniture, carpet, or floor and b) the attachment that your cat has developed for that particular spot. The second factor is due to the cat’s tendency to relieve herself wherever she’s peed or defecated on before.
After you’ve identified the spot in question, you should understand that soap and water is not enough to get rid of the cat urine smell. There are some home remedies that are easily made and very effective in doing the job. Vinegar is one of the most common cleansing agents because it can handle stain removal and deodorizes just as well. After removing the urine with paper towels, the spot can be sprayed with a mixture of one part vinegar and two parts water. Use paper towels to rub off the solution.
For carpets, the most effective way is to buy a cat urine cleaner, which should be available in most pet stores. These cleaners specialize in removing cat urine smell and stains. They contain bacteria and enzymes, which break down the components of the urine. After using the cat urine cleaner, use a carpet cleaner for safe measure. These can also be used for upholstery and bed mattresses, which can be troublesome to clean.
Cat owners should know that there’s already a problem if their cats prefer not to use their litter boxes. It’s possible that your cat may be suffering from an illness, such as urinary tract infection which makes peeing painful. You cat associates the pain with his litter box and therefore avoids using it. Cats also like their litter boxes clean. Proper maintenance includes scooping out fecal matter at least once a day. Empty it out once a week and replace its contents with fresh kitty litter. If we do our part in keeping a cat healthy and happy, then cat urine smell shouldn’t be too much of a problem in the future.