cat's pee!

My cat managed to do an escape act and upon her return she sprayed the front door mat really liberally (and of course topped it up every few days). I tried everything and ended up using one of the biological enzyme sprays (from the pet shop - can't remember the brand name) and it works a treat. You have to do this repeatedly as cats will respray an area if they think it needs it for some reason, but persistance pays off in the end! Be very vigilant for re-spraying behaviour and if possible, keep the cat away from the area being treated for a few days afterwards (obviously not very easy in some areas) as this will allow the smell to dissipate as the enzymes get to work.

alexuk wrote:

I believe non-bio washing powder works, a vet told me

yup thats the one, my freind works at the cpl and swears by it

sarahlouise210 wrote:

The vet told me it must be BIOLOGICAL ... think about it ... it is the enzymes that eat away at the bacteria..it is the bacteria that stinks. I find biological washing liquid easier to scrub with and nicer smelling!

i knew it was an 'ogical

thanks for this tip - one of our moggies has a habit of marking his territory around the house if something upsets him!

Our vet recommended scrubbing the spot with biological washing powder (has to be biological) as this removes the smell to the extent that not even the cat can detect it and hopefully won't mark that spot again.

Cat's pee, you say? I know all about new flats and cat's pee, unfortunately.

First thing to do is to locate the source of the smell and there's only one way to do it. Get on your hands and knees and start sniffing the floor, walls, doors, cupboards and carpet. Keep your fingers crossed that it's the carpet or a wall because there is something you can about those. It's going to be impossible to remedy if the urine has soaked into the floorboards or into upholstery.
If it's coming from the chimney, then you might have some dead animal stuck up there and decaying. A chimney sweep would have to investigate.

Once you've located the source of the smell, here's what you do.

1. Carpets: Stage One.
Pull 'em up and look at the size of the stain. Cut out the stained area on the underlay beneath the carpet. Throw it out. Replace with a patch (or old newsapaper). Scrub the floorboards with BIOLOGICAL soap powder. Make it into a paste and smear it on. Leave it overnight. Wash off. Leave to dry and sniff it. Still smells? Give it another wash with Persil, Daz or whatever.
2. The carpet: Stage Two
Go to a Pet Shop and buy two huge bottles of 'Simple Solution Stain and Odour Remover'. It removes stains and smells from Urine, Vomit, faeces, hairballs and guarantees your money back if it doesn't work. Follow the directions and completely saturate the offending area with the solution. Cover with plastic bags so that it doesn't evaporate before it gets to work. Leave for 24 hours and vacuum off. Sniff it and repeat, if necessary.
If that doesn't work - get your money back and get the landlord/lady to replace the carpet.
3. Walls and hard surfaces:
Use biological washing powder and a stiff scrubbing brush. Leave it to soak in, then rinse off. When dry, saturate the area with Simple Solution and allow to dry again.
4. Upholstery
Again, biological washing powder and Simple Solution - but it's tricky if the cat has sprayed all over the back of a sofa and into the gubbins.

In my own case, the previous tenant's cat had chosen two points to pee and a stray tom cat had got into the kitchen and sprayed the walls, ceramic tiled floor and cupboards. The kitchen was hard work but easy to solve. One corner of the hall was saved by Simple Solution. The other corner was too far gone. I cut away the carpet and underlay and burnt them, and put a rug over the spot.

Hope that helps.

KP