Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

What's the best way? Or what's the best thing to make our living room smell good again? We rent from my father. When we moved in here the place had a smell because the previous tenant lived here 7 years and had 2 dogs and a cat that were in the house all the time and she also smoked. The carpet really needed replacing then and that was 2 years ago. My father wants to replace it but doesn't have the fiances now. I believe the previous tenants cat peed on the carpet and then ours started, too also. Over the past two years we've caught the cats going numerous times. We've tried lots of stuff and I was wondering if anyone here had experiences with this and what you did.

~Leslie~

There is something called Nature's Miracle that really takes out smells. You will need a lot of it, but it works.

Fireraven9
"Don't go to a doctor whose office plants have died." - Erma Bombeck

Where can I find Nature's Miracle at? I've read posts before at the Pet forum mentioning that and also something else but haven't been able to find them in the stores in my area. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough?

~Leslie~

You should be able to get Nature's Miracle at any pet store. I use it as my dog loves to go in the dining room. It doesn't really seem to stop her from doing it but at least it helps to remove the stain and odor. Have you tried shampooing the carpet? This should help with the worst of the odors until new carpet can be installed. If you still have a problem with carpet odors try sprinkling Arm & Hammer Pet Fresh before every time you vacuum. This is great also for getting rid of those carpet odors....

I am a LL and have been fighting this fight for 16 years. None of the enzyme products works for any length of time on cat urine. Even the professionals - when they are being honest will admit that the most that they can do is make it smell better temporarily, but it will return. Usually the urine has soaked through the carpet, pad and subfloor. When we have this problem with a tenant - we have no choice but to replace the carpet, pad, sand the subfloor, bleach it and seal it. That also includes moldings in the areas where the transgressions occurred. We have tried just about every product out there - including the one mentioned above - with no success. Dog urine is another story and is more easily mitigated - but cats - watch out!!

I agree with Rosie. We had a less severe problem than you describe. Unforturnately, you are wasting your time and money trying to get it out. We removed the carpet and had the hardwood floors sanded and refinished. Of course we had to replace several stained boards. But no more problems, the cats have been "good" so far with the area rugs! Good luck, Steve

As I said in a previous post, try a product called "ODO-BAN". This stuff is just great for removing odors of all kinds. It is really good and it is cheap..Buy it at Sam`s for about six bucks a gallon.

Once the odor is that deep into the carpeting, it is there permanently. You can dump what ever you want on it, it's not going away. The reason is that when the animal urine is fresh, there's no odor, believe it or not. Many times the homeowner doesn't even know that the animal has picked out an area and is staining it, until he discovers a wet spot. However, over time the moisture evaporates and leaves the urea which crystalizes within the carpet fiber, and bacteria start to grow. That's when the stink starts. People apply these products on a fresh stain and think it has removed it. The fact is, if you have a stinky stain several weeks old and apply these things, they will fail like everything else. In northern winter the odor isn't so bad because of less humidity, but on a hot, humid summer day the odor comes back with a vengence.
The carpet should be ripped out. It is never going to be free of odor, and it's just not a healthy situation for people to live in.

Urine is organic and requires an enzyme digester cleaner like the pet mess cleaners from the pet store or Nature's Miracle or Odor Ban from Sam's Club. The cleaners must be given time to digest the stain and odor. The challenge with carpeting is the padding beneath. While carpet can be cleaned and deodorized, the padding and subfloor beneath have been contaminated. Attempts to allow enzyme cleaners to settle into padding and subfloor tend to result in overwetting and mold/mildew problems if the affected areas remain wet for 24-48 hours. There are many forum posts that report ripping out carpet and pad and sealing the subfloor with at least two coats of sealer before reinstalling new floor covering.

I recently moved into a rental with 25 year old carpet and previous renters had pets. I had the carpet cleaned, disinfected, and deodorized. Every day when I return from work, I mist the carpet with Odor Ban. Either I am getting adjusted to the odor or the Odor Ban may be helping, but the odor does not seem as bad. I am however considering purchasing an ozone machine to purify the air. The manufacturer's of ozone machines claim that the ozone will reach areas that we can not clean. Because this is a rental and because I can not afford to replace the carpet, I must live with it.

Well after much complaining and all from both my fiance' and I, we've decided that since he's getting a good pay check from OT this week....we're getting new carpet! He originally wanted to rip up all the subfloor and redo it but once he realized the cost in all the wood...he was a little cranky. I then suggested putting a sealer on the subfloor to seal the cat urine and whatever smell in and he thought that wouldn't work. But I swore that others on these forums have done so and it did the trick so he's happy with the idea. We're going to rip up the carpet and padding and seal and then get new padding and carpet. He's already said that he does not care if we have to live with plywood floors for a week or two until we get the carpet down, he's just so tired of it. The carpet desperatly needed taken out when we moved in here 2 years ago and after many many promises from my father, our landlord, that we're getting new soon, we've decided to take matters in our own hands. The good thing, also, is that a friend of ours works with his family laying carpet professionally and already volunteered to help when we discussed it years ago. So I guess my father will not be seeing the rent check because we're going to start doing the repairs that he's too overwhelmed to do himself.

~Leslie~

Twelvepole,
I have 2 cats that have a BAD habit of missing the catbox!!!
Everytime my daughter-in-law came over she could smell it and would always comment on the smell no matter what I did to rid the house of the odor. 3 weeks ago I purchased an Ozone machine. MY HOUSE SMELLS WONDERFUL!!!!! She came over this past weekend and the first thing out of her mouth was YOUR HOUSE SMELLS SOOOO CLEAN!!! Did you get rid of the cats? The only thing different was the ozone machine, the cats are still missing the catbox but the house smells wonderful. If anyone is interested in getting one...just email me & I will give you the info. I don't know if I can post the info here. Oh yeah...it only costs $349.00 much cheaper than carpeting!!!!
Hope this info helps someone out there
Cherie

Folks, I repeat: one of the major components causing foul odors is the growth of bacteria in the carpeting/padding, along with the urea chrystallization itself. This is not healthy to live with. Want to live in a catbox? Walk through kitty's catbox in your bare feet, or your let your kids play in the catbox? I don't think so. Perfumes, deodorizers, enzymes, and ozone misters are maskers and only cover the problem. They are not making your home sanitary. The only way to truly deodorize a foul odor IS TO REMOVE THE SOURCE. If you don't believe me, don't use them for 2 days and your nose will wrinkle, especially on hot, humid summer days.
nadastimer, you are right - subfloor odors can be sealed with two coats of oil modified polyurethane. Check your baseboards, also; male cats have a habit of spraying them to mark territory. In this case, repaint or revarnish.

Nothing absolutely works at removing cat urine smell from carpeting...I've tried every product known to man , spent a ton of money, and although some did get most of the strong smell out, none got all the smell out. Your best bet would be to remove the carpeting/padding and replace with new, making sure the urine didn't soak the sub-flooring. If it did, then you have a major problem. If the cat urinates all over the house, then find out why he/she is doing it by taking it to ta vet, and if nothing comes back wrong, give the cat away. No sense living in a house with a cat that urinates everywhere.

We do plan to remove the carpet and fixing the problem. There is nothing wrong with my cats and I am not getting rid of them. These cats only started peeing to mark their territory because the cats we had before did and they did it because the woman who rented the trailer for 7 years prior to us moving in had cats and dogs in here, too. The place smelled when we moved in of musty smoke and dogs and cat urine. My father swore we would be replacing the carpeting but other things always come up and it hasn't happened. This is why we're taking care of it ourselves.

Ranchhand,
Can you just cover the areas where the cats went? Like if there are maybe two spots on the floor, wouldn't it be smarter to cover those and a little more area with a few coats of sealer than to use how many cans of sealer painting the entire floor? We thought that we may just do that once the floor is up and we see what we have to deal with.

Actually, polyurethane floor finish goes down very easily, and coverage on the average should be at least 400 sq. ft. /gal. The first coat may sink in a little more so the coverage may be slightly less. Yes, you could hit only the spots the animals hit, but my thought is that as long as you have moved everything, made time in your schedule, etc. you are not really saving anything. It's really not a big job; you aren't sanding, preparing like a finished floor or anything, so it won't take much time at all. And the combination of uniformity, a "new" smell everywhere, and new floor covering will (hopefully) persuade your pets that there is no need to stake out territory anymore. At least, we can hope.

IF you have the time, when the carpeting is removed, take raw bleach and wet the stain spots first. Have to let it dry couple of days, though. Then apply your two coats.

I hope things work out for you!

My cat had a little "issue" with the corner of the living room last year. I tried Odo Ban, Nature's Miractle, and Oxiclean but none worked. Out of desparation, I dumped a 5 lb box of baking soda on the spot and let it sit for about 2 months (no joking, I just left the baking soda there for that long). Then I had the carpet cleaned by Masterclean (they do a great job). Even with record heat in Ohio this summer, we haven't had any smell. If you truely can't afford to get new carpet, try massive amounts of baking soda left on for a really long time.

Ranchand, I will grant you that it's not the most sanitary solution, but DH has been out of work for 7 months, so for us right now it's truely impossible to rip everything out and get new.

Yeah, I know... it's easy for me to give advice on a forum, but there are a lot of circumstances out there, and I know a lot of people are out of work through no fault of their own. Sorry - I didn't mean to offend anyone.

I'm trying that baking soda idea...we'll see if that works. I've begun to get estimates for total carpet/pad replacement in case it fails like all the others...

My daughter and her husband are looking at buying a townhouse where a cat peed on the basement carpet. They will ask for a carpet allowance to replace the damaged carpet. What should they do for the concrete? I would think that the spot should be washed and sealed before putting down new carpet. Any ideas?

I have tried everything..... literally. I found that the best solution (and the most cost effective @ .79/qt) is to soak the area with hydrogen peroxide. Test for colorfast first although I have never have it take the color out of anything and I used it on carpeting and upholstery without any problem.

I have a cat that is the love of my 2 children's life but is ruinning mine. He was a perfect cat for the first 6 months and then I had him fixed and declawed (don't think I will do that again). It is custom to leave newspaper in the litter for 5 days but I left it in for 6 days so his paws would not get infected, like one of our cats in the past. That 1 extra day has changed my life the way I know it.
He uses the litter but also will pee on my children's clothes when they are on the floor. There is also a possibility he is peeing directly on the floor but it's hard to tell even with a black light.
There is not a room in the house he has not touched. I have had mild asthma in the past but now it's a big issue. I've tried to give the cat to close friends but who would take him, I'm not one to lie. Getting rid of the cat-not an option at this point. He is a great cat in all other ways.
Does anyone know what primer is the most effective on subflooring? I am thinking about putting a pergo type of fooring down. Does anyone have advice on how to sand the subflooring? HELP!!! Just don't know what to do?
ssbolts

Wow! Another old thread resurrected. ssbolts2: Have you had your cat tested for a urinary tract infection? It is very possible that that is at the root of the problem. I wouldn't suspecct that one more day of newspaper would make the difference.

Very often a cat with a UTI urinates inappropriately. If that's the problem, getting that cleared up could be the answer. It's worth a try!

suzieque-thank you.

When this first started I took him in to the Vets and no UTI. About 9mo ago I was really fed up so I brought him in again. He did have a UTI. He was put on antibiotics. Our Vet was not optimistic saying at this point it was probably a behavior problem.
The problem persisted. I was wondering how he could change when the entire house had been "blessed by him" for lack of a better word. I'm just beside myself........

This morning I woke up and my asthma was so bad. I had to do something. I decided this would be the day I would start him on Buspirone, 5mg the Vet gave me 9mo. ago. I feel so quilty!!!
I have made a little haven in my room for him - of all places - which is really the best place because I don't want him to have the run of the house but I don't want to lock him in the bathroom either. Last time I tried that he started to get a bit blump.

I seem to be having the same issue that a lot of you have had. I have a cat that had a UTI and had surgery to have the stones removed that the UTI caused. Before the surgery she was urnating in several spots in my apartment. I thought she had stopped after the surgery but as my nose quickly realized that is not the case. I live in a 2 story town home and when you walk in the door that is all you can smell. Ripping up the carpet is not an option for a renter such as myself, I have read your attmepts and I was just wondering if there is an expert out there or if some one could point me as to which option to use first???? I dont want to have to put her down but my asthma and sense of smell cannot handle that.

lexusandmercedes-
Please don't put her down. My asthma is extremly bad but there is a hugh possiblity that both cats just don't like our life styles. We might just be the wrong match.

This happens. My closest girlfriend had a friend that worked at a vet. She knew my friend was looking for a cat. A man had come to the vets and asked that his cat be put down. The man had 3 other cats and this one was not using the litter box.

When my girlfriend and her husband got to the vet their friend lead them to a room. On the metal table was a beautful black cat. My girlfriend's husband took one look and said we'll take her. They took a chance on this cat who was ready to be put down. The cat has been with them for 14 years and not once has missed the litter box. She is the most wonderful cat.

So it would be awful for your cat to be denied a chance like this cat got. My big problem is my little girl who is in love with ours.

There are lots of rescue groups out there. I would put the emphasis on your asthma more than I would the peeing.

I'm having a hard time finding where my cat has urinated . I have narrowed it down to one room. I've tried using a black light but it doesn't work.

I'm not here often but my friend is all the time. She referred me to this page. I sympathize/empathize with you all. My cat started spraying just after I got my computer; was jealous. I had him checked by the vet, had professional carpet cleaners, tried every product mentioned here (except the baking soda, that's next). The cleaners lifted the carpet up in the most offending area and sprayed the floor with Kilz. Unfortunately they didn't do a rrally thorough job of it. I have one portion of the dry wall that needs replacing because it wicked up. I even tried surgery which was to cut the muscles so he couldn't turn it up but that didn't last either. Finally after about 10 years of this I finally had him put down. He was really destroying things. You can only replace so much but when it comes to the walls too, I just couldn't handle it any more. Nature's Miracle didn't work. Enzymes didn't work. One of the products said to really soak the carpet and leave it there for a long period of time and cover it with paper towels and re-wet them as needed. That was when i called the carpet cleaners as it started to mold after following the directions. I had a TV installed a few months ago and they were scheduled to come back with some corrected parts for the TV stand and refused to come back because that was a very offending corner.This was very hurtful and embarrassing. They wouldn't even do it when I promised to cover the area with plastic.You can only do so much.DO REPLACE THE CARPET AND THE PAD and seal the floor and whatever else needs sealing.

I did not read all of the posts but I have had experience here and found the best and only solution.

Rip out the carpet and pad. If the subfloor is plywood, rip it out too as it is impregnated with the urine too. If concrete, clean with some heavy cleaners and dust with baking soda and let sit for a few days. B/T the baking soda and the lime in the concrete itself, the smell should go away.

I have used about every ordor eliminator product out there and the results range from useless to a cover up smell that turns the urine smell from just urine to a sickeningly sweet urine smell (it was horrible).

SORRY I couldn't be of more help and good luck!

I have read with great interest as I have 8 cats. 4 never go outside 2 are indoor/outdoor and 2 never come inside. If the urine is a problem that your cat did not start then the best solution is replacing the carpet and pad just make sure to bleach the subfloor. This does not have to be full strenght but 2 parts water to one part bleech. If your cat started the behavior then either the cat is angery, or in pain ( cats will purr when in pain). If this is the case behavior modification is needed also. I tried the various medications but found they did not work, like people each cat is different. Try a second litter box. I found that my 4 indoor cats always seem to be in same room I am and a second litter box stopped the problem before it started. My two outside cats, one never liked anyone but me and was happiest outdoors the second one is a male that was the original offener. He is never allowed in the house, but I set up the garage for the two complete with a tent like structure, heater when it is cold, litter box etc. I live where the coyotes roam, so these two are only let out of the garage when I am home. I have trained them to come in at a set time (feeding time, before dark about ).This has allowed me to keep the cats and keep them safe. Make sure the litter boxes are cleaned daily of the solid waste, cats hate dirty litter boxes and will not use them. I empty litter and all about once a week and clean the box ( not with bleach as bleach smells like urine to a cat.)It will take patience to train, but well worth the effort. I now have a clean , fresh smelling home and devote littel time to upkeep.

Like many others there, I have had a problem with my cat urinating on the carpet. I have had my cat for 12 or 13 years with no problem. All of a sudden, he decided to start urinating in certain areas of the house. I took him to the vet several times finally finding out that his kidneys were starting to fail. We tried medication and moving the litter box to those areas he liked to go, with no avail. The last straw was when he urinated on our bed. I could tell that he couldn't help it. Unfortunately, putting him down was the only option. By this time, all of our carpet was ruined.

I have tried many of those urine removal products too but none of them work. Last night, I pulled up most of the carpet and can tell you with strong certainty that once a cat urinates on a carpet, it will always be there. There is no magic solution to the problem. The only thing that can be done is replace all of the affected carpet, padding, and seal your floors. I was lucky in the respect that we live in a slab house (no basement) and all of the areas were on concrete flooring. This makes it easy to seal as no sanding is needed. The carpet people are due tomorrow morning and I hope this will mark the end of the cat pee saga. There is only one thing I�m uncertain about. Two of the baseboards seem to have absorbed some of the cat urine. I will try to clean and reseal these also but I have a feeling they will likely need replaced�just like everything else up to this point.

The best way to get the smell out of the carpet is using the carpet cleaning machines that you can find in www.carpetcleaningla.com.

Here is a link that might be useful: carpet cleaning

I have one even better than just cat urine....I brought all my plants in for the winter and my innocent little one kindly dumped 4 of them while I was out of town for the weekend and decided THAT was her new litter box. She went in 4 different places which made mud out of the potting soil. When I tried to clean it up, it spread the mud around the carpet. Therefore I borrowed a carpet cleaner from a friend and that got the stain up, but now I have to wait for the carpet to dry to get the smell out....and from reading your forum, this isn't likely to happen.

I am a single mother waiting tables at a local restaraunt and definitely cannot afford new carpet! There isn't ANYTHING out there that can take the smell out other than that??

You may be OK, Kista. The smell is unfixable when it gets past the carpet into the pad (and subfloor). But yours was in dirt first, so less of it may have soaked through. Also, yours is fresh and you know exactly where it is. You might be able to get it all with the carpet cleaner.

It may turn out awful, but maybe not!

If the spots are near the edge, you may be able to pull up the carpet and clean it, the pad, and the floor from the back side, and then scrunch it back into place when dried.

I've had numerous cats in my home for years. There are several tips to keep them on target with their potty habits. First, keep their potty pan clean, empty it daily and put in fresh liter.
2. Male and female cats spray-spraying and potting are 2 different things-- even after nuturing and spaying.
3. Some cats, male and female, will always spray--not potty and may need to find a new home or stay outside.
4. WHITE VINEGAR is a great deterent, watch your cat or other cats and they will find the spot that is "marked"--this is the spot where they make the mess.
5. When you find the spot they are marking wipe it off with a combination of white vingar and water, set out a bowl of vinegar near the spot. Protect the spot so they can't keep using it.
6. Try the vinegar, straight or diluted, on your carpet, if it needs replacing the vinger will not harm it any more than it already is. Scrub and clean the carpet and cover it with towels to absorb moisture, may take several times but will be less expensive than replacing the carpet. Don't let the cat near the spot!
7. I've had cats potty in the bath tub and the white vinegar stops it.

a cat lover

Gotta chime in here... before my wife and i were married she had 2 cats - before she moved in... both males...one young one old. after moving in the young cat was a terror. it was newly fixed and still spraying.... it pooped where it wanted, peed where it wanted. i threw away a lot of my stuff that was peed on.

luckily it was confined to downstairs, and only once on carpet...a lot was on concrete in the basement which we got out with straight bleach.

it also loved to pee in the drains...gross.

the cat is now gone to a new home...i think having 2 males wasnt good... thank god its gone...i was ripping my hair out.

i am a dog person. i love my stupid sloth of a dog....he farts, snorts, slobbers, and is a big dumb moose...

but - and this may offend some people but i am sorry - my dog doesnt pee and poop in a box, drag his feet through it, then run and jump on our bed!

i am so sick of picking cat litter out of the bed....it is everywhere - frikkin gross!!! there are pebbles of cat litter everywhere!!

there has to be something to elimnate that nastyness...

I think I may have found the holy grail!! My cat whom I now call piddle for obvious reason pees everywhere. He peed on our brand new chaise lounge in our bedroom, if he only understood all the stuff that I was yelling at him about, lol.

Anyway, so I went to our local FEED store to buy some stuff and found this product, it's called UNIQUE pet odor remover. I followed the direction but the odor was still there, so I tripled the concentrated amount and the smell was gone! I poured the mix directly on the sofa and let it dry on its own.

Try it and let me know if it works for you guys as well. It also works great on our carpet. I also use this product when I'm steam cleaning the carpet, smells nice!

Msjam

Here is a link that might be useful: Unique

I recently had success with this, & hiring someone to clean the carpet will not work. To get the odor out you need to spend a long time, which a "professional carpet cleaner" is definitely not going to do. It took me 4 hours to clean a 4 ft square area. I cleaned the carpet with a strong concentrated commercial bathroom cleaner, & then used a commercial carpet cleaner. The brand I used was Ajax, which I believe has gone out of business. Then I used a commercial ozone generator. The cleaning cut the odor & the ozone generator makes it livable. I do not believe in using an ozone generator to clean a dirty place - within the next month, the carpet will be replaced. You have to remove the source. Otherwise, it keeps coming back. I turn the ozone generator off & a slight smell comes back. Carpet deodorizers help, but do not solve the problem. Also, ozone generators if not used properly can have adverse effects. I agree with the people above that you have to get rid of the carpet, & do something if not isolate the pet. That stuff gets in your lungs.
I am helping an 80 year old lady get rid of a bad carpet smell today from her dog. She is sick & wheezing, & I will insist on dong this only until she gets the carpet replaced. I dread it, because the smell makes me sick to even go in the room. I may try the chlorine mix today, even though the carpet is dark, since it is destroyed anyway. Baking soda is also very practical & cheap. I can already tell without the ozone generator, the smell will continue. I would not recommend using one unless she replaces the carpet first.
I also found she has some gerbera daisies which absorb ammonia. I will try putting some in her room although they may be overwhelmed by it. The spider plant also absorbs formaldehyde, which carpet can put out. These are not "cures" for a dirty place, but air cleaning plants can help.
I do not believe you need all these expensive pet cleaners. Save the money for a new carpet/ proper repair &/or some way to isolate or treat the pet.

Post a Follow-Up

Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum.

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...IMPOSSIBLE!

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

RE: Getting cat urine smell out of carpet...

Post a Follow-Up