No matter how well-trained your cat is, you’re bound to run into the occasional accident. These incidents can be caused by any number of issues, and it’s best to consult your veterinarian if the incidents persist. Before you go pouring bleach all over your home, throwing furniture away and ripping up carpeting, take a look at these helpful tips for cat urine cleanup, courtesy of Animal Planet. You may just be surprised by how effective some of these quick and easy homemade cat urine cleaners can be.
Homemade Cat Urine Cleaner
Here are some different recipes for tried and true homemade cat urine cleaner, which have already proven effective for many cat owners.
- Water & Vinegar Solution
- 1 ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup vinegar
- Mix and pour over stain, allow to sit for 3-5 minutes
- The vinegar is good for killing bacteria
- Effective for new or old stains
- DO NOT use on marble or stone
If this hasn’t quite done the trick, don’t lose hope just yet. There’s still more that can be done!
- Baking Soda
- All-purpose baking soda
- Sprinkle generously over the soiled area
Here’s another good one that you can employ, if all else has failed to remedy a really nasty spot.
- Hydrogen Peroxide & Dish Detergent
- ¾ cup 3% hydrogen peroxide
- 1t dish detergent
- Mix and sprinkle over baking soda (test on small area first)
- Hydrogen peroxide can discolor some carpeting
- Work the solution deep into the spot
Now, leave all of your efforts there on the spot to dry for a few hours. Once everything has set, you’ll want to vacuum the baking soda and, if the stain is still there, repeat the entire process.
Which Ingredients Work Best & Which Ingredients To Avoid
As we mentioned, vinegar is a good ingredient for killing the bacteria that can lead to unpleasant odors. Similarly, baking soda can prove to be quite an effective deodorizing agent. Hydrogen Peroxide can also be very helpful in mitigating both the color and smell of a cat urine spot, but only the weakest concentration (3%) is advisable. Any stronger and the solution may discolor or damage your carpeting.
We’ve also made mention of this before, but every good piece of advice bears repeating. Do not use ammonia, or any solutions containing ammonia, on a cat urine stain. The combination of cat urine and ammonia will actually cause the odor of the urine to become more pronounced, which may, in turn, lead your cat to mark the area again. So, in cat urine clean up, steer clear of the ammonia, as it will only make matters worse.
Tips & Techniques For Removing Cat Urine
If a cat urine incident has just occurred, use either paper towel or a cloth towel to blot – not rub –the area dry. If the area has already begun to dry, pour some cold water over the spot and then blot it dry.
After you’ve made the area sufficiently dry, begin with the water and vinegar solution. If that’s not proving strong enough, proceed with the baking soda, and, if that still isn’t cutting it, move on with the hydrogen peroxide and dish detergent solution as prescribed above.
After allowing the solution(s) to set, give it a few hours time to dry up, then clean up the residual ingredients. If you’re still seeing discoloration or smelling foul odor, try repeating the process from the beginning. If you’re still not experiencing success, you may want to resort to a commercial enzyme cleaning product, which can be found at most major pet stores. According to Cat Centric, an enzyme cleaner can be a very effective means of breaking down the rather stubborn chemical structure of the cat urine, which will help remedy any unpleasant odor.
Hopefully this will prove helpful in all of your cat urine cleaning endeavors. It may seem like a disagreeable task, but it will surely beat living with an unsightly and malodorous patch of urine soaked carpet.
