Cat Urine On The Carpet? Oh, No …
Getting cat urine on your carpet is by no means one of the joys of pet ownership. It can be really disturbing and frustrating and it is easy to get angry at kitty …
Cat urine is one of the more challenging odors to remove especially when not using proper cleaning products. When cat urine is allowed to dry in a carpet, amino acids in the urine actually bonds with the fibers of the rug.
Not only do amino acids bind with the carpet, so do salts. Salts cause a bond with an ionic charge that is increasingly difficult to dissolve the longer the urine has been on the carpet. Steam cleaning, or home made cleaners will not dissolve these strong bonds, actually steam cleaning the carpet may make the problem worse.
Some cleaners available do nothing more than mask the smell. Other cleaners use chemical agents that attempt to absorb the smell.
This may help for the moment, but does not completely remove the urine, making the smell return eventually. With some ocean left on the carpet, your cat will be more likely to urinate on the same spot again.
The first action to take when discovering a wet spot:
1. Mop up as much of the urine as you possibly can. Use absorbent paper towels or old towels. Lay them on the spot and blot until there is no trace of wetness. Recognize that you may only see a small part of the spot as the urine soaks into the padding under the carpet. Be careful adding water to the spot. You do not want the spot to spread out into the padding underneath.
2. Use an enzymatic cleaner that you can inject into the padding underneath the carpet. Inject the cleaner in order to cover a spot 1/2 a foot in diameter, then spray the surface of the spot with the cleaner.
3. When using a proper cleaner, that is all you need to do. No rinsing needed. Keep your cat away from the area until it is completely dry which can take a few days.
Even though it can be easy to let the frustrations out on the cat, remember that cats do not eliminate outside the box without some, for them, good reason.
When a cat eliminates outside the litter box it is a sign that something is amiss. Frequently a medical issue such as a urinary tract infection is the cause which would need medical attention. The cause needs to be discovered and corrected to ensure future success.
Finding and eliminating the cause of the behavior while cleaning the urine with the proper cleaner will insure that you will have a sweet smelling home, and a cat that goes in the box.
by Virginia Sutherland