A step-by-step fight against the smell of cat urine - for sure!

Removal Tools

There are many ways to remove unwanted odor yourself.

Household chemicals

The most popular industrial products:

Important! With all products, it is recommended to first check the surface being treated for color fastness.

Traditional methods

If you need to remove the smell of urine urgently, there are a number of available folk remedies that are found in almost every apartment.

Potassium permanganate

A strong solution of potassium permanganate in warm water will help quickly remove stains from the floor and remove odors. It is important to dilute the substance completely, as the crystals will leave a trace.

Vinegar

The best solution for removing marks from fabric structures. A solution in a ratio of one to three parts water is poured into a container with a spray bottle, the surface is sprayed, then wiped with a rag.

Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide

Pour a spoonful of soda onto the marked area, which is then filled with peroxide. After two to three hours the mixture is removed.

Iodine

Not suitable for light surfaces, leaves stains. Twenty drops are enough for one liter of water.

The liquid is applied to the surface and washed off after a few hours. Cats don't like the smell of iodine, so this place will probably not be attacked again.

Lemon acid

In addition to iodine, pets also cannot tolerate the smell of citrus fruits. A circle of lemon is infused for half an hour in a glass of water, which is then soaked in a rag. She lies on the stain overnight, after which the floor is wiped with another clean rag.

Vodka

Fifty grams will do an excellent job of removing any dirt, but the smell of alcohol will have to be removed additionally.

Table of products for different surfaces

Not every material can survive the reaction of urea with a cleaning agent without damage, so you should choose it based on the following table:

First steps after cat urine gets on clothes

Uric acid, which gives cat feces a strong odor, dissolves well in alkali, alcohol, and acid.

After cat urine gets on the fabric, you should not wash the item immediately. First, the caustic substance should be blotted with a paper napkin or soft cloth, then the problem area should be soaked with alkaline or alcohol compounds.

A foul-smelling stain on clothing is treated with the following readily available means:

• vinegar;
• glycerol;
• soda;
• lemon juice;
• alcohol (vodka).

They dissolve urea and prevent the smell from becoming embedded in the fabric. After treatment, you can remove the smell by washing the item with powder or gel.

Smell in shoes

Wet shoes are a particularly unpleasant event. The main thing is to react quickly and remove the pollution and smell, otherwise the animal will try to repeat its disgusting act.

Effective cleansing methods:

• For sneakers and fabric shoes: rinse with running water, add potassium permanganate, and wash in a machine after half an hour. It is advisable for shoes to dry on the balcony or street.
• For leather shoes: wash, rub with laundry soap, wait until dry, then treat with glycerin.
• Universal method: rinse, treat with a weak solution of vinegar and air dry. Remove the insoles and soak for a couple of hours.

We also recommend reading the article about means for weaning cats from shitting, where you will find the advantages of using them and a rating of the best.

Choose a filler

Some owners are greedy for good litter for the tray. They use newspapers, sand, toilet paper and the like. Then they complain about the unpleasant smell. Not surprising. Try doing delicate things yourself in a similar pot. You won't feel this way yet.

Remember, proper maintenance of a pet always involves certain material costs. Including a good filler. Just don't argue now! Good is not at all a synonym for the word expensive. A budget filler may well turn out to be of decent quality. Moreover, today the veterinary industry offers several types to suit every taste and budget:

• wood (cheapest)
• mineral (higher price category)
• silica gel (most expensive)

The operating principle of all fillers is the same - absorb liquid and odor. But the work scheme is different. Wood gel swells, mineral gel sticks together, silica gel clumps. But that's not the point. The most important thing is that even the cheapest litter gets rid of the smell of cat litter many times better than newspaper or sand. By the way, they start to stink almost immediately.

But that's not all. It is recommended not to wait until your pet’s litter box starts to “smell”. It is advisable to remove already swollen lumps, replacing them with fresh filler. So you definitely won’t feel the scent of the cat’s delicate affairs for a long time.

Mr. Cat Warns: Common Misconceptions

The most popular mistake is punishment without investigating the reasons for the offense. There can be many of them:

• diseases of the genitourinary system;
• tail injuries;
• psychological problems (jealousy, disorders);
• age characteristics;
• problems with the tray or filler.

Physical education methods will not help. For example, it is widely believed that a pet should be rudely “poked with its face” into its own puddle. There will be no benefit from such events; on the contrary, the cat will harbor anger and continue to do its business wherever it pleases.

The next misconception is that the stain can be removed later, later, tomorrow, after work, and so on. The smell of urine is extremely pungent, the liquid itself is quickly absorbed, so every minute counts. The faster the stain is destroyed, the more likely it is that cat crime will stop.

This leads to the third mistake: the main thing is to destroy the smell; any means are good in the fight. Not all fresheners and fragrances will be a long-term solution to the problem, since they only mask the smell for humans. Effective ones include coffee, various oils and deodorants, incense sticks, and so on. But they cannot deceive the cat’s sense of smell.

The other extreme is chlorine-based cleaners. This element, reacting with urea, does not eliminate, but enhances the unpleasant odor.

Tray selection

Regular removal of excrement from the cat litter box, timely change of litter and periodic general cleaning will ensure the absence of unwanted odor in the house. But what if the owner does not have the opportunity to clean the toilet with the required frequency? In this case, you should take a closer look at special trays that do not allow the smell to spread.

Closed

Such a toilet not only keeps all the aromas inside, but also minimizes the scattering of the filler when buried. It is also perfect for those pets who do not like to relieve themselves in front of everyone. Manufacturers offer a wide selection of models with or without a door, corner and straight toilets.

Dry toilet

This is a fairly large product, equipped with a carbon filter and a fan. It eliminates unpleasant odors well, but requires regular filter changes.

You can learn about the intricacies of choosing a cat litter box from the video:

With automatic cleaning

These types of trays are high-tech devices that are capable of sifting, collecting and removing contaminated filler, using sewerage and water supply. The price of such toilets is quite high, but the owners do not have to waste time on cleaning and endure unpleasant odors.

As practice shows, owners who keep their cat litter clean do not encounter such a problem as an unpleasant odor. We hope that our tips will help simplify the process of cleaning up after your pet.

Prevention

Cat urine, like any other urine, contains breakdown products of proteins processed by the body, for example, urea, sodium, various acids and salts. These substances are desirable food for bacteria, which worsen odors and cause the spread of diseases and infections.

We recommend reading the article why the cat stopped going to the litter box.

Dependence on cause

It is necessary to understand what caused this behavior.

Dirty tray

The cat wants to show that the toilet is too small for her or that it is too dirty and smells.

New person or thing

An unusual smell can provoke aggression, which the cat expresses in this way. There is only one way to stop a cat's dissatisfaction - remove the annoying object.

Depression, illness or old age

If the animal is an adult and such a “mistake” has happened for the first time, it is necessary to show it to the veterinarian.

Injury

Damage to the tail often affects the cat's urinary system. The main cause of injuries is young children. It is necessary to monitor their games, explaining to the child from an early age that the pet is alive and in pain.

Need for reproduction

The solution is sterilization or mating.

Poor location of the toilet

If the tray is where people are constantly present or another pet’s potty is nearby, then the cat will not want to go there, so its location should be changed to a more secluded and dark one.

One tray for several cats

Each pet must have its own toilet, otherwise “surprises” are inevitable.

Hypercleanliness

Some cats love cleanliness too much, so they separate places for dealing with small and large needs. In this case, you need to purchase another tray.

Recommendations

If the owner catches the cat while relieving itself in the wrong place, it is necessary to lift it by the scruff of the neck - this way the pet will understand that its behavior is wrong.

After treatment with cleaning agents, it is recommended to leave the owner’s socks or dirty clothes in the now clean area. The smell of sweat will show your pet that another creature is dominant in the house.

Neutering is an almost absolute method of avoiding the problem, although much depends on the cleanliness of the tray and the nature of the animal. There are also such unusual solutions:

• If the pet sleeps next to the owner, then it never walks past the tray.
• Cats do not shit in places where they eat, so it is recommended to place a bowl of food on the marked spots.
• If you lay a piece of foil on the floor, the cat will avoid this spot, as it will not want to relieve itself on a smooth and shiny surface.

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Castration

Some people believe that if they neuter their pet, they can avoid unpleasant litter box odors. This statement is only partly true. Because the operation must be carried out strictly until a certain age (this applies to both cats and cats).

And it happens that the animal is already more than a year old, the owners sniff it and run to the clinic. Unfortunately, in this case, castration will not solve the problem. There will still be a specific stench coming from the cat litter box.

Advice. If it seems to you that the smell is not coming from the litter box, but you cannot find the stain, then purchase a flashlight with ultraviolet black light. With its help, you can easily find the place where the insidious pet managed to play a mischief. The device, unlike a lamp, can be purchased for a very reasonable price. But you won’t have to sniff every corner, climb behind cabinets and crawl under tables.

How to get rid of cat litter smell? It turns out that this is a difficult, but completely doable task. You just need to always turn your head on and think in the right direction. Then your home will have the aroma of freshness, and not the heavy amber of pet urine.