How to Get Rid of the Smell of Cat Pee

I have two ‘male’ cats and I have had the ‘dreaded’ cat urine go though my home once or twice….three times maybe (breaking into that David Soul song ….ok, so you don’t know it….moving on then) anyways, what a nasty smell it is/was. It’s one of my worst fears too, someone coming into my home and smelling it.

With this said - I have managed to over come it and beat it on several occasions…and without doing the drastic carpet removal and moving home…..kinda hard if your buying.

Here are a few things to remember about cats and cat pee as well as a few suggestions to try and remove any offensive odours –especially the dreaded cat pee….

Any time you see a cat back up to something, with his tail lifted, you can guarantee that he has just released a little spray. Cat urine contains pheromones and they release this as a way to communicate with other animals. Pheromones are also considered like fingerprints, each cat has their own scent and they are marking their territory.

When their on heat – well then its then considered an ‘invitation for love’. Personally, I like the idea of a simple love letter and a box of chocolates, but hey, whatever takes your fancy.

What ever you do, don’t yell or scare the cat to stop it. All this will do is make more spray and more clean up….and you don’t want that.

You can go to the expense of buying cat urine removers, but sometimes these can be as bad as the actual smell….I know, I have a bottle sitting in my cupboard – full – and with good reason…..

I, more often than not, use vinegar to remove the smell and it does work. Vinegar neutralises most nasty smells and it’s natural and won’t hurt the environment. Cats also find it hard to smell other cats over vinegar so there is less chance of them or others re-offending the area.

Home Remedy for cat urine smell (can apparently work for dog urine too)

This is a recipe I have used for removing cat pee odour from my carpet and is listed also on this site here and even this one

Soak up as much of the urine as possible – making sure to use good disposable gloves, several pair at once maybe.

Try mixing 4 parts water with one part vinegar and wet through the offending area – then dry it out thoroughly and repeat.

Once it is dry sprinkle the area with bicarbonated soda or baking soda.

Then mix ¾ cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide, which you can buy at the supermarket and is only very mild so won’t discolour carpet (but try on a small area first to make sure – I don’t want to be sued and buy you new carpet), and 1 teaspoon of dishwashing detergent and sprinkle over the baking soda.

With an old brush, a nail brush or an old hair brush will work, rub the baking soda into the carpet – let this dry and then vacuum.  

If there is still a slight smell – repeat once more and it should be gone.

You could also buy orange peel and orange oil as these can work too.  

There is a rumour that cheap and nasty vodka can do the same job – but I haven’t tried that out…..nor do I really want to - lol

Also - don’t use products like Febreeze as it can apparently be harmful to cats…

Like I said, I have two male cats and my home is cat pee free, but I have had issues in the past, and recently too.

One of my cats is extremely possessive of me and didn’t like the fact that I had a baby in my home (My Grandson at that). He sprayed me and my bed late one night after Marshall was fed in my room….not nice and because of it will be getting the chop!

Anyway, I cleaned it up straight away and I didn’t have a problem with odour – it does work-you just have to act quickly and be thorough…

Good luck and hope it works

You may also want to try Diaper Pure which is used for soaking nappies. Again, I haven't tried it but they say this can work too.....

If you know of any other ways to get rid of this, or other nasty smells, PLEASE add to this and let us all know.....