My cat is spraying what will stop this and how do I get the foul odor out?

Question

I just got home from work and my house smells of cat urine. I want so badly to get the smell out and stop my cat from doing this so I don't have to get rid of him. Any suggestions? I'm going to get him neutered asap and I hope that stops it!!!

Answer 1

We have 5 indoor/outdoor cats and 2 of them spray. They are all fixed. One is a female and sprays inside the house, so we don't let her in anymore. We have no found a way to stop them. As for the smell, they have a spray called natures miracle at petco that works pretty well. Good luck!

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Unfortunately, cat urine is one of the toughest substances on earth for odor removal. The smell gets into the fibers of the carpet, soaks down into the padding, and sometimes even into the floor itself.

The worst part is that the smell gets worse as it gets older. Bacteria feed on the waste products, and produce gases which release more odor into the air.

Cat urine has three components: urea, which is the watery substance, urochrome, which is the pigment, and uric acid crystals and salts.

The key to getting rid of the stain and smell is to treat all three parts. Unfortunately, a lot of products will treat the first two, but not the third. What happens then is that as soon as it gets humid or the carpet gets wet, the crystals dissolve and the odor comes back.

The first step to cleaning a cat urine spot is to blot up all the excess liquid. Lay paper towels on the area and let them soak up the wet. Then put new paper towels down and stand on them to blot up as much as you can out of the carpet.

That takes care of the watery substances.

After this, you have a number of options. The best is to use one of the many different enzyme based cleaners designed for cats. They are sold in major pet stores.

These work because the enzymes are specifically chosen to eat the component parts of cat urine. Two good products that worked for me are Just for Cats by Nature's Miracle and Simple Solution Cat Spray & Urine Stain & Odor Remover

Your mileage with these products will vary. There are just too many variables in the equation to determine which cat odor removal product will work for you. The type of carpet, your cat's diet and how soon after the accident you got to the stain all will affect the results. You're simply going to have to try to find the one that works for you.

Another caveat is that these products take time to work. You won't get overnight results. The enzymes have to have time to destroy all of the components of the odor and stain. Some caution that it might take as much as two weeks of reapplication.

Be patient. They will work.

The one thing you can't do is to simply spray an air or carpet freshener product such as Febreze on it. While they may make the odor go away for a while, they only work by masking the problem. The underlying cause of the odor still will be there.

Worse, your pets will still detect the odor and will continue to use the spot as a toilet. You must get rid of the odor to prevent repeat behavior.

Running a soap and water carpet cleaning machine, or a steam cleaner also isn't going to solve the problem. The components that cause the odor will simply seep out with the water further from the source.

There are also a couple of home remedies that people have tried and have had success with. (But others have not):

Apply baking soda. This should get some of the surface material, but won't work on deep stains or odors.

Mix a solution of vinegar and warm water in a 1:4 ratio and pour it on the affected area. Be sure to test it on an inconspicuous spot first, though, because it is possible that the vinegar will stain the carpet and actually do nothing to the odor.

Try a 3 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide. Again, this is likely to stain the carpet, since hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent.

Use a human diaper odor removal product, such as Totally Toddler.

If after treating the carpet or floor you still smell an odor, it's likely that the odor is coming from another source. Unfortunately, by this time it will have dried and probably not be visible.

Take heart. There is a solution: Get a black light. Then, in the dark, go over the carpet with the black light on. Any area where the cats have peed will show up with a yellow glow.

There are a couple of commercial black light products for detecting cat urine.

Once you find the new spot, treat it with an enzyme solution.

Once you're treated all the accident spots, you're going to have to address another problem: why did the cats urinate there in the first place?

If you don't find the problem, the likelihood is that they will continue to use and reuse the spot.

One issue that older cats have is kidney problems. If you have an older cat, check with a vet. The cat may also have a urinary tract infection. Again, check with a vet.

Next, be sure that the litterbox is clean. Cats are fastidious by nature, and may have simply been looking for a clean spot to go.

Has there been a change in the domestic situation? Is there a new cat (or person) in the house? If so, the cat may be reacting to the change.

New carpet is treated with ammonia-like substances that create that "new carpet" smell. If the cat is going on new carpet, he may simply be smelling the ammonia and trying to replace the odor with his own. The solution here is to keep the cat off the rug for a couple of weeks until the new carpet smell goes away.

If the cat is using a spot near a door or window, it may be that a stray cat has been hanging out near that spot. Your housepet is simply trying to tell the stranger that the house is his. Keep the blinds and window closed for a while.

If you can't figure out the problem, there are a couple of general solutions:

One that often works is to put the cat's food bowl near the spot for a week or two. Cats refuse to go where they eat.

Cats dislike citrus smells. Placing a sliced orange in a bowl near the spot often will keep them off.

Spray a commercial cat repellent near the spot.

Use a hormone diffuser like Comfort Zone with Feliway Plug-In for Cats to flood the room with pheromones. The pheromones will calm the cat and make him think good thoughts about the area.

Incidentally, Feliway also is good to use when a new cat is introducted into a household, or if something else is stressing out your pet.

Answer 4

Mix together a small amount of vinegar (white vinegar) and water and make sure you spray or put some it where he has sprayed at. This will neutralize the odor and keep him from going there again. He does need to be neutered in order to keep him from spraying. This is usually something that needs to be done anyway and will control the pet population. Hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 5

There is a product out there that will do a real good job at getting at the odor. I am not sure what it is called as there are so many that I tried when I had that problem years ago.

Call your vet and they can probably tell you what would be the best product on the market today. It may work even better than what I used.

Good Luck

Answer 6

OMG!! Brought in a stray, had to wait to get him neutered to make sure he got all his shots first and he sprayed twice. It smells like normal cat urine 10x concentrated. Stinks all through the house and super hard to clean up. Your nose would detect it as soon as you opened the door so if you're worried about there being spray in your house without you noticing, don't worry. Keep him in a small room to prevent the likelihood (he's less likely to spray where he's comfortable and spends all his time)

Answer 7

Try using this spray called Feliaway to stop them from spraying in certain areas. It's a cat pheromone that makes them calm..supposedly it works.

I'm not sure the best way to clean it up. Maybe soap/water and Febreze?

Answer 8

Hi there again... kittens who are over 5-7 months can become sexually mature and urine spray as well as defecate inappropriately to mark territory. Neutering is the only way to resolve the urine spraying and should be done as soon as possible because it can become habitual and more difficult to stop even after neutering.

Here's an article about why cats inappropriately soil outside their litter box by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/Housesoiling.html

Most animal shelters worldwide offer low fee or free neuters. If you are located in the USA you can ring 1-800-SPAY USA http://spayusa.org to locate a nearby participating shelter. Another free/low fee list of shelters in the USA: http://www.petsandanimals.org/spayneuter_services.html

For urine odours consider Nature's Miracle Just For Cats found worldwide at most pet stores. It's an enzymatic neutralizer which works by breaking down urine proteins by thoroughly soaking the areas affected and allowing to air dry. Repeated applications are necessary for heavily soiled areas.

Nature's Miracle Just For Catsproduct info: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775019&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025596&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1167132360710&itemNo=0&Ntt=nature%27s+miracle+just+for+cats&In=All&previousText=nature%27s+miracle+just+for+cats&N=2

We've tested nearly all enzyme neutralizers available in the marketplace for our exotic cats which have stronger urine than domestic cats and found that Nature's Miracle Just for Cats has always worked the best.

Answer 9

yes getting him neutered should put an end to it.. while hes gone overnight getting that done thoroughly clean the places he frequently sprays with some stuff called urine gone or urine remover you can find it at petsmart or pet section of walmart. Ask the vet to check him out for possible urinary tract infection and keep the litter box extra clean (especially the first 2 weeks after getting him fixed) and switch to a food that will prevent urinary infections.. my cat was fixed and then started peeing in random places (marking) turned out he had a UTI

Answer 10

i feel very sorry for you. hmm...it's probably going to take quite a long while to teach your cat, or maybe this was just a one time thing. make sure to show your cat the litterbox. as for the smell, just put a whole bunch of air freshners around the house or find a type of spray to spray in the air and on the furniture.