Pet stains on hardwood floors?

Question

Our elderly, incontinent cat has been refusing to use the litterbox for about 6 months. Her favorite spot to use is the area rug in the living room. We have dutifully cleaned up each stain as it happened, including the area of the floor underneath it, but time has taken its toll: There is now a darkened area in the middle of our beautiful blond hardwood floor. Is there any such thing as "spot refinishing"? Our floors are old, and we were told that they don't make boards of this length anymore, so I'm not sure that to replace just part of the floor is an option. We're heartbroken. Any suggestions at all?

(Please, no mean-spirited remarks about getting rid of our cat. We've had her for 12 years.)

Thank you very much!

Answer 1

I "THINK" steel wool, and a bleaching compound may get rid of the stain...........the problem will be matching the original floor color again.. Maybe a good idea to drop into a flooring store for professional advice..........hardwood floors are an expensive investment!!!!!!!!!
Good luck

Answer 2

I don't know what kind of finish is on your wood floor, but if it's a good one then with any luck, the stain hasn't permeated too deeply, and a professional could possibly sand it away and refinish the area to as close as possible to the original. The entire floor may need to be refinished to match if the spot still looks different, but it's much less expensive than replacing it.

But whatever her favorite place is, put a plastic tarp under it. If she's senile and incontinent she isn't able to help it and you can expect her to keep doing it.

Answer 3

If you can focus on just that one spot for sanding and refinishing, then that would be ok. But more than likely you may have to do the entire floor to match. A good idea to guard against stains in the future would be to put some kind of plastic sheet underneath the rug where it continuously gets soiled.

Answer 4

#1- Try an area rug. That might make things look interesting
#2- Perhaps spray a cat repelent in only that area to prevent her from spraying in that area again. It won't harm her, she just wont like the way that area smells.
#3- When I had a kitten, it did something similar. I took it to the spot repeatedly where she peed, said "No"to it and then would bring her to the kitty litter box.
#4- My sister had a cat that did something similar, she used a regular water spray bottle with only water in it and everytime her cat would attempt to pee in that area, she sprayed it, then put it in the kitty litter box. It took her cat 2-3 weeks to realize to go potty in the kitty litter box
#5-I am thinking youre cat is kind of old if she is doing this and reverting to that behavior. Try calling your vet and see what they say. She might need a physical.

Good luck ;-)