An alarming number of pets are surrendered every day because of behavioral problems. Many times these problems involve inappropriate elimination, in other words the pet is peeing or pooping outside of appropriate places (like the litter box or the yard). Inappropriate elimination in cats is particularly alarming because a cat is most likely to pee outside of the litter box when they are ill, and they usually have some sort of urinary tract infection as the root cause. The moral here being, if your cat is peeing outside of the litter box, take a trip to the vet, not the shelter!
Pets can pee or poop inside the house for other reasons too, for example if they were never properly house trained or if they are very young. If there is one thing that all pet owners can agree on, it is that nothing stinks up a house quite like pet urine.
So if you have a pet that is going to the bathroom outside of the litter box or the yard, Step 1 is to clean the affected areas so that your home stays fresh and your pets are less likely to eliminate there again. step 2 is to visit the vet to rule out any potential health problems related to this bad behavior. Step 3 is to train, or re-train, your pets where they’re supposed to do their business.
This article is focusing on what I consider to be the hardest step.. Step 1: Cleaning pet urine stains and odors. Cleaning cat or dog pee off of your carpets and floors can be challenging if you don’t have the right products. What are the best products to use? Well, this pet owner has tried her fair share of pet cleaning products and some do work better than others.
Nature’s Miracle Advanced Stain and Odor Remover Review
This is my favorite product for cleaning all manner of pet messes for any type of pet. If it came out of your pet, this cleaner can remove the stains and odors associated with it. I’ve had particular successes with dog poo, cat hairballs, and even stale cat urine.
Why it works: Nature’s Miracle Advanced Formula Stain and Odor Remover works quickly to get at the source of even the most stubborn stains and odors by actually surrounding organic stain and odor matter. This breakdown works to eliminate any stain or odor rather than simply masking them as other products may do.
UrineOFF Review
I first tried Urine Off many years ago when I could smell cat pee in my apartment, but I could not find the source. They have a handy Urine Finding Light that helped me find the source, and a lot of other messes I didn’t know about.
As far as the Stain and Odor Remover itself, they have different stain products for cats and dogs. Since I have a household with both cats and dogs, I don’t find this to be convenient. It also didn’t do the trick on my stain at the time, which consisted of extremely stale cat urine. However, I still have and use that handy little light! You’ll be shocked at what you find in your home. .
Nature’s Miracle Just For Cats Review
I’m listing this problem because cat pee is particularly stinky, and the longer it sits uncleaned, the stinkier it gets because of the e
nzymes in cat urine. When I have a particularly bad case of cat pee (like the situation I told you about in my apartment) I buy Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats. It is specially designed with enzymes that fight that cat urine odor… and it actually works! I don’t keep it on hand all the time, but I have used it and can definitely recommend it to my readers with cats.
Lastly, I’m going to share my tried and true method how to clean pets stains with you, I think you’ll find it really helpful. It works for just about any pet stain you could imagine.
- As soon as you see (or smell) the offending mess, clean up what you can with toilet paper or paper towels and dispose of it. The sooner you find it the better, especially with cat urine, the longer it lingers, the stinker it gets.
- Pour a generous amount of Nature’s Miracle Advanced on the spot (if it is carpet, for hard surfaces, use a spray)
- Let the product do its job for a few minutes
- Return with an absorbent towel, place it over the wet spot and step on the towel to sop of the remaining liquid
- Let it dry thoroughly. If you can still smell it, repeat the procedure.
If you’ve rinsed and repeated but still have a stain or odor (this has happened to me with cat pee found in a remote location, long after the incident), it is time to rent a steam cleaner.
- Use a pet formula in the steam cleaner. Run the machine over the affected areas several times. Ideally until the dirty water looks clear.
- Vacuum up the baking soda or carpet powder once it is dry. Your room should be smelling fresh and clean again!