The job of cleaning carpets and furniture of cat urine odor is something that all cat owners have to face. There are five different bacteria in cat urine. Two of them are components of a cat's marking scent and the other three are found in cat spray, uric acid and urine. The odor from cat urine is difficult to get rid of because it is protein based. The smell is so strong it doesn't work to try to cover it up, either. Cleaning the source of the odor and stain - the bacteria, uric acid crystals and salts- isn't hard to do.
The problem of cleaning cat urine is complex and there are no quick, easy solutions. Because cat urine is made up of three components: the sticky part Urea, the pigment component Urochrome, and Uric Acid, which is the smelly part. As cats drink very little water their urine is very concentrated and strong smelling. The color strength and staining levels in cat urine often depend on the gender, age and health condition of the cat or if the cat is on medication. Cleaning cat urine is hardest if you have to find all the old stain spots.
To stop this problem from continuing, you have to find out what the cause is. There are various reasons when cats not using their litter boxes to urinate. Your cat could feel threatened or stressed or just marking territory. However, if a cat urinates everywhere, it could be due to urinary tract infection.
When a cat feels insecure, it will mark by urinating as a means of communicating to other cats that this is his place. Because cleaning cat urine is quite a job, it is best to stop it before it starts. Cat urine doesn't have to be a huge job if you use the right cleaning products for it. Chemical, enzymatic and bacterial are the three primary things to use to remove cat urine.
Ordinary household ingredients such as white vinegar have been tried for eliminating cat urine odors. Try sprinkling the area with baking soda and then let it dry to remove surface odors. Use the vacuum to pick up the dried baking soda. You can also apply any detergent that has peroxide in it to remove urine odor. Spray this on the stain spot and let it soaked in. If you use Listerine with it, the mixture works better in eliminate the odor.
If your cat has a favorite spot first use tin foil to cover this area. Then apply some mothballs or Citronella smell to the area to repel your cat from coming back. There are special formulas that destroy the bacteria and the odor causing crystals in cat urine. Once the affected area is clean, apply a good quality pet odor neutralizer. The most effective cat urine removal product is those of enzyme based.
A high quality cat urine remover is necessary to completely clean cat urine stains and odor out of carpet and upholstery. If you use cleaners that contain ammonia on cat urine, your cat will be drawn to use the same spot again as it has the same odor as cat urine. With the combination of a blacklight and a good quality cat urine cleaner, you can eliminate cat urine odors entirely.
