How to Clean Cat Urine & Spray
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Trying to clean stains and the smell from cats urinating on carpets is tricky business but removing carpets, padding and floor boards is not an easy or practical thing to do for many.
Kittens Usually Litterbox Train Quickly But There Can Be Accidents
Here’s a handy tipsheet to remove the smell and clean the carpet. Next you’ll find tips and recipes for cleaning up spray from adults.
Warning:
- Any treatment to carpets could discolor or damage the carpet. Always test in a small, unnoticeable corner first.
First:
- Try finding all the spots in the carpet where the urine is, you may be surprised at how many there are.
- You can do this by using a black lightbulb in a lamp or by purchasing a handheld black light…the urine will glow in the dark with your black light on.
Method #1
1 16-oz. bottle Hydrogen Peroxide
1 TBS Baking Soda
1 tsp dish detergent (liquid)
- Mix ingredients into an old plastic container and stir well with a plastic or wooden spoon (do not use metal utensils or metal dishes).
- Once powder is dissolved, pour liquid into a plastic squirt bottle and squirt on stain, completely saturate the spot and surrounding area. Do not scrub or touch the spot, leave the cleaner to set and air dry for at least one hour.
- After it’s completely dry, vacuum the spot–there may be baking soda residue. You can wipe with a clean rag if needed.
Method #2
- Clean spot thoroughly with soap and carpet cleaner. Then saturate the stain with hydrogen peroxide and allow to dry naturally.
Method #3
- Scrub and clean the stain as best you can then saturate spot with Listerine (original) or malt vinegar to kill the smell. Do this 2 or 3 times a day for a few days until there is no more smell.
Method #4
- Try commercial cleaners such as Spot Shot, Nature’s Miracle
Removing From Washable Items
- If a cat urinates on your clothes, blankets or something washable, simply load the washing machine with the items and pour in a large bottle of malt vinegar. This helps kill the smell so the cats won’t smell it and urinate on the item again.
If a cat keeps returning to a spot to urinate, it’s because she still smells the urine from before and this will trigger her to do it again. You must remove the smell before she’ll stop.
If the above tips don’t stop the behavior, try pouring a box of baking soda over the area and leave it sit there for 30 days (!). You could also try setting a bowl of vinegar right beside the spot, this may deter your cat and break the behavior.
Please Note: Cats urinating in the home could be a sign of a medical problem (such as kidney or bladder infections). Check with your vet.
Dealing With Spray
*First published June 16, 2009 and moved to this page for better organization
If you’ve ever had a tomcat stroll by and spray around your basement window or front door, you know what a stink that is!
Proud Adult Cat
This is pretty potent stuff and the smell is not something that dissipates easily. The quicker you clean it up, the better chance you have of avoiding a repeat performance (the spray from one cat can trigger more action from other cats).
Here are a couple recipes I have on hand for cleaning both indoor and outdoor messes along with some cat deterrent suggestions.
Recipe #1
This recipe is to clean messes outside the home, be aware that this treatment may affect lawn and plants that the cleaner comes in contact with. If it’s on surfaces like the house, windows, patio, sidewalk, deck, etc., scrub the cleaner in with a scrub brush before rinsing off with clear water.
- 3/4 cup Original Tide (or any laundry detergent with enzymes)
- 1 quart hot water
After cleaning the area, spread a thick layer of baking soda over the spot after the surface is mostly dry or a mix of 50/50 vinegar and water. This will help dispel odor and (hopefully) deter cats from spraying there again.
Tips:
- You could also try washing the area with a garden hose then pouring straight vinegar around the spot, this might just do the trick for you (may also affect plant life).
- If you can’t clean it immediately, try to at least throw a bucket of water on the spot to dilute the area until you can get to it.
Recipe #2
This recipe is to clean cat spray inside the home, test an area for colorfastness first.
1 16-oz. bottle Hydrogen Peroxide
1 TBS Baking Soda
1 tsp dish detergent (liquid)
Deterrents
There are various plants and methods you can use to try and deter the neighborhood cats from your property, a few suggestions:
- Citrus rinds tossed in the flower beds (orange and lemon peels).
- Coffee grounds.
- Fill flower beds with a thick layer of pine cones, rocks and cedar chips. If cats can’t dig in the dirt, they’ll look elsewhere.
- Plants: Cats aren’t fond of Lavender, Marigolds and Chamomile. Also try plants that have strong scents, cats don’t tend to like them.
A very effective deterrent is a motion activated sprinkler, they’re not that expensive and cats will scat as soon as the water starts. Each time the cat (or other critter) comes into range, the sprinkler will automatically turn on and spray it with water. If you can’t find one locally, they are listed on Amazon.
Many folks try to discourage cats from entering their yard not only to prevent spraying, but also to protect their own house cat from being exposed to nasties like roundworm eggs and the Toxoplasmosis parasite (and to avoid finding cat feces in their garden). If you find keeping them off your property is impossible, consider planting catnip in a far corner away from where you want them, most will happily stalk the area and hang out there 
.
Did You Know:
- Cats spray for a variety of reasons including marking territory, proclaim mating intentions, as well as a symptom of stress and anxiety.
- Both male and female cats spray, neutered or not, but it is mainly the un-neutered male that sprays.
- Cat spray is urine and pheromones.
Warning! Never use clorine bleach to clean up urine since urine turns to vinegar when it ages. Mixing vinegar and chlorine releases deadly chlorine gas – it may kill you.
Sorry, the urine turns to ammonia, not vinegar, and it is the ammonia mixed with chlorine bleach that can kill you. The nitty-gritty details of the chemical reaction aren’t important, but the end result is a release of chlorine gas. Chlorine gas is so dangerous, it was used as a chemical warfare agent in World War I.
Well, we are prepping our floorboards for laminate flooring. We moved in here and aparently they had a cat that urinated all along the edge of one room all the time–so much cat pee. We are replacing the edges of the floor boards but unsure of how to ‘ensure’ that we’ll remove the smell entirely. Please help!
We were thinking of using KILZ on both sides of the new floor boards???
Hi,
Not real sure when you posted this, but wanted to add that I bought a house that apparenly the last owners had a cat and once we pulled up the carpet to replace with laminate the plywood underneith was literally soaked with cat urine. I poured tomato juice all over the spot (after mopping up wet urine of course) and let the juice sit for about 30 min., then I mopped up all the juice. The smell was completely gone. Of course it looked like someone/something was murdered in the diningroom, but once the laminate was down it was covered. Tomato juice is something that coondog hunters use to get skunk smell off their dogs and out of their pickups. It really does work as long as you are cleaning something that doesn’t matter if it is stained.
Hope this helps!
Michelle totally replacing the floor boards is a good move, but was there cat pee along the walls and on the floor too, I’m thinking there must be? You’re going to have to really wash those areas too, especially before laying down the new laminate. I’d go at least a foot up the wall. There’s a spray you can buy to saturate the floor before laying down new flooring, check with the hardware stores–they’ll know what it is I’m sure. If you don’t do that you’ll still have problems with smell, even with the new floor boards and laminate.
20 Mule Team Borax is the ONLY item I have ever found to truly take care of cat urine smell, old or new. After 8 cats, it’s ALL I will use. Inexpensive, found at most grocery stores in the laundry booster section; just mix with water, no particular recipe. I have used it on carpeting, clothing, and other items without damage. For urine-soaked wood, try soaking the wood, then fully drying. Repeat, if necessary.
Clean up any residue with a vacuum because Borax ‘dust’ can be an irritant.
I am thankful for all these great tips. We have had the carpets professional steam cleaned, vinegar solution, and odour destroyer, and nothing. The house still smells of cat pee. Our tenant had seven cats and they sprayed everywhere. The black light and cat urine killer cocktails are greatly appreciated and we are going to try them out tomorrow.
After my cat soaked a corner in my living room, My whole house STUNK to my dismay. I mixed NABC, {a industrial strength bathroom cleaner, some Febreze in to some very hot water and litterally soaked the area. After letting it sit for 15 minutes, I ‘pulled it up’ with a wet/dry shot vac. Did it a few times more, and VOILA! no more smell. Happy days again.
Every time I rinse and vac the carpet in living room I get a horrible ammonia smell any Idea’s
My cat had an accident on my new couch. I used the clear scope mouthwash directly on it and the smell has disappeared completely.
Thanks so much for all the great ideas! I brought in a stray (that I absolutely love!) who thought my new sofa was a good place to urinate. I’ll definitely be trying out these suggestions right away!
Help! I’ve cats galore from the neighborhood, and they all seem to take my front veranda as a short cut. But now they spray on my front screen and glass doors. How can I stop them coming near the house?
I also had a problem with neighborhood cats hanging around the front and sliding glass door. At least once a week, sometimes more, I spray the bottom part of both doors with the a mixture of vinegar and water (more vinegar than water) and have not had a problem since. Make sure you do not rinse the spray, just let it dry.
My cat seems to have peed on the toe of my boyfriends winter boots. I believe they’re leather, with thinsulate on the inside. I’ve tried spraying with “Get the Order Out’ which is usually a great urine-removing product. Didn’t work. I’ve tired wiping down with a vinegar/water/laundry soap solution, also no luck. It’s a tricky situation because I don’t want to damage his boots. Any suggestions?? I’ll take any and all ideas!
Thanks!
How do I remove old dried on cat urine from a glass window?
One of my cats has urinated in one of my potted floor plants. This plant is huge and cannot be placed in a sink (or the bathtub for that matter) to flush the urine out of it. It’s too cold out side (-15F) to take it outside and repot and I CANNNOT GO ALL WINTER WITH THIS SMELL!!! Is there anything I can use to eliminate this odor and keep the plant from dying with out actually repotting it?
Late reply but I figure I’ll do it anyway:
Get a cheap tarp from a home improvement store and lay it out on your floor and then dump the plant out, dirt and all. Fold the corners up and tie it together to dispose of the dirt. Put new dirt in and possibly large decorative stones. It will look much nicer (since dirt in a house, even in a pot, is quite revolting) and your cat most likely won’t be interested in going to the bathroom on hard rocks. Dirt is nice to dig around in, large rocks not so much.
I use a commercial product called SportWash (I find it in the hunting department at Walmart…it’s also available at Amazon) to remove cat urine–as well as any other stubborn odors–and find that it works very well. It works well on hard surfaces and even carpet but it is a laundry soap so it does suds up and has to be rinsed off. I even removed the smell from a leather handbag with it. Of course it is more effective the sooner you get to the problem. If an item is strongly scented by the cat, I soak it for several hours in a strong solution of the SportWash and water. Occassionally, two or more washings may be necessary. I had a very old, very sick cat who dribbled on quite a variety of items and I have never known this to fail. Since this is the only thing I have found which worked, I figure if the SW doesn’t work, the item is garbage anyway so I go ahead and give it a try even if washing it might ruin it–it’s ruined anyway if I can’t get the odor out. One work of warning: unless you are certain the odor is completely gone, don’t dry it in the dryer as the heat will set the odor and you will never get it out. Good luck!
There is absolutely no need to spend the extra money to get MALT vinegar. Cheap non brand name white distilled vinegar will work just as well. The culprits that you’re fighting are urea, and uric acid. The basic element you want to neutralize is ammonia which is neutralized by plain old vinegar. Malt, which comes from grains has absolutely no use at all here. For hardwood floors simply spray slightly diluted vinegar… dilute with water up to 50/50 depending on how long the urine has dried, or been re-peed on. If you can get your hands on some alfalfa oil, that also neutralizes uric acid. Hydrogen peroxide can be applied after the vinegar has been soaked up and dried. Don’t spray peroxide on wet vinegar though, because it makes a different chemical compound called peracetic acid which can be slightly harmful.
I witnessed a neighbour cat peeing on my bbq propane tank. I immediately rinsed it with boiling water. I was wearing crocks at the time and without thinkging, put them by the front door (inside). One of my cats peed on them. I can understand why. Needless to say I threw them out and the area carpet. I’ve tried to clean the floor/wall with vinegar and floor cleaner. The latest process I’ve tried (several times) was to clean the area with Nature’s Best, then spray with Hagen Indoor Cat Repellent. It doesn’t work. They/one of them keeps peeing. The flooring is laminate. I’ve soaked the walls, floor and all the crevasse’s I could think of but still peeing. I’ve tried cayenne pepper in little dishes but they peed right on that. It definitely seems to be a territorial thing, so how do I break that without having to get rid of my cats:(
I read with interest all your comments and suggestions. My cat had urinary issues when he was young and sprayed or peed on the carpet. What I did was use tide in water with baking soda, and yes a splash of bleach. Nothing else removed the smell completely. I think it’s interesting about urine turning into ammonia and of course you can’t mix that with bleach, but on tile floors or baseboards and even carpet, nothing got rid of the smell better. Nothing at the pet store worked at all. Thankfully he is now fine and these issues are over. Keeping fingers crossed.
i cleaned my area of my matress with dish soap then rinced also used a lil pine sol, when my cat peed on it 3 yrs ago , The smell was still there a few days a go so i used water down house hold bleach . the smell is gone . by the way cat pee does carry enough acid to make a bad gass when mixed with bleach .. just saying .
doesnt make enough acid
This is by far the most helpful, best information I have ever found. thank you.
I don’t add baking soda to the hydrogen peroxide. I keep a spray bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide (as sold at the store) mixed with a 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn dish detergent (as a wetting agent) in my kitchen as a general purpose cleaner. Blotting up cat urine or puke, then soaking with the peroxide solution and blotting again, works better than the many commercial products I’ve tried over the years. Test all carpet and fabrics for color-fastness first. As a pet owner, I choose stain-resistant materials, so I’ve never had a problem.
What I’d like to know is if anyone uses a steam cleaner on walls.
Oh, and on plants: cats are often blamed for the urea smell produced by commercial potting mixtures as they break down. Urea is an ingredient and produces a strong ammonia smell when the plant is watered. The only solution is to repot in soil that does not contain fertilizers.
Dollar Tree makes a pet urine/odor remover spray. Works really well.
As to skunks: NOBODY uses tomato sauce to get the smell out. It simply doesn’t work, and never did. It makes the smell more tolerable for some, but it doesn’t get rid of it. For skunks you need hydrogen peroxide, dawn, and baking soda.
Urine (ammonia) odors can be eliminated with a vinegar solution, but I’ve found that Pure Ayre works best. It’s non-toxic so you can use it around children and animals. You can also use it to get rid of skunk odor on your dogs head where you can’t use the peroxide solution.
I have no idea how well it works for cat pee, but I’d be willing to give it a fair shot. Pretty inexpensive to buy, google it for stores in your area.
My cat sprayed on a brand new metal file cabinet. It’s a thin metal & now the whole side of it has turned brown. Don’t know if I can somehow scrub this off with some sandpaper or something to salvage it. Has anyone had this problem in the past? Thanks.
Help! Ok so my cat peed on a pair of my husbands boxers. As soon as I found out I washed them. But now my house still smells like pee. He got locked in the bathroom last night by accident. I have tried Febreeze to get the smell out and I an trying to air out the house but it isn’t really working. Please help!
My cat sprayed a couple hours ago on my leather winter boots. (They are that soft to the touch kind of leather not the smooth shiny kind). They have the faux fur around the top of the boot and on the leather straps that corset up around the boot(zip up insides) with faux fur pompoms on the ends! How do I clean those?! Could I just wash them in the washing machine on a delicate cycle or would that damage the leather and fur?! My coat matches the boots(not leather though and not planned they are from different places) with a detachable faux fur hood that is dry clean only so, that is why I ask about the boot fur. HELP! Thanks!
Tried and True: Massengill douche not only rids the odor from cat potty and spray, it dissuades them from future use. This is the only product I have found to work and my neighborhood cats gave me a run for my money. It worked!! Moth balls around the perimeter of the yard also kept most of the cats away, or at least at a distance, but the smell of the moth balls over-powered many of the flowers.
Great information, I have just looked at this site as I have a tomcat coming in the house during the night and spraying different areas, I have clean neutered cats of my own so can’t lock them in at night, or put them out. I have a cat flap. However, i will try the vinegar and baking powder remedy and hope that works. In 30 years with cats I have never had this problem before ! March 16th/12
We had 3 cats in our unfinished basement for about 3 years. My husband has recently built a cat pen outside, and the cats seem to really enjoy being outside. However, we need to get rid of the urine stains and smell in the basement. What is the best way to cleam the concrete basement floor? My husband was planning to use bleach until I told him about the toxic gas created by bleach and ammonia from the urine. We are planning to finish the basement and turn it in to a playroom for my young grandchildren. I want to make certain there are no lingering side effects from the cleaning method.