How to get rid of cat urine- comforter

[pink]

We have a 4-year-old Siamese male cat named Ferris (after Ferris Bueller) and normally every day while I am at school or work he will sleep in my room. Well last night before I went out for Valentine's Day he meowed at the door and I let him in to sleep for the three hours I was gone.

When I got home I smelled an overwhelming smell of cat urine only to find that he peed on the entire end half of my bed. It soaked through my blanket, comforter, sheets and even my matress. The urine was on the floor, furniture and the matress was soaked, we had to throw it out and buy a new one today. My mom seems to think we can salvage the comforter by just washing it (we already let the spots with urine soak in vinegar over night).

Should we just toss it? If not (because I really don't want to waste more money, the matress cost enough as it is ) what should we use to clean it before I use it again?

Any suggestions would be great.

(I also just want to say that the cat is fine, someone had shut the door after I left for the night and he obviously had to pee really bad so he is not sick or anything so don't worry.)

[MNNHFLTX]

The vinegar might work. There's also a product called Nature's Miracle that has helped us in similar situations. It is an enzymatic cleaner that helps break down the urea that causes the pee smell and you have to follow the instructions to a "T".

One additional word of advice--I know that you said that cat was not sick, but that may not be the case. The amount of urine and the fact that he couldn't hold it for three hours may still point towards diabetes or some other problem. That just doesn't sound normal to me.

[Alligirl]

The vinegar might work. There's also a product called Nature's Miracle that has helped us in similar situations. It is an enzymatic cleaner that helps break down the urea that causes the pee smell and you have to follow the instructions to a "T".

I also would suggest the natures miracle! It was a great thing to have handy when my dog was young and being trained. My friend had suggested it and she used it with her puppy and even once when her son had been sick during the night! It is amazing how well it works. I have always found it in the local pet shop. Good luck!

[NotaGeek]

That is A LOT of urine for a cat in a really short time, even if he was getting even cause he was left alone ... I agree with Beth, better safe than sorry, get Ferris checked out!

[VWL Mom]

One additional word of advice--I know that you said that cat was not sick, but that may not be the case. The amount of urine and the fact that he couldn't hold it for three hours may still point towards diabetes or some other problem. That just doesn't sound normal to me.

I agree, I have three cats and that sounds like an awful lot or urine in a short period of time.

[1DisneyNut]

You may reduce the smell but you will never remove it entirely. We had a cat back several years ago and he peed on a sweatshirt as well as the carpet. We used every one of the recommended cleaners for cat urine known to man and I could still smell it. I finally threw the sweatshirt away after trying to clean it about 10 times. You wouldn't be able to smell it at first but after you wore it and the moisture from your body got into the fabric you would start smelling it again. The carpet we cleaned god knows how many times and I can still smell it sometimes when I first walk in the door and we are finally replacing the carpet when the weather gets better. My advice is don't waste your time, just throw it away. You may get it to where you don't really smell it because you become accustomed to it but visitors to your home will think it smells like a barnyard. Also, many times once they pee in a place in the house they will later return to use the same spot because they can smell it no matter what you do and they think it is their restroom. We finally had to give the cat to someone else and we will never have another pet in the house.

[Dizneyana]

If you know anyone who makes or uses colloidal silver water, putting that in the wash load should neutralize the urine smell.

Good luck!

[MegaDisney]

I agree with everyone else regarding the cleaning.

I would also recommend that you have the cat checked out by a vet just to be sure. There are many things that could be wrong, even if the cat shows no outward symptoms.

Innapropriate elimination can be a sign of Kidney Disease (very common in cats) the aforementioned Diabetes, urinary tract & bladder infections and stones.

As someone else mentioned, better safe than sorry!

Let us know if you find anything out!

[Ian]

Innapropriate elimination can be a sign of Kidney Disease (very common in cats) the aforementioned Diabetes, urinary tract & bladder infections and stones.

Hmmm ... not to piggyback on someone else's topic, but we have a cat that has a serious problem with going on our rugs. Our entire finished basement is nearly unliveable right now because he's gone all over the place. We clean and as fast as we clean he goes again.

While we were away recently, we moved his litter box upstairs in my office just to make it easier for the person taking care of him. Now he keeps trying to go on the carpet in my office! We have to keep the doors shut to keep him out.

But the other thing I've noticed is that it really seems like he (or maybe our other cat or both) is really drinking a lot of water. We leave two BIG dishes of water out every day for them and frequently one and a half will be gone by the time we get home from work.

Does that sound like it could be diabetes? Both our cats are big, fat males.

[MegaDisney]

Ian, it could be that or a kidney/bladder problem.

Increased thirst is a definate sign that something may be wrong, and is especially a sypmtom of Diabetes.

Maybe something as simple as a bladder or UT infection.

I would definately take them for a check up!

[MegaDisney]

Oh, and males tend to have more issues in the Urinary Tract than females due to anatomy.

[Ian]

Ian, it could be that or a kidney/bladder problem.

Increased thirst is a definate sign that something may be wrong, and is especially a sypmtom of Diabetes.

Maybe something as simple as a bladder or UT infection.

I would definately take them for a check up!

I've had him checked out for infections and he came up clean, but I may have to take him to get the diabetes check.

[kakn7294]

I used a number of products on our carpets after my cats peed on them. After we no longer had the cats (lost both to health issues / age), I spot cleaned the carpets with Spot Shot, then overall cleaned with a commercial carpet shampoo with pet stain remover enzymes designed for a home carpet cleaner, then cleaned again with a vinegar / water solution, then cleaned again with repeated dousings of hot water (I know, not good for the carpet). We do not have any cat urine smells. We now have 2 new cats and neither has made any attempt to urinate anywhere except their litter boxes.

Ian, I'd have both of your cats checked for diabetes and kidney issues but especially the one who pees everywhere. With them drinking so much water and being overweight, they definately could have health problems. According to my vet, cats are not big water drinkers so increased thirst should send up huge red flags.

[thrillme]

That seems like an awful lot of pee for only 3 hours...

None the less...Natures Miracle does work really pretty good. (You threw out the mattress??? )...anyway...The art to natures miracle is spray it on...let it soak for an hour or two...sop up any wet with an old towel then soak it again...At this point I just let it "air dry" and then wash whatever can be washed.

For the carpet and the mattress (if you still have the mattress)...use the same method of soaking the area(s) really good with natures miracle. Follow up with a "steam cleaner". They make a steam cleaner detergent for pets...use this one. Steam the mattress and the floor really good. Spend a lot of time on this. Once it's dry...follow up with on final application of Nature's Miracle. That should do it.

I had a "female" cat that was "new" to the house. For whatever reason my senior cat decided that she was going to stake out the litterbox and show the newby who the boss was. The new cat was so terrified of my old lady that she chose my "closet" as her new litterbox. I didn't use that closet daily so needless to say a weeks worth of "oh no's" was pretty ripe. I threw out a lot of old stuff that was on the bottom and I used the natures miracle and steam cleaner method on the rest...it worked. You can't smell a thing anymore. We moved the litterbox away from the old cat...problem solved.


ONE MORE THING...We've also invested in a FLORESANT black light from Walmart. About $10. At night when the room is the darkest plug this light in and let it shine over the area. Any remaining urine should glow bright yellow. It works best when things are freshest. It's sorta CSI thing.

[TheVBs]

We discovered a product called Odor-B-Gone when we were Sam's Club members and it's the only product we've ever used that completely eliminated the cat urine smell. We used to have a cat that had a urinary tract disorder and this was the only thing that made the situation bearable. We haven't been Sam's Club members for a long time, but you can still order it online.

[MNNHFLTX]

Ian, I 100% agree with Bryant--it does sound like one of your cats might have something going on, whether it's diabetes or renal issues. We've had cats in the past that have had both and they would drink and urinate an inordinate amount. In fact, the diabetic cat would just sit by the water dish much of the time, because she was so thirsty. And she was overweight initially too (which sometimes leads to diabetes in cats).

[Ian]

Yeah, I definitely think it's time for Phantom to head to the vet again.

Last time they said he was fine and actually suggested we put him on anti-depressants (if you can believe that), but with the added symptom of the excess water consumption I think maybe something's up.

[JanetMegan]

Antidepressants-sorry I'm LOL, even though it isn't funny-can't help it!

Alrighty-for Ian's cats I might reccommend extra litter boxes, literally one in each room. We had an issue but once I added some boxes no more problems.

I too had to throw out a mattress due to cat urine but amazingly the comforter washed clean (with some Nature's Miracle added to the wash cycle and washed about 3 times.)

[DisneyDog]

Ian, you mentioned moving the litter box. I would get his health checked out, but it's amazing how sensitive cats can be. Moving a litter box can cause a host of problems. You should mention to your vet that you had moved the box and see what he says.

[kakn7294]

Yeah, I definitely think it's time for Phantom to head to the vet again.

Last time they said he was fine and actually suggested we put him on anti-depressants (if you can believe that), but with the added symptom of the excess water consumption I think maybe something's up.

Ian, as funny as this sounds, they gave my cat something when he started peeing in the house after his long-time friend / nemesis (our other cat) passed away. They thought at first maybe he was grieving her loss. It turned out he had other problems including urinary tract cancer but it's not unheard of for cats to be put on anti-depressants. I was willing to try anything within reason to keep him with us.