*
I pulled up masonite to expose a fir floor, and found old cat urine underneath. Phew. Any ideas (besides burning down the house) to eliminate the odor? I have heard about using a black light to find the urine chrystals, and need to know the products and distributors of some sort of treatment.
Thank you, Nancy S.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
The FHB Podcast crew takes a closer look at an interesting roof.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
*
Try using vanilla extract/water mixture.
*
Vinegar will neutralize the acids. There are several commercially avaliable products.Try a carpet cleaning supply store.These products have enzymes that eat the odor causing bacteria and die off when the source food is gone.If the urine has soaked into the wood, chances are that you'll end up having to replace it. If it's near a corner or wall, check the base shoe,base board and the plaster/drywall. It may have wicked up the wall, in which case it should be cut out and replaced.Spray the framing w/vinegar or the enzyme and let it dry before sealing it back up.Generally, cats have more acid in their urine than dogs, and an older cat has more than a kitten.So, if it was a kitten-you may get it out, if it was an old cat-Cut it out and replace.Probably a little more than you wanted to know about urine!I used to clean carpets, I know ALOT more about carpet stains that I'd like to!Jeff
*There is an enzyme solution you can purchase for this problem that is highly effective. You have to keep the area wetted down and covered with poly for 2 days. A vet or good pet store should be able to tell you what its called. About $30 a gallon when we used it a couple years ago after trying every folk remedy we heard about.JonC
*The most commonly touted product available at pet supply stores is called Nature's Miracle. I've had moderate success with it; some people swear it's the best and totally effective; other people report it's useless. It was mentioned in another thread on this forum a couple of weeks ago, too.I've been battling the cat urine problem for decades. I currently have 54 cats on my farm (rescue, placement, retirement, etc.), and all the cats come in for the night. (No coyote bait here). I recently got a new product from my vet called The Eliminator from EVSCO. Claims to get rid of odor and stains from carpets, but the technician says she successfully rid a dog of skunk smell with it! I haven't tried it yet.But I know from experience that once it's in the subfloor, it's probably there forever as far as the cats are concerned. You might get rid of the smell as far as your nose goes, but the cats can still detect it. If your objective is to mask it for your nose, you'll probably be able to. And Jeff is right...once it's wicked up into the sheetrock, you have to replace the wall. That stuff retains the smell for eternity and gets all mushy and crumbly. Gotta rip it out.One warning...don't use anything with ammonia in it. Just makes it worse.
*Let me get this straight-----that was 54 cats in the house? How big is the house?
*Wouldn't sanding and refinishing the floor work? Or if your going to carpet over it then sealing it with kilz or bins (shellac)?
*We had an 16 year old cat that started having problems on our floors. We found that carpets are not repairable. But we found that a good washing of the wood floor and a coat of sealer does a good job of hiding the smell. Note I said a good job not an excellent one. After the fix, the odor is more prevelent during times of high humidity. If you get down at the cat's level I can smell it all the time but at my normal level it is not noticeable. We have found out that any rug or carpet is fair game for cats that are in need or sick. You may not notice it until they have used the rug several times and the floor was wet with urine.
*Nancy---the product the vet tech recommended is The Equalizer (not Eliminator). I checked last night. The frequent references to Kilz in this forum have persuaded me to try it. The testimonial from the guy to had to clean up after the dead guy convinced me. The cat urine smell does dissipate over time, at least as far as the human nose goes.Lonecat---appropriate name. Right now the 54 cats are in a single wide trailer. Gives new meaning to the word trailer trash. It's far from ideal, but then most people figure no house is ideal with 54 cats. It's making even me nuts. We're in the trailer while construction on my house is being done. By next month, we'll be out of the trailer and the vast majority of the cats will live in the kennel/cattery I had built as an extension to my garage. The kennel has radiant heat floors in concrete slab, with a drain in the center of the floor. The lower 4 feet of walls are OSB. The floor and walls will be painted with that 2 part epoxy paint they use in laundry rooms. So I will be able to hose this kennel down. I have a 7.5 foot long commercial stainless steel sink and drainboard for food prep. Impervious to cat urine. The kennel has indoor and outdoor (screened in with chainlink) living areas. A separate room of the kennel is for the 2 dogs, who have their own dog door to the outside.A few (less than 5 at a time) cats with no behavioral problems will be allowed in the main house.There's some other guy who frequents this forum who has a bunch of cats. I think he's in Canada. Gaby maybe?
*
I pulled up masonite to expose a fir floor, and found old cat urine underneath. Phew. Any ideas (besides burning down the house) to eliminate the odor? I have heard about using a black light to find the urine chrystals, and need to know the products and distributors of some sort of treatment.
Thank you, Nancy S.