You know your cat is peeing somewhere, but because you’re out of the house all day and not tracking him, you just don’t know where. And to top it off, there might be multiple locations as well. How does a busy cat owner clean up pee stains if the location, or locations, aren’t obvious? Is there an easy way to zero in on the bomb site? And once we find it, what is the best way to clean it up?
Finding it
In the old days, you basically had two options to locate your cat’s favorite pee spot: you either guessed, or got down on your hands and knees, with your nose mere inches above the carpet, and crawled and sniffed until you hit pay dirt. Luckily, we have a more hi-tech option available to us these days, and that is to use a black light. Similar to those used in crime scene investigations, a black light emits ultraviolet light, but not much visible light. Cat urine contains the element phosphorus, which illuminates when exposed to black light. Once you acquire one of these readily available and very affordable lights, simply dim the regular lights and shine it on all floors and walls until you find the spot.
Cleaning it
We haven’t met a human yet who likes the smell of cat pee, but why is cat pee offensive to human noses? As cat pee festers in your carpet, bacteria begin to break down the urea, a major component of all urine, and the result is the release of ammonia, which most humans would agree, stinks. So the trick is to get a cleaning solution that is chemically capable of eliminating the urea. For this task, enzyme cleaners like Anti Icky-Poo are the best bet. Enzyme cleaners come in a range of concentrations, and therefore, prices, so keep in mind that you get what you pay for, and can be found in any big box or hardware store and most large supermarket chains.
Another option is a Carbon Dioxide-based cleaner like the one cat expert Jackson Galaxy recommends, Fizzion.
The actual cleaning process is really very simple. Using paper towels, blot up as much of the stain as you can. Then add your chosen enzyme or Carbon Dioxide cleaner, wait 20 minutes, and blot up again.
Quick action is the key to cat pee clean up as the longer the pee saturates into your carpet or rug, the more offensive the smell will become. For best results, have a black light and and cleaning supplies on hand and ready to go at all times.
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