How to Cover the Smell of Cat Urine

Most cat owners have had the sickening realization that their cat has chosen to mark territory at a most inconvenient time. Perhaps your cat urinated after a thorough house cleaning, maybe in preparation to entertain family and friends. Here are some steps to quickly cover the smell of cat urine, at least superficially, until a time you can come back and thoroughly cleanse the stain.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cloth diapers
• A towel
• Baking soda
• Vacuum cleaner
• Candles
• Cat urine cleanser
• A rug or throw

1. Pinpoint the source of the smell. If you're lucky, maybe the cat sprayed a stack of magazines that can be disposed of to remove much of the odor. Wood floors and tile are also easy to clean. However, if the cat went for the plush furniture or carpet, you have work ahead.

2. Clean up the mess. On hard surfaces, can urine is removed by picking up the urine with a paper towel and then applying a standard cleanser. If the cat urine is in the carpet, start by blotting. Apply all your weight on the stain get as much as possible. Cloth is better than paper toweling. Cloth diapers work best.

3. Cover the affected area entirely with baking soda or any kind of powered odor remover. Wait until the very last second to vacuum it off. This step is especially necessary for carpet and upholstery.

4. Open as many windows and doors as possible. While you are waiting for the baking soda to do it's work, get the air circulating in your house. Place fans so that they face out of windows. Or, set them to exhaust to remove foul air.

5. Light plenty of candles. Any candles will do; but the richer the scent, the better. Candles that smell of pine are effective, as well as a fresh citrus infused aroma.

6. Spray the stain with an enzymatic cleanser after vacuuming up the baking soda. There are many products on the market that break down cat urine at the molecular level. These need to be given time to do their work; so you must spray and then cover the area with foil or a cloth.

7. Throw a blanket or rug on top of the affected area. Use a presentable piece of fabric to put over the foil or cloth that is covering the enzymatic cleanser. This covers the sight of the accident and, to some extent, the smell.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't, for any reason, try to dry a stain in carpeting or upholstery. Though it is inconvenient to wet the area with a cleanser if you are in a hurry to prepare for guests, it is an important step to getting the odor out for good.
• Don't forget to finish cleaning the urine spot after the cleanser has had time to break down the cat urine.