How to Remove Cat Urine From Wooden Furniture

For cat people, a house doesn't become a home until there's a content feline purring away on the chair beside them. Cats are wonderful pets, but even the most passionate cat owner out there will be honest: Cleaning up the urine messes they sometimes make is a hassle. That hassle is doubled when the urine in question has been deposited on wooden furniture.

Luckily, all hope doesn't have to be lost the second you realize that Mr. Meow has sprayed that antique rocking chair. There are several tried-and-true methods when it comes to removing cat urine from wooden furniture, so don't despair. You're only a few steps away from banishing that foul smell forever and leaving your wooden furniture as fresh as a daisy.

Three percent hydrogen peroxide is excellent for removing cat urine on wooden furniture if you've caught the accident right away. It can be used to treat older urine stains too. The risk is that it needs to be left on an older stain longer, and the longer wooden furniture is exposed to hydrogen peroxide, the more likely it is to discolor it.

Before treating the stain, apply a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to an inconspicuous part of the wooden furniture in question. Wait an hour to see if the color of the wood has changed. If not, proceed with the following steps. If the color does change, try one of the alternative methods.

1. Cover the stain with a hydrogen-peroxide-dampened cloth or sponge.
   
   
2. Cover the cloth with a fresh piece of plastic wrap to help seal in the cleaning agent and let it sit that way for between two hours and overnight depending on the age of the stain.
   
   
3. Remove the plastic and cloth, use a damp rag to wipe the wood clean, and let it air-dry.

Using baking soda and distilled white vinegar to clean up cat urine messes on wooden furniture is a great option provided that the stain isn't an older one. The longer the urine has been in the wood, the more time the wood has to absorb it, which can make household methods less effective. Stick with this technique if you're dealing with a relatively fresh cat urine accident.

1. Make a paste with baking soda and distilled white vinegar. It should be completely wet but not runny.
   
   
2. Using a clean toothbrush or scrub brush, gently rub the paste on the affected areas.
   
   
3. Let the paste sit for at least two hours and then wipe the wood clean with a warm, damp rag.
   
   
4. If traces of the urine accident remain, repeat the process.

Sometimes, for more seriously set-in cat urine stains on wooden furniture, a bit more elbow grease is needed to make sure the mess is truly gone. Retail urine removal products, such as Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer, work by destroying the urine enzymes and bacteria left behind. They provide the oomph necessary without damaging the wood furniture you love. If you opt to use a retail product, carefully read the label to determine whether the product is suitable for use on wood surfaces and follow all directions for spot testing, application, and timing.