Cat urine can be extremely difficult to clean, depending on the surface. Often, it may seem as if the urine is gone with no trace of smell but the cat still urinates in the same spot again. Removing all traces of cat urine is essential to prevent recurrences. Cleaning cat urine out of rubber mats is not impossible but the nature of the rubber itself may encourage the cat to continue using it as a litter box.
Step 1
Keep the cat away from the rubber mat while you are cleaning the urine. This will avoid a second stain from being created before you clean the first.
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Step 2
Use paper towels or a mop to soak up as much of the cat urine as possible. If the rubber mat is not covered by any other fabric, clean the mat with an enzymatic cleaner. Follow the directions on the bottle. If the rubber mat is covered in fabric, machine-wash it with a cup of white vinegar. After you have washed it once with vinegar, wash it again with detergent.
Step 3
Use carpet cleaner if you are not able to machine-wash a fabric-covered mat. Saturate the fabric with the cleaner and let it sit for an hour. Blot the spot with paper towels. If necessary, pad the fabric with paper towels that are weighed down with a book and leave for several hours in order to soak up the excess liquid. Use an enzymatic cleaner to neutralize the odor.
Step 4
Air-dry rubber mats outdoors, if possible. Removing all traces of the odor of urine is the best way to discourage a cat from urinating on the mat again.
Step 5
Avoid rubber mats. Cats associate certain odors with their own urine. These odors encourage them to urinate over that area. One of these odors actually comes from rubber mats. Bath or kitchen mats that are lined with rubber to prevent slipping are often the victims of cat urine. Since the smell of the rubber is what attracts the cat to urinate on the mat, it may be best to use a vinyl-lined mat instead.
Step 6
Do not use ammonia products to clean cat urine odors. Ammonia, like rubber mats, contains an odor similar to a cat's urine. This will only encourage more inappropriate urinating.
Step 7
Do not use products that mask odors. These will not work against a cat's sensitive nose. A cat's sense of smell will find any trace of remaining urine.
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