What Is the Best Way to Clean Cat Pee From My Carpet?

Cat accidents happen, occasionally, on your carpet. And sometimes accidents aren't accidental at all. Stupid cat.

Cat urine has a high ammonia content, which leaves a strong smell and can cause discoloration on your carpet. The best way to remove cat urine stains and smells from your carpet is to clean it quickly and thoroughly. Even if you're unable to get to the cat urine stain right away, a thorough cleaning should remove the stain and odor. Use products from home to make your own cat urine stain and odor remedies. Once the stain and odor are gone, cats will not be attracted back to the same spot on your carpet to urinate again.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Newspaper
• Water
• Clean cloths
• White vinegar
• Spray bottles
• Vacuum
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Baking soda
• Liquid hand soap
• Pet odor neutralizer

Instructions

1. Create a thick blotter with paper towels and newspapers to wick up the cat urine liquid. Lay paper towels on the carpeting first. Follow with a thick layer of newspaper. Wearing hardy shoes, stand on the blotter to wick up cat urine moisture, changing your blotter materials, as needed, until you've wicked up as much urine as possible.

2. Saturate the carpet where cat urine exists with plain, cool water. Place clean cloths on top of the stain and soak up the water. Continue to apply pressure to the clean cloths until there's no more transfer of water to cloth.

3. Create a spray of 1 part white vinegar to 2 parts warm water in a spray bottle. Spray the cat urine stain, heavily, with the vinegar spray. Allow the vinegar spray to sit on the urine stain until dry.

4. Vacuum your carpet at the site of the cat urine stain to remove your vinegar solution.

5. Pour 2 cups of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 2 tbsp. of baking soda and a couple squirts of liquid hand soap into a spray bottle. Close the spray bottle and shake vigorously to mix. Apply this solution to light-colored carpets and rub in with a clean cloth to clean the stain and neutralize odor-causing bacteria.

6. Sprinkle a generous amount of pet odor neutralizer on the site of the cat urine stain on your carpet. Use enough to completely cover the stained area. Allow the neutralizer to sit on your carpet for a couple hours or overnight, dependent upon the severity of the stain.

7. 

   Vacuuming removes cleansers and blends the carpet fibers with the remaining carpet.

   Remove the neutralizer with your household vacuum. Fluff your carpet fibers with your fingers and allow any remaining moisture from the cleaning process to air dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Place paper towels and newspapers soiled from cleaning the urine in the cat's litter box to show your cat the litter box is the place to urinate. Praise and pet your cat when it uses its litter box.

• Bring your cat to a veterinarian if the cat has suddenly begun to urinate in places other then the litter box. An occasional accident is normal, but repeated accidents may indicate a health issue.

References

• Cats World Australia: Cat Urine Odor & Smell Removal

Resources

• Cats of Australia: Urine Stain Removal