Cat pee, cat piss, cat spray, cat urine.
No matter what you call it, it stinks!
By Alan J. Fletcher
I have a cat urine problem like so many people do today… this is my story….
The problem I have is, I love my cat. And even though she is ruining my carpet and making my life miserable I need to find a simple solution to this problem. It may not be so simple because I’ve tried many products featured on television and at this point nothing really seems to work. They are nothing more than rip-offs.
So, at this point I am desperate to find a viable solution to my cat urine problem and am willing to try anything, at any price, to resolve the problem, as long as I don’t have to get rid of my cat. She is my best feline friend named Carmen.
Carmen is a middle aged cat, about 7 years old now I figure. I rescued her from the humane society about four years ago. They said she was about three years old. She is a multi-colored cat, with a Carmel tone and a long tail. Carmen is a fairly lazy cat, and she stays inside most of the time. But she goes outside when it is not raining and the mood suits her. During the day she prefers to curl up in a ball and sleep on my bed or hang out near the front window on her carpet covered cat condo.
Most of the time she uses her litter box when she is home alone but sometimes she sneaks behind the television to pee in the corner. She also likes to pee in a spot in the spare bedroom sometimes. I don’t know exactly why she does this; perhaps I am at fault for not putting her outside more often. Maybe she smells another previous pet in that spot and it is a territorial thing. Maybe I don’t change her litter box as often as she might like. I just don’t know anything for sure. She won’t tell me. I never punish her, I don’t think spanking a cat is something that I could live with.
When I am home, she may wait by the door patiently until I let her out. But she only stays outside for an hour or two and then wants back inside. She is not a very social cat. There are other cats in the area but she does not interact with them. Maybe it is because she has been spayed. The neighborhood tom cats don’t have any interest in her.
She does like to play. We play with a string and a catnip mouse at times. I tried using dental floss once, it was mint flavored and when she put it into her mouth she did not like the flavor at all. She even watches television with me. I can see her head moving as objects move across the screen. She becomes very alert when a dog barks or a cat howls on television. She sleeps on my bed at night.
She loves tuna flavored wet food but I only giver her that a couple times a week. I give her dry food, the vet recommended kind. She seems to like it just fine.
I don’t know why she pees in the corner. It might be my entire fault. Maybe she is not able to hold it very long and I don’t notice that she wants to outside in time. Perhaps she is just lazy. Maybe she is mad at me for being gone at work all day. I don’t know. I just know that she is making my life miserable. I cannot afford to have the carpets cleaned every month or replace the carpet every year. I need a solution that is low cost and highly effective.
Regardless of why she is doing this, I now have a couple areas where the odor is very pungent and I just can’t stand the smell of cat pee, especially on those warm summer days. I have got to do something, and replacing the carpet is not my first choice, nor in my budget.
When those television commercials say that they have the solution to my cat odor problem I pick up the phone and read off my credit card number. I have tried three pet urine products in the past 9 months without much success. Recently I saw a new product on the market, let’s call it brand X. This one says it will cure my urine problem once and for all, I really hope this one works because I am tired of spending money trying to deal with this problem.
They claim that it can quickly and easily remove pet urine stains and odor from carpets and upholstery simply by spraying on their newfangled enzyme solution and letting it dry. So for about twenty bucks I desperately needed to give it a try, hoping and praying that this time it will be THE product that will finally solve my never-ending dilemma of pet urine from my beloved cat.
Once the product arrived, I eagerly headed to the main hidden area where Carmen tends to frequent. So I spray and spray the magical solution until my hand becomes fatigued, soaking the entire area as the directions have stated. Then I sprayed the other areas that were not as severe.
During the treatment, my curious feline wanted to know what I was doing so she came over to the evil spot and sniffed around momentarily and then fled indignantly. I could tell that she recognized the stinky area as one of her no-tell zones and she didn’t want to hang around long enough to be held accountable.
After applying the product I am instructed to wait until the product has time to work it’s magic and dry completely… So I eagerly wait…………………….
If you’re like me, waiting for something to happen is nerve racking. Waiting for a stain to disappear or odor to be eliminated is very difficult to see as it happens, but every couple of hours I headed back to the scene of the crime and look to see if there was any noticeable difference. I put my face down close to the carpet and sniffed eagerly. Not a fun thing to do, and at this point the smell was still there in full force. Eewwww!
I have to say that cat urine (or any other urine) is not a nice smell to endure and putting my nose within two inches of the nasty spot is making me feel like a slave to my beloved kitty. And although I would never consider giving up my cute little friend, this urine problem is putting a horrible strain on our relationship. I have spent over $130 in the last two years on urine remedies and cleaning supplies, so far no luck in solving this issue.
The next morning I woke and went straight to the treated area to see if it had dried. It had not. I rub my hand across the carpet and feel wetness. My hand now smells of cat urine and enzymes. In my eagerness I had used up almost one entire bottle on this one main spot, so drying time will obviously take longer. I figured if I sprayed on a ton of this stuff it will work better. Once again my nose is inches from the carpet hoping to smell nothing more than a sweet fragrance, but the urine smell was still very evident. I am not going to make any rash decisions until the area is fully dry.. So I am off to work. I want to make sure this product has plenty of time to work its magic. I will check it again when I get home in about 7 hours…
Home from work I head straight to the spot to see if the area was dry. It was not. Again I put my nose to the area hoping for a sweet smelling carpet. Eewwww… no sweet smell yet. I rub my hand across the carpet and feel wetness. My hand now smells of cat urine again. This is frustrating. I decide to not deal with this again until the next morning.
I wake up and the first thing on my mind is the cat urine issue. I have more important issues to deal with but this issue is the one on my mind. What have I become? A slave to my cat? There are major issues at work that I am facing, legal and financial obligations looming but still the cat pee is the first thing I think about when I wake up. So, I head out to the living room, move the TV out a little and once again rub my hand across the carpet and I discover the area is finally dry! I quickly place my nose to the spot and…. It still smells like cat pee. But there is a hint of fragrance too. I guess it is like the old saying of fish and roses. I think the smell is not as bad, but never the less, the smell is still there. Even after two weeks, the smell is still just as strong. Now my cat has found a new spot to pee, behind the plant next to the couch. It happens to be near the heat vent. I think my problem has become worse.
For those of you looking to find the best option for your pet urine problem, I don’t believe any quick-fix spray shown on TV is going to do the trick. One product I have found does work but it is not a quick fix. It requires some work and diligence.
Pet urine problems? Want a solution?
©2006-2009 ALAN J FLETCHER
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