Help! cat using rug as litter box!

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Author Message   amandacat Citizen Username: Amandacat Post Number: 201 Registered: 8-2001 Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2003 - 2:53 pm:        I posted this query in the "Please Help" folder this morning but got no bites, so I thought I might have better luck here . . . Turns out our little angel has been peeing on our antique oriental carpet -- thanks a lot, cat -- and I'm hoping someone on this board can recommend a local business that will not only clean the rug for us but also neutralize the lovely cat urine odor that now permeates it. From what I read, it's important that the smell be fully removed rather than just covered up, lest the peeing cat be forever drawn to it. Any advice you can share would be GREATLY, IMMENSELY, 100% appreciated.   1-2many Citizen Username: Wbg69 Post Number: 246 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2003 - 10:11 am:        this is a tough one. any carpet store should be able to get it clean, but it will take several cleanings, and even then, when it's humid, the smell will waft up. we did this with several oriental rugs, with less success than a different remedy I later found. try Nature's Miracle (can buy at any pet store) on the affected area - if you can find the affected area - if you can't, you can buy a black light to find exactly where the urine is). Treat with Nature's Miracle as directed. Then, after two weeks when it's TOTALLY DRY, dump a buch of baking soda on it, and let that sit and absorb the urine odor out. Again, I would let it sit for days, if not a couple weeks. THEN take the rug to the rug cleaners. We did the Nature's Miracle + baking soda for our basement carpet when the cat started having litter box-phobia, and it worked. But it still NEEDED the baking soda. And, since your rug is movable, I would take it up and have it cleaned as a final step. good luck!!   amandacat Citizen Username: Amandacat Post Number: 207 Registered: 8-2001 Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2003 - 12:16 pm:        Thanks for the advice, 1-2. I've actually been treating the rug myself with Nature's Miracle, and though I think things have improved I'd still like to get the rug professionally cleaned with an all-over enzyme bath (apparently Bynderian in Montclair offers this service), in case there are any spots I missed. The weird thing is I tried the black light trick on this rug and nothing showed up, though the strong smell indicates otherwise. I wonder if maybe the pattern on the rug keeps the black light from working properly?   1-2many Citizen Username: Wbg69 Post Number: 255 Registered: 6-2002 Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2003 - 12:54 pm:        saw the tip on Bynderian in the other thread - sounds like someone had success with that, so surely it's worth trying. I had Shehadi (?) in Chatham clean ours to get pet urine out - even after THREE cleanings, you can still smell it on humid days!! this was why my rec was to use prof. cleaning as a supplement to the other things I've tried that worked. good luck!!   prodworks Citizen Username: Prodworks Post Number: 21 Registered: 10-2001 Posted on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 - 10:15 am:        Ugh, I was just about to write this post! My cat has urinated three times on our very nice oriental and I am so upset. We have dumped two bottles of Nature's Miracle on it but I still smell the strong smell. Amandacat, how much is Bynderian charging you?   Dawn Botti Citizen Username: Slushpuppy Post Number: 8 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2003 - 2:55 pm:        I hate to admit this.....but I might be considered an "expert" with cat pee right now. After my husband and I moved into our new "old" house, 2 of our 3 cats began "christening" the carpets. The cat behaviorist I spoke to said it was likely brought on because they smelled the prior homeowners pets in the house who had likely solied on the rugs and floors before. The first thing you need to find out is whether the cat is "spraying" (territorial marking) the rug, or just using it as a litter box. After you get the smell/ stain out as explained below, you need to take steps to keep the cat from doing it again.... that's why you need to find out which behavior it is. Unfortunately for me, I had one cat that was "spraying" and another (the kitten) that was just using an area rug as a little box. Each cat had to be treated differently...but after 4 month "battle" , I have finally won !!! The ONLY thing that really gets the smell out is a product out of California called "Anti-Icky Poo". It is an enzymatic cleanser that has living ordor-eating bacteria in it. It works MIRACLES ! I've tried Nature's Miracle and everything else on the market and nothing works like this stuff. It also is very important HOW you apply the cleanser. The guy told me if you just "pour" it on the rug, all that does is make the urine "move" to a different part of the rug, you are actually "pushing" it deeper into the rug this way. For area rugs, it is best to get a SPRAY BOTTLE and spray the cleanser in a light mist on both the top and underside of the rug. For wall to wall carpets they suggest to "inject" the carpet with the cleanser. What I did was just RIP OUT all of the wall-to-wall carpet and get it out of the house, along with it's prior pet smell. Go here and call the number www.mistermax.com Amanda: You did not ask about how to keep the cat from soiling the area again, but I assume that will probably be your next question. I have had good luck with a product called FELIAWAY which mimicks the cat's "happy" pheremones and tells him/ her that this is a Happy place and not one to spray or soil. This is more for the territorial spraying than the other bad behavior. A good website to consult and to buy the Feliway from is www.catfaeries.com. If you buy from her, the women who runs the site will also give you a free 15 min. phone consultation. She was VERY helpful in helping me break my cats of the bad habit. As for the "mistaking the rug as a little box" the woman on Cat Faeris (see below) said that alot of the new carpet pads have plastic materials in them that to cats, mimicks the smell of cat urine. This is one reason cats will also pee on plastic bags if you ever noticed.... Hope all this helps......Good LUCK ! And let me know how it goes. Dawn   OK, it's Tom Reingold Citizen Username: Noglider Post Number: 413 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 6:07 pm:        Is it a male cat? I wouldn't recommend getting rid of it, but I have resolved never to get a male cat. Cats hate citrus smells. It nauseates them. Maybe you can repel the cat with some sort of lemon spray. My mother managed to get the cats off her bed that way. Also, the cat may have a medical problem. Try taking him to the vet. It may not be a bladder or kidnet problem, but discomfort anywhere can deprogram his prior behavior training. Tom Reingold   jgberkeley Supporter Username: Jgberkeley Post Number: 3105 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 7:37 pm:        Learn to use Natures Miracle! or Get rid of the cat!