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Post by PerrinJade on Jan 22, 2015 16:47:30 GMT -5
Recently the boys went into temporary foster care because I had to go to the hospital and there was no one to take them. They're home now, but I have to have someone come in a couple days a week to make sure that I'm doing okay and the house is being kept up. Today she told me (in the kindest way she could) that the house smells like cat pee. I'm not good about scooping every day. I was at one point, but I've backslid. That gave me the wake-up call that I needed to start doing better. Anyone else have any struggle like this or have a big wake-up call like mine?
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Post by iguanamamma on Jan 22, 2015 17:53:15 GMT -5
My inside cat boys like to spray the front door, the walls the furniture and most favorite my shoes. I use Febreze and try to spray as much as they do. Could you have a neighbor come check on you? Wish i lived closer and I would. Get better soon.
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2015 18:34:51 GMT -5
sometimes, when it rains, I think the smell of anything, especially cat pee, gets stronger. I also couldn't figure out once what was going on and it turned out the cat had been peeing on the guest bed, which we had to discard. If there is pee someplace that you don't know about that could be the problem.
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Post by bluefrog on Jan 22, 2015 20:38:55 GMT -5
Some pet stores, online pet supply stores, and Amazon sell mini black lights which are useful for finding pet urine spots. Cat and dog urine glows under black light. They might help to track down urine that you can smell, but can't see.
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Post by hiding on Jan 23, 2015 0:09:49 GMT -5
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Post by ohblondie on Jan 23, 2015 8:26:02 GMT -5
PerrinJade Hugs.....and I am glad you are out of the hospital and that the kids are home.
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Post by moonglow on Jan 23, 2015 14:29:20 GMT -5
Hi Pamela, good to hear you are doing better. Hugs to you for this hard time. Yes get a black light but try to buy the biggest one you can find. I ordered one from the internet and it was so small that it would have taken me forever to go over the house with it. Use a good enzyme cleaner on any spots you find, this breaks down the molecules of the urine. I also use an enzyme cleaner for the floor under and around the litterbox, and I use it on the box itself when I dump all the litter out periodically. I think that the "stink" can penetrate into the plastic of the box and continue to smell. First I clean out the pan with a mix of 50/50 vinegar and water, then I spray the enzyme cleaner on and let it sit for at least 15 minutes before wiping up. Cheapest one I have found is "Out", available at K-Mart by the gallon. I burn candles and incense regularly and I think that helps. Also know that that may be harder with young children. I use Japanese incense which I think is better because it doesn't have the bamboo core. I also have a Lampe Berger which is supposed to help with "cleansing the air" but they are somewhat expensive - I bought the cheapest burner I could find. I also recently bought a diffuser for essential oils, and then found out that there are many essential oils which are toxic to cats! Apparently their livers are built differently and there are some compounds that they cannot break down. So use care in choosing candles to burn, and cleaners too. Lysol for one is also toxic to cats. Best bet though, is frequent scooping. Air the house out periodically. Scoop twice a day, morning and evening. For number of litterboxes, one for each cat, plus one. I have four cats, five litterboxes. I also use the crystal litter which I think keeps odor down better. And! Take out the trash right after you scoop! I do have a Litter Locker and the old style works better than the new one. But if you can just immediately take out the litter that you have scooped, that helps a lot. It will certainly stink if left in the trash can. I scoop into pet waste bags, like you use when you walk the dogs to pick up poop. You can just toss them into a plastic grocery bag and take them out. I have also heard of people scooping into old bread bags. But I have found that even scooping into a pet waste bag, then throwing in the trash, is not enough. The stink will come through the plastic bag. Get it out of the house! Good luck, I hope that this extra supervision actually turns out to be a good thing for you, helping you to motivate and stay on top of things.
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Post by messymimi on Jan 23, 2015 16:52:16 GMT -5
My sympathy on all of this. We have one cat that pulls clean clothes down to pee on them, and a couple of them that try to pee on the kitchen counters! We have to clean daily, a lot, and i know it gets very tiring.
messymimi
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Post by dayeanu on Jan 23, 2015 19:17:37 GMT -5
I'm glad you're home and doing well!
My only two suggestions are to sprinkle baking soda in with the litter. I have a friend who swears by this.
Also using the Breeze litter box system would probably help, as urine is absorbed by a pad.
Good luck.
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Post by PerrinJade on Jan 24, 2015 13:53:16 GMT -5
I've started cleaning multiple times a day. I'm hoping that will help. I take it outside immediately after cleaning it out. I dump it all once a week. I'll look into an enzyme cleaner for the box and surrounding areas. Thank you for the support and suggestions.
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Post by lostchild on Jan 24, 2015 22:19:03 GMT -5
I found my kitten had decided to poop under the buffet. I have been trying to keep up. I put another litter box out. The house smells better but found the kitten is going behind a not easily moved three piece entertainment center with a 60 inch TV on it. I have to figure how to move it to reach a poop. All the rest is up.
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Post by lesaulerouge on Jan 25, 2015 7:14:17 GMT -5
I found my kitten had decided to poop under the buffet. I have been trying to keep up. I put another litter box out. The house smells better but found the kitten is going behind a not easily moved three piece entertainment center with a 60 inch TV on it. I have to figure how to move it to reach a poop. All the rest is up. Lostchild, as a kitten our cat went through a phase of peeing behind the tv. I read somewhere (don't know where, as this was pre Internet!) that they do not like tinfoil (also called aluminum foil, like you would use when baking a turkey, don't know what else it might be called). You rip it into inch wide strips, roughly, and lay a load on the ground in the place they have been going. It worked for us, and is cheap enough to be worth trying I think?
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Post by bittyboo on Jan 25, 2015 12:41:29 GMT -5
If I were you, I'd avoid any type of odor neutralizer, scent diffuser, incense or air freshener during the social worker's (?) next visit. Even if you have found and eliminated the source of the odor, she will automatically assume that instead of cleaning up the source of the odor, you are attempting to cover it up. It won't make a good impression, and it might have the effect of her scheduling more visits than she otherwise would, or she may drop in unannounced in order to see if the smell has really been eliminated.
On a personal level, I can tell you that I am extremely sensitive to cat urine, and no air freshener, candle or scent diffuser ever completely covers the odor. It just smells like a combination of urine and the cover scent, and it's not pleasant.
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Post by ohblondie on Jan 25, 2015 13:12:12 GMT -5
I buy the solid air freshener that is labeled "odor neutralizing". It is a white plastic holder with blue insides. The cone shaped ones that you twist the top up to expose the gel. It lasts a month and you toss it when it gets hard. Glade brand maybe? I think they are around a dollar.
I place one right inside the front door and one in each room. They do not smell like anything they somehow absorb the smell.
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bah
New Member
Joined: June 2009
Posts: 51
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Post by bah on Jan 25, 2015 19:37:01 GMT -5
I find that floral scents combine with the nasty smell but fruit scents remove it. I use reed diffusers and a blackberry and vanilla scent. People think I have been cooking. 9
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