- Joined
- Oct 13, 2014
- Messages
- 10
- Purraise
- 3
Hello everyone! My partner and I claimed our first "rescue" just over 1 year ago and he has been wonderful. Short haired tabby. Neutered. Very friendly, affectionate, playful, and people-oriented.
My question is about odor control - and specifically with carpeted areas.
A few weeks ago a large box fell in the closet where his litter box is kept and I think it scared him. We discovered he had actually peed on the carpet when we moved the box off the floor. This was very out of character for him - he has never peed outside his box before and he hasn't since - so we suspect the box actually may have fallen onto him or very nearly and he just went - like a little kid.
Now since that event I have tried various methods to get rid of the smell with limited success. Before I invest in a steam cleaner or go through the hassle of renting one, I'd like to hear if anyone has good advice for how to keep carpets generally free of odor - pee or not.
The first thing I tried was general spray-and-scrub carpet cleaner which seemed to do nothing except spread the odor further out from its initial spot.
I then bought some baking soda-based "pet odor eliminator" for carpets. I have used it twice being sure to let it sit for awhile and even brushing it into the carpet before sucking it up in the vacuum. All this has done is to create a sort of gross masking smell - I now smell floral arrangements and the underlying cat odor together and the initial smell is still there in the carpet. (I've also sprayed Febreeze but that's mostly useless, it would seem. It does not get rid of the smell and a few hours later the smell is back - plus I don't want to spray all over the places he likes to lay, of course, as I imagine that wouldn't be good for his skin.)
Worse than the spot where he peed however is the general smell of cat odor which seems to have gradually flowed into the office (also carpet) area from the closet. (it's a large 2 bed 2 bath and we keep the litter in the walk in storage closet which connects to guest bathroom and the office.)
I open the windows every morning, clean the litter box twice a day, vacuum regularly, and light candles on weekends, but it still smells like "that cat smell" to me.
I have literally gotten on my hands and knees and sniffed all over the carpet to find if he had perhaps peed somewhere in the office, too -- he has not -- so I think it is just the general cat smell permeating the carpet.
When I wake in the morning I can smell cat odor and its starting to make me a little bit paranoid. The last thing I want is for someone to come into the apartment and feel like they are going into "that cat person's house." You know what I mean.
I am not against investing in a steam vac but I have also heard that those only provide limited results so ...
Advice? Any / all welcome! Thank you!
My question is about odor control - and specifically with carpeted areas.
A few weeks ago a large box fell in the closet where his litter box is kept and I think it scared him. We discovered he had actually peed on the carpet when we moved the box off the floor. This was very out of character for him - he has never peed outside his box before and he hasn't since - so we suspect the box actually may have fallen onto him or very nearly and he just went - like a little kid.
Now since that event I have tried various methods to get rid of the smell with limited success. Before I invest in a steam cleaner or go through the hassle of renting one, I'd like to hear if anyone has good advice for how to keep carpets generally free of odor - pee or not.
The first thing I tried was general spray-and-scrub carpet cleaner which seemed to do nothing except spread the odor further out from its initial spot.
I then bought some baking soda-based "pet odor eliminator" for carpets. I have used it twice being sure to let it sit for awhile and even brushing it into the carpet before sucking it up in the vacuum. All this has done is to create a sort of gross masking smell - I now smell floral arrangements and the underlying cat odor together and the initial smell is still there in the carpet. (I've also sprayed Febreeze but that's mostly useless, it would seem. It does not get rid of the smell and a few hours later the smell is back - plus I don't want to spray all over the places he likes to lay, of course, as I imagine that wouldn't be good for his skin.)
Worse than the spot where he peed however is the general smell of cat odor which seems to have gradually flowed into the office (also carpet) area from the closet. (it's a large 2 bed 2 bath and we keep the litter in the walk in storage closet which connects to guest bathroom and the office.)
I open the windows every morning, clean the litter box twice a day, vacuum regularly, and light candles on weekends, but it still smells like "that cat smell" to me.
I have literally gotten on my hands and knees and sniffed all over the carpet to find if he had perhaps peed somewhere in the office, too -- he has not -- so I think it is just the general cat smell permeating the carpet.
When I wake in the morning I can smell cat odor and its starting to make me a little bit paranoid. The last thing I want is for someone to come into the apartment and feel like they are going into "that cat person's house." You know what I mean.
I am not against investing in a steam vac but I have also heard that those only provide limited results so ...
Advice? Any / all welcome! Thank you!