Ugh! My Cat Peed on My Carpet, Again
My one-year-old shut the door to the room with the cat litter box inside. As a result, my cat peed on the carpet in his room (payback, I know). Yet, what I didn’t realize is she also went to the bathroom several times on the floor behind his toybox. Before I knew it, the room smelled and the urine had soaked through the pad and gotten into the tack board. Odor removal sprays and a deep carpet cleaning couldn’t remove the ammonia odor. Here is how I’m preventing my cat from urinating on my carpet, again.
24-Hour Access to a Clean, Litter Box
It’s hard when you have a toddler who thinks it’s fun to shut doors. Even worse is if your baby or toddler wants to touch the litter box. However, we put up a few baby gates so my son can’t keep running out to shut the “cat room” door. Cats need to have access to a clean, litter box. After all, felines are quite tidy. Thus, you need to remove feces from the cat box daily. As for how often you should change the litter completely, this depends on the type of litter you use, along with how many furry friends you have.
Where to Keep your Litter Box
I disliked having our litter box in common living spaces. Thus, my husband and father-in-law built a small “cat room.” My cats are quite lucky to have this small room. We took some extra wood flooring and placed it in the room. In addition, we have a portable heater and air conditioning so the cats aren’t too hot or cold. (I think it’s nicer than my own bathroom). According to the humanesociety.org, you should “keep the litter box in a spot that gives your cat some privacy yet is also conveniently located. If the box is too hard to get to, especially for a kitten or an elderly cat, he just may not use it.” If you have more than one cat, consider separate litter boxes.
Eliminating the Odor
If you sense (or smell) your cat has been peeing in a room, take a small black light and look on your carpet. In my case, the urine had soaked through into the pad and the tack board. Even after a deep carpet cleaning and using urine removal products, our carpet still smelled. My carpet guy told me for an extra $150 he could treat the pad to remove the urine smell. However, since we were thinking about getting new flooring, we ripped out the carpet. However, in a less extreme case, you can use some home remedies to take care of the problem. Web MD Pets recommends blotting excess urine with paper towels. Then, “soak the area with carpet cleaner or a few drops of dish detergent mixed with water.” Next, “let it sit for 1 to 2 hours and rinse with a wet sponge.” I have also heard about using a 1:3 vinegar to water solution to clean up the mess. Baking soda and enzymatic cleaner are also helpful. Whatever you do, don’t use an ammonia-based cleaner. This will simply lure your cat back to the scene of the original crime.
If your cat continues to go to pee on your carpet, you may want to take him or her to the vet. One of my cats had persistent bladder infections and had to have surgery to remedy the problem!
More from Melissa:
Canine Amputation: Life with a Three-Legged Dog
Host a Puppy Shower: A Fun Trend for Dog Lovers
The Truth About Feline Bone Cancer
