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May 19, 2007
Spring Awakening- The Smell of Cat Pee
I have some wonderful tenants that I inherited in my wood frame three family. (Closed this winter) However, now that spring has sprung the cat pee odor emanating from their apt. is pretty bad. (They have three cats in a 620sq ft apt.) I'm not too concerned for myself in the short term, but their lease is up soon and if they leave I'm wondering how hard it is to get rid of this smell if they decide to vacate.
Okay, this is a rambling way of asking "how do I get rid of the smell of cat pee and cat essence?
Comments
Well, you won't smell the cat pee if they clean the litter box. People who live with cats sometimes don't realize how bad this smells since their own sensitivity to this smell gets dulled by
being around it. Cat boxes should be cleaned every day or else they will stink, spring or winter. At first I thought you were posting about cats peeing outside and your smelling it since windows are opening. But you have control over this and it is to speak to the people. If they left tomorrow, you can get rid of cat smell by cleaning well and opening windows. This assumes that the smell is coming from the cat box. There have been wild stories on this site about houses that have been destroyed by animal excrement. I am assuming that the smell is limited to the litter box.
Good luck with your new house.
Posted by: anon at May 19, 2007 10:55 AM
First of all, you should check what their lease says. Did it allow pets and if so, did it limit them to just one pet? If I were you, I would not renew their lease and get new tenants. That will help to fix the problem next year at least and right in the lease that they are either not allowed any pets or they are limited to one cat/dog. And also that if they are not responsible for clean-up and smells that you are allowed to either evict them or have them get rid of the pet.
They are affecting your quality of life and that is not acceptable.
Posted by: Archie at May 19, 2007 11:08 AM
As 10:48 notes, it depends on where the smell is coming from. If you are lucky, the smell emanates solely from the cat box and your lazy tenants are not diligent about keeping it clean. On the other hand, if the cats are urinating on any of your permanent surfaces, you'll have to see the damage and decide whether you can clean away the smell (as in carpet) or if its going to require replacement (as in wood flooring.)
Make sure not to give them their security deposit back until you know which kind of damage you have. BTW, you'll find lots of cleaning products on the market for this purpose -- how effective they are may depend on the type of surface and how long the "damage" has gone on.
Posted by: LB at May 19, 2007 12:30 PM
If the cats are peeing on your wood floors, you will never get the smell out, and it will turn the wood black. Your only options are 5 coats of urethane and carpet or paint to hide the stains, or replace the floors entirely. It's one of the worst things you can let happen to your property.
Posted by: mc at May 19, 2007 1:26 PM
We bought a house that had 9 cats living in it for 9 years. The smell was unbelievable. After trying Nature's Miracle, bleach, etc, we realized we had to resort to ripping up the wood floors. Then the subfloors. Then the ceiling to the basement. Pee had permeated cement, tile and wood.
It doesn't smell anymore...but it cost a LOT of money. Definitely check out what's going on with your tenants and if the cats are peeing on the floors (not just in the litter), put a stop to it immediately.
Good luck!
Posted by: Anonymous at May 19, 2007 2:05 PM
Sadly, the fact that the litterboxes are really smelly means you are likely going to have cat pee on the floors in some places. Cats HATE their litterboxes to be filthy, and if the litterbox gets really full and smelly they will pee in other places in their living space, simply because there's no room left in their litterbox. And who can blame the cats?
People who have multiple cats but don't clean litterboxes every single day are idiots. It takes 2 minutes, seriously, not more than 2 minutes. And yet they'd rather live in filth, than spend that 2 minutes a day cleaning out the litterbox.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 19, 2007 5:49 PM
Usually cats have favorite corners if they are peeing on the floor. You don't have to rip out the entire floor. Just cut out and replace the damaged area. Also, you should cut away some of the sheetrock or plaster near the area because they've probably sprayed that as well. A blacklight will show the urine spots.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 19, 2007 10:52 PM
I remember reading that the people who bought and extensively renovated Grey Gardens said they still smell the cats when it is damp.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 20, 2007 5:27 PM
I remember reading that the people who bought and extensively renovated Grey Gardens said they still smell the cats when it is damp.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 20, 2007 5:27 PM
I inherited elderly relative's house that had that smell in area around the litter box. Tried vinegar, bleach, ammonia--and this was after I'd ripped up the linoleum. Then put many, many coats of paint on the spot, but, as the poster above reported, for the next ten years(!), the smell would come back when it was damp. Last year--20 years after I got the house, and 10 years after I thought the smell was just a memory (I'd put down a new floor)--my plumber drilled through that spot...and there it was again, though only briefly.
My advice: if getting rid of the litter box doesn't get rid of the smell, skip all the cleaning steps and either recover the floor or replace it.
Posted by: Anonymous at May 21, 2007 9:26 AM
Some rat poison mixed with some Meow Mix should do the trick. Ha ha.
JUST KIDDING. IT IS BAD TO POISON PETS, EVEN IF THEY ARE CATS.
Posted by: Dog Person at May 22, 2007 10:17 AM
Ammonia and water actually bring out the smell of cat pee; Nature's Miracle is the way to go.
Posted by: anon at May 22, 2007 10:35 AM
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