At some point, most of our feline friends will vomit, drool, pee or poop on our carpet, floors, furniture or bedding.
If this has happened in your home, the first question to ask yourself is whether your cat has started doing any of these things frequently? If so, they may be experiencing a health or behavioural issue so please speak with your vet to rule out either cause.
Your next question is then likely to be how best to clean up after your cat. The sooner you do this after you realise what’s happened, the easier it will be to remove possible smells and stains.
Firstly, wipe up your cat’s pee or pick up your cat’s poop. Use paper towels for this and wear gloves.
Gloves are particularly important with cat poop, as it may contain a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. This disease is especially dangerous for pregnant women as the parasite can be passed on to a baby during pregnancy.
If these accidents have occurred on carpet or other fabrics, blot to soak up as much as possible, and pat down with a damp cloth. This will begin the process of neutralising the smell. This is important because if your cat can smell the area, they may go back there to pee again.
When cleaning up cat pee, use an enzyme cleaner as this destroys the potent uric acid it contains which can stick around for some time.
There are many brands that sell enzyme cleaners specifically for pet accidents, such as urineFREE (made here in Melbourne), Fizzion, Urine Off, WeeOff and Rufus & Coco.
We recommend Australian-made TrueEco Cat and Dog Urine Odour and Stain Remover (https://www.trueeco.com.au/cpom¹). This is the product we use ourselves with the many cats we care for. It has a delicate scent that isn’t overwhelming for our cats and it is very effective.
Choose an enzyme cleaning product that best suits you and your cat in terms of its cost and smell. Use this product on the stain and let it dry naturally for a few hours. Try to keep your cat away from the area while it is drying.
This process will help clean up the common cat messes all of us cat parents encounter at some point.
Other key tips to remember:
- You may need to repeat the process of blotting and using your preferred enzyme cleaning product before the stain and smell are removed.
- Don’t use a steam cleaner or other heated equipment on pee stains as this may set the stains further rather than help remove them.
- You can also look online for cleaning solutions you can make yourself using water, vinegar or baking soda, to help neutralise odours.
Footnote
1. This is an affiliate hyperlink for the Cat People of Melbourne. This means we receive a small commission from TrueEco each time anyone purchases the product through this link.