How to get rid of cat pee smell in sofa

Have you tried Fabreze? If you didn't try it first of all, try it now.

That's a frustrating problem for sure! First of all, if people are touring your house considering to buy it, you need to have all evidence of pets out!

That includes litterbox, food dishes, leashes, toys, etc. Many people have allergies or even "ickies" to pets and even if there is no odor nor contamination, their subconscious mind will lie to them.

OK, back to your problem. The first rule of urine decontamination (or any odor control) is to clean thoroughly. Once cleaned, the majority of the odor will be gone.

Cleaning a sofa thoroughly is the trick. Most of the time the urine is not just in the covering--it is mostly in the batting and cushions.

In the case of leather, it will be well-saturated in the leather, too unless it's a protected leather. You need to know if it's protected or unprotected. If you know, then tell me. I'll help from there.

Also, the older the contamination, the harder it is to get out, and the more stinky it is. As long as that odor is there, your cat will probably re-wet the spots...even when she's not sick.

As a professional, this is how I handle bad urine or odor cases. I am answering the question for more readers than just you.

I pick up the piece and take it to my shop. This lets me work on it for several days in a controlled environment where I can reduce the risks of bleeding, and shrinkage. I can also more effectively wash the fabric and cushions and dry them with my professional fans and giant dehumidifier. It also lets me know whether I killed the odor or not.

(You might have noticed that when you apply a deodorizer to a spot, it seems the odor is gone, but then you smell it again in a few days).

Now, to do an effective job on your own, you should try to mimick the professional as much as is reasonable. And let me add right now that you should call a pro for this--especially since you've been unsucessful so far. I can probably help you find an expert in your area, since I personally know many across the US.

OK, first of all, remember that you should never remove and wash the covers. They will shrink, and you will not get them back on the cushions, or they will take on a weird shape.

Know what the fabric and cushions/stuffing is made of. Test for bleeding (though bleeding may not matter if removing the odor is most important) and shrinkage.

Note: the sewn-in tag on the furniture DOES NOT tell you what the fabric is made of. It tells you what the stuffing is, however.

Assuming the fabric is safe to wash:
If you have foam rubber cushions, they can be washed with water, squeezed out, rinsed, squeezed, and apply a waterbased deodorizer--heavily. You may open the zipper to more easily get the deodorizer solution into the cushion. Put in a plastic trash can liner and let it sit for at least an hour. This keeps it wet so the deodorizer works.

After that, rinse and squeeze, rinse and squeeze. Dry in the sun preferably on a non-humid day.

If the urine is on parts of the sofa that you can't wash (the body) then you will need a "steam" carpet cleaner (that is, one which does NOT actually create real steam). You will have to use the handheld upholstery tool, and rinse rinse, rinse with warm water, taking care to make lots of dry vacuum strokes between. You want to rinse out as much urine from teh batting as possible, but you don't want to cause overwetting and thus mildew (this is why I recommend a pro who really knows his stuff, and takes the piece to his shop).

There are ways you can deodorize without all the rinsing, but then you'd be soaking your furniture and stuffing with chemicals, and leaving them there. This is not healthy, in my opinion.

Oh, keep in mind that urine is a complex stain. You have odor, water-and oil-based soil, plus salt, plus ureachrome dyes. What I've tried to approach here is mostly the soil and odor. The other items, especially on leather are further problems.


General Tsao

I contacted Seamens, that were I got the sofa from, and all they could tell me is that its 100% top grain Italian leather and that it is untreated. I don't have a stain that I could see...the problem is that my cat accidently got locked in the living room overnight...so she decided to do her business on the sofa...she ended up peeing on a cushion which we just discarded...and we cleaned the poop but it still stinks! I am clueless on how to get the odor out. If you could help if would be appreciated.

We can see that the only solution now is to throw away a £1000 recliner that she has ruined. We just cant get the smell out, the wood is wet, the leather stinks and the cushion under the seat has been ripped out and above that it is ruined as well. We don't have Natures Miracle here in England and so this is the only solution.

Now I worry about taking her to our new home in USA when this house sells. She may start doing it again.

She was diagnosed as having crystals in her urine and will be starting the special food soon, we pray this works. Her brother is fine and does not ruin a thing, he is a joy to have around. She is a heartache and hubby is now thinking of leaving her here in the UK and just taking him. That makes me fill up just thinking about it,,,,,,,,but................ I just dont know what else to do.

We just bought a house and when I began to remove the carpet, a horrible smell permeated the room. Two corners of the carpet were stained deep yellow and the plywood floor was stained as well. I'm guessing from the smell that its years and years (she owned it for 14) of cat pee. The capet is gone, and I washed and even sanded down the wood, but it still smells. We are laying a wood laminate floor this coming weekend and I need to resolve this as soon as possible. Any solutions? I am planing on trying nature's miracle after reading the forum, but am nervous about putting bacteria on wood and then trapping it under our floor. I'm sure there is plenty of bacteria on the floor already.