apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oooooh I hope someone has a solution. My very naughty male cat pee'd on my antique walnut desk and left some discoloration.

When I worked at a pet store, our go-to cleanser was a product called Nature's Miracle. I don't think it would with stained wood, though. It's designed to neutralize enzymes that stain and stink up, so maybe you could use it initially, then use some sort of product specialized to treat wood/wood floors as a followup?

what about sanding it off? you can rent a floor sander at home depot or lowes for around $35 a day or way less for a 4 hour block. the trick would be matching up the stain, but i think it would be better than a black urine spot. good luck!

My family has several rental properties and we really don't like renting to people with cats... sorry... It's because the urine (if left undiscovered) will actually burn and ruin the wood. Dogs are guilty too, but for some reason the cat urine is more damaging. Short of refinishing you can't really fix the dark spots. It's chemically burned wood. Call up your local flooring guy and ask him.

Imblebee - This is the third time this week someone has alluded (to me) to cats constantly peeing all over the floor. As an owner of three male cats who have never urinated anywhere but their litter box I just don't get it! Why do cats get such a bad wrap?

/end rant. Sorry guys, its just been something thats been bugging me.

suziegoombs, totally! My friends' landlord reluctantly let them have cats but very earnestly told them that if they defecated in the house it should be cleaned up. They normally LOVE living in a urine and poop filled house (sarcasm). It was so weird.

My cat is generally a good cat (really!) but has recently started peeing on the floor NEAR the litter box rather than in it. It's very upsetting. Luckily it's in a utility room with cement floors, and Nature's Miracle has worked fine for the smell, but I don't know how to make her stop.

I don't think that landlords should be allowed to discriminate against pets period. In Toronto it's illegal not rent to someone who has dogs or cats. I think you rent to someone responsible and then trust that they will act as such. I have a big dog who is much better behaved then many people, but he severely limits my renting options here in LA.

The uric acid combined with ammonia oxidizes the wood as if it were burned. You would have to sand and stain it.

I'm no expert on animal psychology, but in my experience cats seem to do this when they're unhappy about something, and dogs seem to do this when they're very excited.

As others have said about the floor, the wood is damaged and no liquid, spray, powder or other product is going to fix it. So don't waste your money. The only fix is to sand and stain it.

@Jenny in DC, about your cat's new behavior problem, if you haven't changed the brand of litter lately (some cats don't like change) and you clean the box religiously (do you remember to stop by that utility room daily), then your cat may be sick. Take her to the vet for a thorough checkup, including checking her teeth. Cats who suddenly start going outside the box are usually either stressed or sick.

yep, that'll need to be sanded and stained. sux!

i love my cats, but skinny cat had some issues. he's ok now, but for awhile there he saw any pile on the floor as a litter box...but it was my fault. we were renovating, not keeping things tidy, leaving piles of dusty material, etc. and during that time we also had to move his litter box a few times, which really really irked him.

most of the time, it's OUR fault when our animals (and kids!?) behave badly.

Jenny in DC: Me, too! He's never ever done this before. I've decided to change cat litter brands to see if that works. Then maybe change litter boxes to see if he get excited about using a new one. If all else fails, litter box has to go in the tub. YUCK, but better than on the floor.

As for products, I've had good luck with Nature's Miracle Orange-Oxy Power spray for my accident-prone old lady cat. On pee-burned wood, however, sanding is the only option.

Ewww if your cat peed on an area rug why wouldn't you clean underneath it as well? It's not a carpet, it moves, did they just pat it dry? That doesn't sound very sanitary or hygenic to me!

Yes, those pesky landlords wanting to protect their property. Dang them.

So why didn't anyone look under the shag rug? Didn't it smell?

The wood is gone--why is there shrink-wrap on it?

I work in property preservation and our business specializes in odor, mold, water/fire restoration.
I've sat through lectures for the odor remediation for pets and the only thing you can really do to ensure pet urine stains are resolved is 1) Sanding it 2)putting down an enzyme killer or antimicrobial to seal the wood 3) stain/wax seal over it. Just putting down chemicals without staining it will only mask the odor but when the humidity rises the problem will arise also.

As for cats I love my cat but for whatever reason nature intended their urine is much more harmful then dog's. Cat's are also just a strange creature in general. My first cat would pee on things of people she detested where ever they were, my current cat always always uses his litter box even if I change litter he won't fuss and keeps using it without a problem.

Re. those having issues with their cat's sudden choice to urinate oustde of the box***

I've had so many cat's in my nine lives, and this issue is THE most frustrating. When one of our cat's suddenly decided to urinate in new locations: next to the litter box, on curtains, on the rug, even right in front of me, it was like Maggie was saying, you suck, and I'll f***-ing pee where I want to!

The truth turned out that she had a bladder condition and was trying to get my attention because she felt sick. $2,000 later, because it wasn't quite that simple, she stopped the behavior. The moral of the story is listen to your cat's cue's and talk to your vet, because there may be something they can help with. Even a good cat
therapist (and I'm totally serious that they can help in the worst case scenario) don't give up on your cat!!

yep, i agree with all catowners above, if a cat starts to urin outside the box, he/she is trying to tell you that they are sick. my 'middle child' has recurring uti's, and when he starts peeing outside the box, i know there's another one coming. i tried to feed special food, doesn't work. he is actually at the vet right now, and they are doing a ua. of course now he won't pee.

there is also a cat litter that might help. it's called dr.elsie's. it's hard to find, i have to drive 20 miles and stock up for months. they make an additive called 'cat attract' that you can mix in with the regular litter, and apparently it has a pleasant smell to cats. anybody with cats, please buy this litter, it clumps very easily, is completely non-toxic, and doesn't create dust at all. you can dump a whole bag at a time, no dust whatsoever.

this was wordy, sorry.

oops, google it again, it's spelled 'dr. elsey's, and apparently they now make a litter specifically for cats with urinary tract problems. check it out. http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/product_detail.aspx?item_guid=D9979521-E552-4610-B7BF-4231939C0FAF&click=124&mf=2

I have used urine off and if she is just trying to get her deposit back it is a great solution, although temporary. I used it when I had christmas a few years ago and no one noticed at all, but the smell started to reappear within a few weeks.

I had a similar situation - a cat peed on a rug, and although we cleaned it up (and lifted and put a pad under the rug), it seemed to soak through. We used nature's miracle, which took care of the odor. On the wood, nothing seemed to work until one day I used method's wood floor cleaner. This was about 3 years ago. Not the almond one you get now. Full strength and it worked in about two applications. did not appear to take off the water based polyurethane. maybe it seeped under?

My cats do pee outside the litter box, but only in the bathtub (i have no idea why. they won't stop. There's nothing wrong with them. Explaining it to guests is a royal pain.)

I wouldn't even try to sand it myself - i'd just kiss the deposit. Seriously, why WOULDN"T you clean under the rug?

mgn, that's ridiculous. Suggesting that owners only rent to people who are responsible makes it pretty clear to me that you probably have no idea what it's like being an owner.

My mother rents out two apartments, and no assurance of an owner's responsibility will keep their dog from peeing on the carpet. Responsible human doesn't equate responsible animal. She let one person who owned a dog rent one of the apartments, going against her usual anti-dog rule, and guess what happened? The dog defecated and urinated on practically every square inch of the floor to floor carpeting in the living room. I have no idea if the stupid mutt was stressed from the move or what, but it happened even though we were told it wouldn't. After she moved out, we had to replace the carpet and all of the floorboards underneath. It was disgusting. The damage deposit didn't cover it, and the renter was long gone before we realized how bad it was. Needless to say, we won't be supplying any positive references for her.

Experiences like that only solidify my opinion that owners have every right to deny people with pets the right to rent their properties.

You are SOL. When I cought my house (sorry apartment people) the irresposible and pretty damn nasty previous owner did the same thing. They let the dog and cat pee on the rug and it seaped into the beutiful oak floors. I tried everything to get it out, to no avail. The floor guys came in and said they would try and take it out. They tried and did not work. They said "if it would have been on surface ..yes, but it went to deep". They could not sand any forther becase the floor would become uneven. All the fllors int he house got sanded and finished, they look beutiful! The one in our bedroom has about 5 spots that are bout 14" wide. We covered the whole floor in polyurethane abd stain to see if it would work = nope! I have remodeled all the rooms in my house in the last 2 years and this is the last one. We are starting on it next week and will have the guys come in and replace the work that is stained.

I have to agree with some people on here about being a responsible pet owner. I have had many dogs in the past, big dogs i.e pit bulls and if they made a mess (super rare) it turned into a full cleaning job (mop, dissinfectant, odor remover, gloves etc). We are very clean people (my wife says I am annalabout it, boderline OCD) and the house looks like if a pet never lived there. Apartment renter have an obligation to be that much more responsible. As much as I love pets I would never rent to a pet owner. I would have been embarrased to even put those pics on here! If that is how some pet owners have their homes, I think it is pretty damn sick!!!

I had a cat that had an accident on a sealed pine floor. I cleaned it up and didn't have any problems.

Maybe having a rug sit there caused the floor to burn.

Hi all-

I'm a vet tech and cat owner/guardian. Cats can be absolutely be what I call vindictive urinators. Many things can trigger this reaction including circumstances like a dirty litter box, new brand/type of cat litter, rearranged furniture, new pets, humans away on vacation, arguing in the home etc. Other kitties are simply not very good at the cat box thing. These poor cats usually can't tolerate the idea of stepping into a used cat box. Sometimes, multiple boxes, cleaned often, with only a very thin layer of litter, can help.
It is VERY important, however that cat owners make sure their cat's bad litter box behavior is not caused by a health problem. Absent the issues listed above, if your cat is good box user and suddenly chooses to go elsewhere in the house, you should take him/her to the vet. Cat's have very weak kidneys compared to other animals, so urinary tract problems should always be treated as a emergency by your vet (don't let the vet's office tell you that you can't get in until next week --or even tomorrow--if you're observing the following things). VERY IMPORTANT: If your cat is straining to pee (trying to go often with little or no result) take him or her to the vet NOW. This can mean that your cat cannot pass urine--something that happens quite frequently in house cats (esp males)--and can kill your cat if not treated ASAP. Similarly, if he/she is peeing just outside of the box, this is often a sign something is wrong physically, like a bladder infection, and needs prompt medical attention.
As for cleaning up cat pee--Nature's Miracle is great. It takes the stain and smell away (Even on mattresses. Yes, I'm sure.). I've had good luck with it on my wood floors, too.
Ok..enough cat urine talk for one day. 'Night, all.