We have a much loved, elderly cat who has been with our family for over 14 years. She's good about going in the litter box but for whatever reason has recently been "missing." So she's in the box but some of the urine is landing outside the box. She's gotten a little arthritic as she gets older so probably squatting a little differently than she used to. The litter box is in the basement, which has a concrete floor. 

The big problem is that this spot is near the furnace, so when the blower on the furnace kicks on, the cat urine smell is spread all over the house...

We've tried bleach, we've tried some of the pet urine odor removers that are on the market -- and nothing really seems to work. I'm going to pick up a covered litterbox at the store and see if she's comfortable with it -- but does anyone else have any ideas, either for the removal of the odor from concrete, or for some other way to keep the pee where it's supposed to be? 

Thanks very much!

Sometimes just plain vinegar will take a urine smell out. The vinegar smell will evaporate so it won't smell like a salad when you are done.

I agree with using vinegar - it works on dog pee and dog vomit, so I think it should work on cat pee.  Is there anything you can put under the litter box, like plastic, an old sheet, cardboard, etc. that can be either washed or will be thrown away anyway that could catch "drips" if the covered litter pan doesn't work?

A baking soda paste might help, too. (what commercial products have you tried?)

I agree with Karen about putting something under the pan.  We've had the same problems when our cats got elderly ... I'd put a plastic sheet down and top it with several layers of newspaper.

Look for a product called BioMatic. It's a commercial formulation which contains a type of bacteria which are harmless to humans but which eat the organic compounds found in urine and stool. It is far from cheap but does an excellent job: used in nursing homes, commercial rest rooms so you'll have to find someone who works in one of these places. Odoban comes in at a very distant second for urine odors.

 Ok since I got two brats for weenies one does ajob on a rug then the oder stay I take it in the washer , but if its a spot on the carpet water vinager and a couple of drops of dish soup in the spray bottle with vinager and water let stay on carpet for a few minutes then dab it and kinda of gententy wipe away then do one more time that should take care of i...

Thanks, everyone! We washed it down with a water and vinegar solution yesterday and we'll see how that works. Also so warm here all of a sudden that I don't think we'll have to run the furnace for a while, so no blower spreading the smell throughout the house...

Someone asked which products we've tried -- one was Urine Off, I think, and another was Odor Destroyer. Littlepitcher, if the vinegar doesn't get the smell up we'll look for the BioMatic. 

Getting a covered litterbox on Saturday so we'll see how she does with it. She's been very laid-back and even-tempered her whole life, but now getting just a little ornery sometimes, so I hope the covered litterbox doesn't end up freaking her out or anything. 

Again, thanks for the help here! You guys are the best!

 

Pet urine consists of mainly three parts. Urea; makes the urine sticky and allows the other two parts to stick around. Urochrome gives the urine its ugly yellow color that stains carpets, furniture, the wall and anything the cat sprays or urinates on. The third main part of the urine is Uric Acid. Uric acid in the urine consists of salts and crystals that give off the extremely pungent odor. These odors attach to minute solids floating in the air, most are invisible the heavier ones you can see floating in the air when the sunlight comes through the window in just the right angle. Each particle has a positive electrical charge because it is missing an electron. This enables it to drift as it is drawn in one direction and then another by electrical charges imbedding in carpets, drapes and walls. Carpet and furniture are a reservoir for pet allergens, and the allergens can remain in them for four to six weeks. Aerosol sprays and candles only replace the odor with a more pleasant odor they do not remove the odor only mask it. For a natural solution and a one time application.that does not have to be reapplied., www.air-renu.com

 

 SPAM?

seaturtle:

 SPAM?

Yep.

 

As for the cat wee...it's difficult to remove it sometimes.  I "ditto" everyone who said to put something down on the floor right away.

I've had some success with stubborn smells with straight vinegar rather than diluted.  For a concrete floor I'd pour it on and cover the area with rags or towels also wet