Pee No More

Many of you may remember my tales of our dear, sweet, late cat, Imogene. Her convalescence, her demise a few months ago at age 23.  Yes really. 23. I actually have photographic documentation of her age somewhere in a box in our garage. But locating it would involve...effort, so you'll just have to trust me.

For the last year of Imogene's life, she lived in her Kitty Convalescent Home aka The Laundry Room. And during that year, she probably managed to actually get her pee in the litter box...twice. Bless her heart, she tried. I'd see her get in the box, try to squat with her little arthritic back legs and the pee would shoot over the edge and all over the place. During that year I probably managed to put at least one of the man who invented Wee Wee Pad's children through college. We're talking six pads a day. But still the tile under and around the box was regularly soaked with cat pee. Ugh.

It was nasty. And as her kidneys shut down more and more, her water intake increased, her pee outtake increased, and the nasty ammonia smell got out of control. I tried everything. The only thing that made it any better was bleach. Just pouring bleach on the floor and letting it sit for a while. Then one night while watching an episode of "House" I realized that by mixing bleach with the ammonia in the cat pee, I was inadvertently creating a deadly toxic gas. Yes, chlorine gas, the same thing used by the Nazis for chemical warfare. So...stopped that.

After Imogene passed on, I thought "well, at least the smell will be gone". But no. The smell lingered. And lingered. It seemed to have actually soaked into the tile of the laundry room. Again, everything was tried. Nothing worked. Someone suggested Nature's Miracle. Didn't work. Lemon juice. Nope. Laundry softener. Oh please. White vinegar. Just made the house smell like pee vinaigrette. 

Then finally, I came upon a magic elixir. I tried it. I waited. NO SMELL! I was stunned. It actually worked. Instantly. Brilliant! The magic of household chemicals!

So, as a public service for anyone who has a "Cat Pee Soaked Into the Tile Floor" problem, I am hearby sharing the secret wisdom...

MAGIC ELIXIR FOR REMOVING CAT PEE

1 quart hydrogen peroxide

1/4 cup baking soda

1 tbsp. liquid dishwashing soap

Mix together. Saturate the offending area. Wash it away. Repeat if you're not a trusting soul.

Thank you to Kristen at We Are THAT Family for hosting Works For Me Wednesday, and for letting me jump in! Please visit Kristen and check out everybody else's helpful hints and great ideas!

Comments

[Jan]

I'd wondered who'd taken over "Works For Me Wednesday" once Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer stopped hosting it.

"Just made the house smell like pee vinaigrette." This made me LMAO. Perhaps a red wine or balsamic vinegar would have made it a little more palatable?

[The Lawyer Mom]

Bless you for posting this magic potion. We've got a Katrina refugee kitty (now cat) and she's got a major tinkling issue.

[The Bug]

Hilarious - I'm going to have to share this with some friends owned by cats. I don't think they have a problem currently, but they have a cat, & the cat pees, so it stands to reason...

[Tara]

I'm going to try it! We have a similar situation with our laundy room (aging cat with kidney issues) and the smell still lingers. Thanks for the tip.

[Amy]

We have the 19-year-old "cat that will not die" ... and she is starting to exhibit pee symptoms. Arthritis? Yeah. Probably doesn't help that I, um, ran over her 2 yrs ago and dislocated both her hips. (Yes, really. Talk about a major feel-bad episode.)

So I am filing away this gem, because somehow I feel sure that I will be needing it.

[twirl]

hmm... i'm house breaking a reluctant teenage yorkie poo with previous bad habits. i wonder if i can spot-clean carpeting with this mix...?
(you know i'm gonna try. i'll let you know.)

this is similiar to a recipe that we used when i worked at a vet clinic to remove skunk stench from curious canines.