By O'Della Wilson
As a cat lover and owner of multiple male cats, spray and urine odor was a constant concern. When you have more than one male cat [I have three] you will have problems with spraying. While neutering male cats can sometimes prevent or cut down the amount of spraying by some, others will continue to spray. I can attest to that. I went to the extent of having my male cats neutered in an attempt to cure the odor problems. This resulted in a large veterinarian bill and horrible guilt on my part as my male cats did somersaults in an attempt to find there missing jewels.
Spraying is a means of marking territory. It is a male cat's way of letting other cats [and even humans] know they are the dominate creature within the household and that marked territory is owned by them. I can't begin to tell you how much money I spent on expensive products claiming to be my cure all to removing these almost impossible odors from my fabrics and furniture. Some of these products actually seemed to increase the amount of spraying my males cats were doing.
For a while I was caught in a vicious circle of buying one product after another, hoping for the solution and saving me the expensive of replacing bedding, curtains, and even furniture. Yes, anyone with a male cat will tell you - cat spray is strong, pungent, offensive and next to impossible to get rid of once it is in any fabric.
Well, I can tell you, it is not impossible and the solution might be as close as your kitchen. Even when you don't find that little darling's squirts of spray in a timely manner.
This simple household product is white vinegar. It is effective on many other offensive odors in your home, too. I use it as an additive to my regular laundry detergent to remove any and all odors; and to remove food stains too. It's great for cleaning floors, windows, counter tops and appliances.
For the items you can toss in the washing machine, add 1/2 cup white vinegar along with your normal laundry detergent and you won't even detect a hint of the vinegar. Do not mix with oxi-cleaning agents. If you prefer to use oxi-cleaners, wash with oxi-cleaner after the initial washing with vinegar, then re-wash with the oxi-cleaner to avoid damage to fabrics.
For cleaning fabric furniture and the foam cushions, mix a small bowl of two parts water and one part white vinegar. Then use a cotton cloth free of lint, dip it in the bowl and place over sprayed area. Allow to soak into fabric by applying pressure. Rinse and wring cloth, then repeat the process until you can no longer smell traces of urine. For a fresher aroma once spray has been removed, lightly spray area with fabreze fabric spray.
For all other cleaning jobs, add 3 ounces of vinegar per gallon of water used. To avoid the aroma of vinegar lingering in your house, add 2 or 3 cap fulls of vanilla extract or liquid potpourri to the solution.
This article written and provided by O'Della Wilson AKA Alhavakia
Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved
This article written and provided by: O'Della Wilson AKA Alhavakia, published author and freelance writer. |
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