How to Remove Cat Pee Smell From a Couch: 5 Quick & Easy Tips
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The smell of cat urine is incredibly strong and can permeate throughout an entire house, making the whole building smell like a litter box. No one wants to walk into their home and be inundated with the smell of cat pee, but unfortunately, this is sometimes the almost unavoidable fate of a cat owner.
So, your cat urinated on the couch and now the smell is unpleasant, to say the least. Don’t panic—learning how to remove the cat urine smell from a couch is easier than you think. We have five great solutions that will help you eliminate that foul odor and even dissuade your cat from wanting to make its mark again.
How to Get Cat Pee Smell Out of a Couch (5 Solutions)
Although cat urine is a strong odor, there are several easy ways to remove it from your couch. These methods are safe for your upholstery but tough on smells. You probably have everything you need for some of these methods right now.
1. Commercial Enzyme Cleaner - Most Effective
The easiest way to remove the cat urine smell is to use an enzymatic cleaning solution. These are powerful solutions formulated specifically to remove cat pee stains and odors. Best of all, it prevents repeat accidents by completely removing the odors that attract your cat back to the same spot.
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2. Natural Vinegar Solution
Pet owners sometimes prefer natural solutions rather than purchasing cleaners. Vinegar is a safe and natural cleaner that has excellent odor-eliminating characteristics. The reason vinegar is successful against cat urine is that it helps kill off the bacteria that are causing the foul odors, rather than just trying to mask the smell.
Mix together three parts of warm water to one part of white vinegar and pour it on the pee stain. After letting it sit for 10–15 minutes, you can dry the area with rags, paper towels, or a wet vac. You may need to repeat the process several times for maximum effectiveness.
3. Baking Soda
Baking soda is known for its odor-killing properties. Most people use it to combat the odors coming from their fridge, but it works just as well for removing the cat urine smell. And since it’s versatile, there are several ways for you to use baking soda for cat pee.
The easiest method is to simply pour the baking soda on the stain and let it sit for a while. It will absorb the odors and you can vacuum it off after. But if that’s not strong enough, you can mix the baking soda with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. Make a paste of the mixture and apply it to the stain. Let it sit until it’s dry. Then, vacuum off the remaining baking soda, and the urine odor should be gone.
- Adding a litter deodorizer to your litter box can prevent smells from transferring to other parts of your home. Find out how and review our top picks here.
4. Hydrogen Peroxide
Most people already have hydrogen peroxide in their medicine cabinet, making this a very easy solution to implement. Hydrogen peroxide is antibacterial and great for removing stains. Just pour it on the pee stain and it should disappear, along with any associated odors.
If the stain is particularly stubborn, you can mix the 3% hydrogen peroxide with some dish detergent. Use a brush to scrub the solution into the fabric of the couch. After it sits for a while, use cool water to rinse everything off before blotting it dry.
5. Automatic Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
Your final line of defense is an automatic carpet and upholstery cleaner. These high-powered wet vacs allow you to use a carpet cleaner and the magic of hot water to repeatedly clean the affected area using the power of machinery. Make sure to use a pet-specific cleaning solution to help eliminate the odors completely.
Why Is Cat Urine So Smelly?
If you’ve ever spent time around felines, you may have noticed that their urine is particularly pungent. This phenomenon isn’t in your head. Cat urine really does smell stronger than that of other animals, especially after some time.
The smell of cat urine gets worse with a bit of age. That’s because the bacteria in cat pee decomposes. When it does, an odor similar to ammonia is released. As the bacteria continue to decompose, mercaptans will be released from the odor. These are the same compounds that provide the infamously abhorrent odor to skunk spray.
It’s even worse with older felines. As cats age, their kidneys become less efficient, which makes their urine smell even worse than that of younger cats. Male cats that aren’t neutered also have testosterone in their urine. Once again, this can increase the stench. After all, the hormones are there to signal other males to keep their distance.
Why Your Cat Might Pee Outside the Litter Box
Generally, cats do a pretty good job of sticking to their litter box and won’t often have accidents around the house. If your cat is urinating outside the litter box, there might be a deeper problem at fault.
One common reason for cats engaging in this behavior is an underlying health condition. Urinary tract infections, kidney disease, feline lower urinary tract disease, diabetes, and more can all cause a cat to urinate outside of the litter box.
Cats with arthritis can also find it prohibitively difficult to use the litter box. In such a case, switching to a litter box with easier entry might solve the problem.
But sometimes, it’s just a behavioral problem. If this is the case, you’ll need to take action quickly and determine what’s causing the behavioral change. For homes with multiple cats, it could be something as simple as competition over the litter box. Remember, you should always have enough litter boxes for each cat in the house, plus one additional. So, for homes with three cats, four litter boxes should be available. Finally, proper sanitizing with an enzyme cleaner after accidents will help eliminate repeat accidents.
- ADVANCED ENZYMATIC CLEANER - Penetrates the most stubborn smells and stains at the deepest molecular levels to dissolve any pet mess you encounter and lift it away at the source.
- FOR ANY MESS, ON ANY SURFACE - This pet odor eliminator cleans your carpets, floors, furniture, fabrics, and more. Whether it's urine, feces, vomit, or drool, you can erase all foul spots and smells!
- FRESH, NATURAL ODOR - Our unique formulation doesn't rely on dangerous or unpleasant chemical fragrances to get the job done. We eradicate smells and stains, not just cover them up.
At Catster, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding products of this cool cat company!
Conclusion
Cat urine is one of the strongest and most offensive odors that any pet leaves behind. If your cat pees on the couch, you need to remove the odor completely and discourage the continuation of this behavior. We’ve outlined five surefire solutions that can do both, helping you to swiftly end the issue in one assault. Hopefully, one of these methods seems like a good fit for you and will solve your pee odor issues once and for all.
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Featured Image Credit: cunaplus, Shutterstock
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Christian started writing for a local newspaper as a teenager, and he's been involved in the publishing industry for most of his adult life. Combining his love of writing with a passion for animals, he is currently the Director of Editorial at Pangolia and the Editor-in-Chief at Catster.
Christian lives in the Philippines with his wife, son, and four rescue cats: Trixie, Chloe, Sparky, and Chopper.
