Using a Blacklight To Find Cat & Dog Urine Odor Spots
The best time to use a blacklight to find the cat urine odor spots in your home is when the room is relatively dark. This can be before sunrise, after sunset, or on a dark, cloudy day. Finding multiple cat urine odor spots throughout your home?
Mark each spot with a coin, a small piece of paper, or some other type of marker. Then, you can collect your cleaning supplies and clean up each spot. NOTE: These same principles and the U.V. Urine Detector can be used for puppy/dog urine stains too!
Cat urine odor control is tough under the best of circumstances. Half the time, you don’t know where to find it, but your sniffer is saying, “It’s around here somewhere…”
There’s an easier way to detect cat urine stains, other than with your nose.
It’s the U.V. blacklight. Yes, that purple light that is associated with growing certain herbs that makes you forget about your cares…the blacklight. Cat urine is composed of really interesting ingredients, and a black light is the perfect tool to help you with cat urine odor control! Cat urine odor control is more difficult because kitty can often get into the darndest places, do her business, and waltz away. Sometimes it can take you days to find the source.
You see, cat urine glows brightly under a blacklight.
A black light detects cat urine spots anywhere in your home that cannot easily be seen by your eyes alone, so it finds the spots that you can’t see, but can smell!
They’re easy to use – just flick one on, and look for bright fluorescent spots on your floor, walls, baseboards, or furniture.
This black light is perfect for cat urine odor control, because it’s small, and stores easily away when not in use – just put it in a drawer for the next time.
Here’s how a black light urine detector worked for my neighbor…
The guy down the street borrowed my blacklight to pinpoint the source of his cat urine odor. He’d been searching for a week. He knew the general area, but he couldn’t see a stain or spot.
In five minutes he found the spot with the blacklight detector. Turns out kitty was backing up to a crack in the drywall, and was letting loose! He had to replace the wall section.
If he hadn’t borrowed the blacklight, who knows if he would have ever found the source…
You can smell it…you know it’s there somewhere, but WHERE? I used to get down on my hands and knees, crawling around, feeling and looking for the telltale spots. If it was still wet, no problem, I see you. Or I’d put my hand into it.
On the other hand…let that stuff dry, and you swear you’re imagining the smell, because you’ve had to deal with it for so long! You feel here, you feel there…sometimes you get really lucky, and spot the irregular pattern on your floor.
Cat urine odor control is easy if you use the black light and find urine spots quickly. You’ll decrease the damage to your floors, carpeting, bedding, and furniture.
Eliminate professional carpet and rug cleaning costs because you found the spot in time to clean with an enzyme cleaner. We recommend Life’s Abundance’s BioDeodorizer, which actually digests the sources of household and pet odors. BioDeodorizer does NOT mask odors…it contains microbes which eliminate odors! I’ve successfully house trained many Boxer pups over the years in a much shorter time with this BioDeodorizer…I wouldn’t want to be without it!
We also recommend the Simple Solution Spotter – U.V. Urine Detector and see how you can start cat urine odor control in your home now. These same principles and the U.V. Urine Detector can be used for puppy/dog urine stains too!
Cat urine odor control tips:
You’ll have no problem finding cat urine if it’s at night– click the black light on, turn the room lights off, and happy hunting!!! If you’re an insomniac, this can keep you occupied. The cat urine will show up as a bright fluorescent greenish color. Soon, you’ll be cleaning cat urine in spots you would otherwise have missed! During the day…draw the curtains, the blinds, pray for a dark, nasty thundercloud, or wait until it gets dark! You can still see the stains, faintly, but you’re going to have to get down real close to see it. This is an essential tool for cat urine odor control.
If your home has been bombarded by kitty deposits for awhile, here’s a nifty little procedure to find all the spots:
Arm yourself with your blacklight. Have your favorite odor eliminator for cleaning cat urine waiting nearby, with towels and rags. Enter the darkened room, and turn the blacklight on. Walk through the entire room, concentrating on the lower half of the walls, baseboards and corners. However, do sweep across the width and length of the room, because I have found spots smack dab in the middle. Inspect furniture – the legs, the lower portions, and sides. Check out the bottom row of bookcases, and the books. And so on…
If you find multiple spots, there are a number of ways you can mark them. One, clean as you go. Find a spot, clean it…find a spot, clean it. Or, you could take any really small object – coins, marbles, golf ball markers – and put them on the spot. Once you’ve thoroughly canvassed the room, haul in your cleaning supplies, and start cleaning cat urine. Repeat for each room you know (or suspect) kitty has blessed.
Want to know a foolproof way to find those spots?
Got another cat? Or a dog? Enlist their help for cat urine control! Just pay attention to her, as she wanders around the house. When she stops and really investigates a spot, get out your blacklight. Chances are you’ve hit the jackpot. Give kitty/doggy a treat for detecting the spot! You didn’t know cat urine odor control and cleaning could be fun, did you?
This article has been graciously submitted by Nancy E. Wigal, Cat Urine Odor Advisor. Nancy has successfully eliminated cat urine odor from her home, and kept the kitty that caused it. The Cat Urine Odor Advisor helps you save money and stop the damage in your household by offering solutions that work together to eliminate cat urine odor from your home. Visit Nancy’s website to help you save money and stop the damage in your household by offering solutions that work together to eliminate cat urine odor from your home. Subscribe to the CAT URINE ODOR SOLUTIONS newsletter on Nancy’s website, and she’ll send you her free report “Four Important Litter Box Basics For Your New Kitten.”
Update: Nancy’s site is temporarily down; however, I want to keep her credits up as she is responsible for this article!
Sorry I had such hope for the blacklight ,the mini one I bought,4 watts is useless,i could only detect little pieces of white paper on my rug,i even tried it in the bathroom.
Blacklight is useless. I have no luck finding the cat pee I can smell right now… so I tried the light on the litterbox, and the pee-clumps don’t even glow.
Big scam.
I bought a black light that clearly stated it would detect urine. I paid $24.95 Cdn. It simply does not work. My poodle is paper trained. It would not show anything even on a newspaper soaked with urine! Clumps of litter in the cat litter pan did not show up. It would however, show up a piece of white yarn on the floor for petes sake. It is totally useless and is going back where I bought it.
I am using a black light and IT WORKS GREAT!
The urine spots show up disgustingly well.
The black light is an older one, about 22″ long, and of unknown wattage. Maybe the newer ones don’t work as well.
it works on dried urine. I’ve used the lights many time and suggest them to friends as well. turn off all lights and work all areas of the floor sometimes it don’t show up super bright other times it looks like I’ve spilled uv tattoo ink on the carpet in my friends houses… keep the light lose the cat. also detects blood cemen and uv tattoo ink 😛
I just bought a black light at the hardware store and it worked great! We didn’t even have to wait until it was dark outside. We knew our cat had gone somewhere, but we weren’t sure of the exact spot. It turned out to be several places!
I bought a regular 60watt black light bulb, put it in a construction lamp, and walked around the room with it. It showed absolutely nothing, other than making white items look blue.
Are you all talking about regular black light bulbs or is there a special black light to detect urine?
Thanks!
I bought a black light at lowes for $20 today. It doesn’t work on my new brown carpet (textured/very short shag) but did work when I tested it in the laundry room next to the cat box on berber carpet – bright yellow glowing spots were tracked all around!! The clumps didn’t glow but there was bright yellow, and of course the random white lint on the floor everywhere.
So maybe it only works on certain surfaces?
I invested a lot of $ in the feliway plug-ins and spray – I hope they work! I love my kitty but can’t take the smell on my new carpet!
The feliaway did not work or the black light. I am so frustrated! I’m fostering my daughter’s cat. She is 5 yrs old, an abandoned kitten born with her rear paw missing. Can’t rehome her. Somebody help!!! I am now resorting to “vinegar”. Sure hope it works. She’s spraying on the WALLS too. Calling the vet on Monday to see about a possible UTI. She only started doing this a few months ago. We’ve had her for a year.😔
Borrowed a great large blacklight from a friend… glad I didn’t spend money on one cause it didn’t detect any pee – but it did show me everything else!! Anywhere the carpet was treated for any spills – I saw through the blacklight. Every piece of lint, fiber hairs, dust… it was enough to make me go nuts.
I also invested in feliway – and I also pulled up the portions of the carpet where my cat chose to mark… carpet is less than 4 years old. Starting to consider saying bye to my “first baby.” Terrible.
So Andy, you’re saying you are getting rid of your animal because of a four year old carpet? Wow. The blacklight (which you didn’t spend any money on) didn’t work so you’re just going to dispose of your pet? Please don’t call it your “baby” if that is the case, because it’s clear that your ties don’t run that deep.
I purchased a regular blacklight at Wal mart and it works great. You do need the room dark. It does not work as well with just the curtains closed. Wait until night and hold it within 6 inches of the carpet. I use PacZyme and and syringe and inject it full strength through the carpet into the pad as well as on top. This method has worked well for me. The only problem is that the blacklight also lights up some non-pet spots – not sure what those are, perhaps something spilled over the years?? However, if you smell each spot that lights up, it is easy to tell which is which.
I bought a StinkFinder (UV light) at Petsmart and it works great! Darn cat marked half the house!
Thanks so much!! I just bought a StinkFinder at Petsmart because of your posting. It worked!! It’s daytime, also. I tried the black light bulb before, with no luck. I had to get close to the carpet, but the outline was clear. Who knew I’d be so happy about finding pee. 🙂
I DONT KNOW WHATS IN THE PISS OF THIER CATS BUT THE BLACKLIGHT DOES NOT SHOW ANY STAINS EVEN THE ONE THE CAT DID IN FRONT OF ME, NOTHING!! I EVEN USED AN UV LIGHT ,NOTHING MAYBE I NEED TO GIVE MY CAT A PILL TO SHOW UP IN THIER URINE SO I CAN SEE IT THE BLACKLIGHT DOES NOT WORK
I have used Black light and it works well with one of my cats but not at all with another. Both cats get same food but live in different parts of house. I am looking for pill to help me with other cat.
You have to make sure you get a good UV light. I tried a couple until I found the Stink FInder at Petsmart and it detects everything! Even places I didn’t suspect – found old dog urine spots. It has to be dark, the conditions the author wrote about. I bought Feliway several times and it did nothing for my four cats. I bought the plug in and spray – big waste of money for me. So now I can find the spots, but I am SICK of finding them so often. I took the cats to the Vet,twice because they suspected UTI – not. I feed them Science diet indoor cat food, clean the litter everyday, have more than enough litter boxes…what else can I do? I don’t want to get rid of any of them. I know meds will help some cats, but of my four, which one is it….so sneaky, never gets caught.
I tried a blacklight bulb from Home Depot and it didn’t work. Then I went and spent 20 bucks on Stink Finder and it doesn’t work either. My carpet is brown and shaggy. However, on my sister’s carpet which is beige and just a normal texture plenty of cat throw up stains glowed neon green. I think it just depends on the color/texture of your carpets which sucks because I smell cat urine and am desperately trying to locate it!!!! Definitely don’t waste money on black lights if your carpet is anything like mine. You would be better off using your nose and getting on your hands and knees to find it!
i pulled out an old blacklight from the 70’s out of our basement, and found a ton of spots on my beige carpet, but obviously not all were cat stains, I did a little more online research and found that urine stains don’t glow as brightly as other types of stains, and cleaner residue fron any cleaning any other type of stain will show up very clearly. Urine stains are a dull yellow color w/ the black light and I had to use it in a pitch dark room in the middle of the night, w/o even a nightlight on. I tested in first in the bathroom to see if the bulb even worked and was amazed to see all the cleaning product stains splashes all all over the painted walls, it also showed dust very brightly. So use your nose, after you find a spot that looks suspect. Now I just have to try some of the cleaners I’ve researched to see which one works the best. I have 5 cats, but only one 15 year old new rescue has decided he wont use the 9 litter boxes I have in my 3 story house and has to pee in one corner and poop in another. He must have come from a single cat household and doesn’t want to share a box…needless to say, puppy pads are my new best friend…
It only shows up if it’s not been treated or cleaned. Once you’ve tried to clean an area, even if it still smells it won’t show up with the black light. I have a basic one I bought at a discount store.. it’s about 14″ long. (basic meaning it’s for kids posters etc.) It takes a little bit for your eyes to become accustomed to it but it will show up the urine as greenish. It took me a few tries to see it but it was definitely there. Maybe i was too distracted by the lint etc that shows up as white. The cat’s 17 years old and never had an issue til I brought in a piece of furniture from a friend who had cats. Then he started going near it. I tried Zep and Natures Miracle but neither worked as advertised.
The black light is tricky. It only works on certain surfaces, many cotton fabrics won’t glow even if urine covered, whiter fabrics glow weather peed on or not. Litter won’t glow, even if peed on, neither will pee pads I think. Some materials absorb the light and that seems to override any phosphorescent substance on them. Pet urine does glow more greenish, particularly older spots. It helps a lot to know what area you should be looking in. Also, urine removal products remove the odor, but not the component that phosphoresces, so the stain will still glow after treatment. Anti-IckyPoo & Fizzion both work well. Anti-Ickypoo is enzymes & bacteria. Fizzion is CO2 & citric acid.
I was looking for a blacklight flash light and could not find one at the pet stores in Fort Worth, TX. I then tried Ace hardware and they sold me a 75 wat bulb with an aluminum reflector. This did not work. I then decided to try Dicks Sporting good store and found a 9 led ultra violet blacklight flahlight for $9.99 took it home and it works like a champ. I am now cleaning up several mistakes thanks to this little flashlight. Not only did it show the carpet but also walls and doors he had marked.
Just came from HD and they, too, sold me a 75 watt “black light” bulb and reflector. Nothing spotted, but I can smell it. I’m sure the bulb isn’t working. Going to try Dick’s LED flashlight and will post.
Went to Dick’s, bought the LED Blacklight flashlight…about $10 in the camping section with all the other flashlights. Works GREAT!!! Found 5 different spots where the cats had either vomited or peed…showed up very well….looked at the same spots with the Home Depot 75 watt black light bulb….NOTHING! I can NOT recommend the “incandescent” black light bulb/reflector. I can HIGHLY recommend the LED blacklight.
I have 13 cats and one, or maybe more of them, are spraying in our upstairs rooms. I use an old blacklight I had from college and it works great at finding the spots. It does have to be dark outside. I am also a vet tech and had a few suggestions for those who have multiple cats and want to find out who’s doing it. If you ask your vet they can give you Florescene strips (normally used to detect cuts on the cornea of the eye) and they can be cut up and put in a capsule and fed to one cat at a time and then it’s urine will DEFFINITLY show up as a weird orange color. Only do one at a time and give a few days of withdrawl time before moving onto the next cat. Also, Feliway diffusers in the rooms your cats spend time in can make a huge difference.
Simply wiping down the affected surfaces with a wet paper towel will NOT remove the urine OR the smell. Take a scrub brush and spray the area with Windex or similar generic window cleaner brand containing ammonia, then scrub the stain and wipe the liquified urine off with a paper towel. You MUST scrub. Replace the paper towel with each removal or you’ll just spread it around. If using a washcloth, rinse it out with hot water after each mark removal
Small territorial marking on walls is normal in male cats and can be curbed by holding the cat’s nose to a fresh mark and saying “PSST! RRROOOWR!” in imitation of an angry cat then dumping the cat in the litter box. But if you are getting pools of cat urine on carpets or floors, it means you aren’t changing the litter often enough and your cat is disgusted enough to empty their bladder in some out of the way place. We’ve all been in filthy gas station bathrooms where you have to hold your breath. Same thing. Cats like to dig down into litter, and if there’s a inch of solidified urine-soaked litter on the bottom they don’t want to get their paws soaked.
The Stinkfinder blacklight works very well to detect the spray from a distance of a foot or two, but normal 75 watt Halloween blacklight bulbs will show nothing at all. Real blacklights have nickel-oxide coats, but the cheap bulbs are just tinted glass. I have a very sensitive nose and kept smelling cat urine in my library despite my wife claiming she smelled nothing. It turned out I was correct, so don’t think it’s just all in your head.
Why do urine spots still show under the black light even after cleaning them? I used a product specifically for removal of pet urine, worked on them quite a while, and although the smell seems to be gone they still show up.
I have two one year old cats, one male one female BOTH fixed. My house stinks. They are indoor cats so no I can not just “throw them outside” as many have suggested. I tried the black light thing, in the pitch dark and nothing. The next day tho I went into the living room and spots that were not there previously were now on the two recliners I have. If this is the source of the smell I am thrilled. I just want to find it. The cats have been out of that room banned to two other rooms in the house and don’t seem to be peeing anywhere else, they have been in these rooms for about a week. So maybe the black light thing isn’t instant, maybe you have to wait until the next day ……
This happened to me about 30 years ago and we moved and the cat stopped spraying, never sprayed in the new apartment. Not like that is an option but shows they WILL stop. Non-nutered males won’t usually tho.
For all those that say the black light does not work maybe you do not have urine on your floors cause I havent used one black light yet that has not worked….I bought mine from walmart and it shows every stinking spot..ugh only problem I have is trying to git rid of the glowing spots 🙁
Our apt. owner will charge us for new carpet, as can’t get these stains out to where the blacklight won’t show it. Looks & smells fine, But that blacklight still shows them up!!! How do I get rid of THAT, whatever it is that is still showing??? I can’t afford to pay for new carpet, please help if you have a suggestion. Have tried enzymes, all sorts of spot/urine/miracle cleaners!!!!
we discovered our cats had been using a few specific areas of a vacant room as a litter box. we treated these areas with nature’s miracle, but the stench is still there. we are having a professional come in this aft to clean. they asked me to identify the “affected areas”. i went out and purchased the stink-finder blacklight… it did not show anything but dust and dirt, even in blackout conditions…. don’t waste your money!!
good news is, we were able to check out some hand-me-down furniture before we return the blacklight to petco…..
Let me say 1st off that I know where one offending area is but want to look to see if I can find more that I may not know about……with that said…..
Today I went to K-mart and purchased a 65w blacklight bulb and drop light to use the bulb in and I’ve got nothing good to report yet. Will have to wait till dark and try again as maybe the room wasn’t dark enough.
Two days ago I did however try cleaning it 1st with hot water and a Hoover carpet extractor and normal carpet cleaning solution……DON’T DO IT,ONLY MADE THE SMELL WORSE….EVEN AFTER IT DRIED!!
I am now trying Mister Max’s Anti-Icky-Poo and will see how that works…..the vet I went to didn’t have the P Bath for treating the carpet where I already cleaned it…You really need to go to their web site and read why the P bath is needed in most cases..(like mine):(
It smells better and should take a week of spraying affected area. I will try and remember to report back. Also thinking of getting the led light from Dick’s cause what they heck it’s only money!;)
Good Luck All!
In case you can’t find it and were curious as to what I was talking about,here is their web site.
http://www.mistermax.com/
26.Why do urine spots still show under the black light even after cleaning them? I used a product specifically for removal of pet urine, worked on them quite a while, and although the smell seems to be gone they still show up.
Comment by Karen | June 21, 2010
This is what I want to know?????? I feel my carpet is clean till I get out the black light UGH!!!! I have a brand new house/carpet. I didn’t know my Yorkie way using the bathing in bonus room. I have been using store bought products then used my wet vac. I want it the marks gone. HELP!!!!
Well, I can report a difference between a fluorescent black light and a regular incandescent black light bulb. I had borrowed a friends fluorescent black light they borrowed from their daughter and this showed way more than the bulb did.Never found any big spots just dime sized spots here and there. Didn’t do anything on the are I cleaned and am treating,but I think that has to do with the multi colors of the berber carpet.
I still think I have only one major spot to contend with and I think the Mister Max’s is working. It seems to be getting better slowly and the bottle did say it takes a week of misting the area to work.
So, does this mean if you don’t have lighter colored carpet, like beige, you won’t benefit from the blacklight? The blacklight will not work on multicolored rugs because they are too dark?
I just called Dick’s and they don’t have the UV LED flashlight. Which story did you get yours at, it might be a regional item.
People, it’s not just a regular black light bulb; it’s a flourescent black light. Big difference and oh boy does it work! I had absolutely no idea how bad the damage was!
I have a cockapoo with submissive urine issues. I used my husband’s old black light from the 70s and it showed everything up. After using nature’s miracle it still glows. Does the Mister Max clean the “glow” out? I’d love to hear your comments.
Well, My berber carpet has colors in it that even with a fluorescent black light will not show where the pee is/was.And as for the Mister Max, it will take the major smell away but get down and put your nose to the carpet and you will find it still stinks!
I don’t know about how it will work on a solid color carpet as far as the “glow” goes.
The next step for me I think is a professional cleaning and if that doesn’t work I will replace the carpet I guess.
Good Luck All!
I’m at the point where I think it’s a bad idea to have any carpet at all if you have pets. I have 5 cats and if one of them starts to throw up a hairball, etc. I quickly move them to the linoleum so that I can clean it up easier. Unfortunately controlling urine issues in such a way is next to impossible. My sister has 2 dogs and has a much easier time now that she does not have carpet in her house.
Also, without carpet, there will be less dirt and allergens in the house. I think even if I did not have any pets, I would rip out this carpet in a heartbeat. Constantly vacuuming and even steam cleaning is becoming too much work.
I wonder if there is a flashlight that you can buy where you can buy the black light bulbs for it? I’m looking for something durable. I’m getting so frustrated because I can smell the urine but cannot seem to find all the places it’s coming. I won’t let anyone in my house until I get this under control.
Get Poop-Off Pet Urine locator. $5 at Petco and worked like a charm….almost too good. I am the biggest pet lover around but I have to admit my 7 month old kitten has me rethinking ever having another pet. I have another male neutered cat and they have hated each other since day one. Have had cats 25 years and never this problem. Kitten attacks older kitty…older kitty hisses and lives outside almost all the time to avoid kitten. Have 4 litter boxes in garage (with a cat door)that are scooped daily. Kitten uses the boxes sometimes but pees or poops in formal living and dining rooms whenever. Tried: mothballs, feliway plug ins, Boundary, Natures Miracle, citrus fruit, double sided tape, yelling, spraying water, and have even resorted to rubbing his nose in it and tossing him rather harshly into his box (once). He is neutered and vet says no health prob. Got the Poop off light and my living room looks disgusting…no smell because I’ve cleaned and scrubbed but I think he is still smelling it. Used the light and $40 worth of Dumb Cat and havent’ even tackled the living room…I am being told he will never stop and to get rid of him. Can’t do that, but he will probably be banished permanently to the garage and outside if he won’t stop….so why have a cat at all? I am sick over this….He is very sweet and loving and seems mentally balanced…..
I am a single mom and have spent thousands to the detriment of my family….Please help if you can…..
It’s too crowded in your home with too many cats. Please get one of the cats a new home and do not banish any to the garage. Cats are territorial and getting a new kitten disrupted everything.
For those of you with spots UNcleaned as of yet: do NOT clean them with anything other than an enzyme product. NEVER use hot water; it “sets” the stain nor products with ammonia in them. If you put soap, detergent, disinfectants, or cleaners from a carpet cleaning service, you will make it next to impossible to get out the smell (enzymes can’t work in the chemical’s residue presence).
Urine/feces/vomit are protein based items and need a few applications of enzymes to ‘digest’ them. Warm water temperature for mixing enzyme products is needed for activation (hot kills and cold inhibits). Cleaning action of enzymes continue as along as the area is warm and wet.
Many enzyme products (Natures Miracle, etc.) do NOT work. We’ve had success with Nil Odor’s commercial Bio-Enzymatic Urine Digester (have not tried their N.T.Cat Urine Remover). Simple Solution has been fairly good. I’m sure there are others.
If you replace your carpet: get rid of pad under the pee’d area. Next, treat the affected wood surface below the pad. When dry, seal with 2 coats of a water-proof finish (polyurethane, etc.).
For hardwood floors with area rugs: note, the urine smell will stay in the top finish of the hardwood floor unless you sand and refinish the floor.
CATS: Often a healthy cat with a clean litter box is reacting to the presence of a ‘competitor’ cat, or there are too many cats in the home. Solve the reason behind the problem of out-of-the-litterbox urination or you’ll continually have a problem. Multiple cats?: try the vet techs idea (above) of asking your vet to give you Florescene strips. I’d never get a capsule down the throat, so, I’d try chopping the strip super fine and mix with some wet food.
I went out and bought the stink free light yesterday from PetSmart. I have a short, dark colored rug that I KNOW was pee’d on. It did not show a thing! I waited until it was dark outside so it would work best. There were spots on the couch that glowed, however, they were not urine spots. I was dissapointed with this product and will be returning it.
Have a question,bought a house,previous owners were cat ‘hoarders’ 🙁 half the house was bare concrete,no tile,carpet,etc.The bathroom was were the cats had their ‘litter box’ but not,was on floor in entire bathroom..what is the best way to get rid of the urine smell? have researched but found nothing specific,on taking the odor out,and got conflicting story’s on different ways..Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.Thank you..
Doris, people like you should not have pets. You don’t scream or spray a cat for not using the litter box and you sure don’t throw them into the box or rub their nose in the spot. Not only is cruel but it will only make the cat’s stress worse and cause them to go outside the litter box more often. If you throw the cat into the litter box, it only makes them afraid of the box. My hope for your cat is that you surrender him/her to the Humane Society so they can find an owner that actually cares enough to find the actual reason for the problem so it can be corrected instead of abusing their animal for doing something it has no control over. If your cat is going outside the box, there is a REASON for it and you need to figure out what that is. The top reasons for cats to urinate outside the box are 1) They do not like the litter you are using 2) Another animal is around they do not like and they are marking their territory 3) You simply do not clean the box often enough. If there are more than 2 clumps in the box, it needs to be scooped. It should be emptied and scrubbed weekly.
Seriously, you should have to pass some kind of competency test in order to own a pet. I hope someone rubs your face in your own urine!
Ammonia is what is found in cat urine, that is what gives cat urine its distinct smell. You dont use windex, since that is ammonia based. you would use a 50-50 mix of water and VINEGAR.
Vinegar neutralizes ammonia. You might have to lift the carpet and spray the pad and the subfloor also.
Yeah, finding these spots is a big headache for dog and cat owners, I think that tool can help.
I just bought an LED UV Flashlight with 51 LED lights in it.
I figured with having 51 LED’s that I would be able to spot the urine quickly.
Big disappointment. I even took it in the bathroom to see if there was any human “splashes” around the toilet. Nope, not a mark.
My carpet is medium beige and shows nothing as far as dog “accidents”.
I thought these lights were supposed to show urine, blood and semen?
Mine just shows little white pieces of paper on the rug.
I am ticked off because this is the 3rd kind of UV light that I have bought and none of them have worked!
I have cleaned the carpets with vinegar & water numerous times and the smell is still there.
I don’t know what else I can do at this point.
Janice, lay off Doris. I love cats, BUT, any cat that I feed, nurture and invite to live in my home either uses the correct spot or its OUT! I imagine you would put up with the smell out of affection, but the people who may drop by, I can assure you, do not love cats enough to tolerate having to breathe that in.
For some of you who are not seeing spots, there are two reasons I know of and since I don’t know everything, probably other possibilities. Not all backlights are created equal. You want longer wavelengths, which translates into lower numbers on the spectrum. So a 30 LED flashlight with 875-890 wvlth or whatever won’t work as well as a 30 LED flashlight with a 400-450. That’s what I’ve read; I’m looking to replace my broken uv light. The second reason is that every animal’s urine is different. I’ve been reading many message boards looking for the best and most cost effective light, and one poster said the light worked for one pet and not another. Or their pet and not a friend’s. I am assuming the pets were in two locations or quarantined in a single location – lest the poster have way too close an attachment to each pet’s pee?.
Re. Doris and Janice: Berating Doris is offensive to me. A single mom with a cat who is ruining her home and costing her money she needs for her family has a real problem to deal with. I doubt many people would object strongly to her attempts to clearly demonstrate to a recalcitrant child that some behaviors are unacceptable. Doris expressed her distress over having this situation and also expressed commitment to the cats. I don’t think the remarks against her were helpful. I am not, nor have I ever been a single mom, and I have always had several cats (for over 30 years), but only recently, for the first time, had one of my cats urinate on my couch twice (no cat health problems involved, we were out of town too much with family illness.) Families matter as much as our kitties do, for me and for Doris’s family.
Armysma & Gracie’s Mom – Janice is 100% right. If you rub a cats nose in the urine spot the cat does not understand why you are doing it, and that will cause the cat to experience more stress when it has to go to the bathroom, leading to more accidents. Also, throwing the kitten into the litter box also is not anything that’s going to help. That will not only make the kitten fearful of the litter box, but fearful of you. Besides both methods being incredibly cruel all Doris is doing is stressing out the cat even more and making the problem worse.
Spraying the cat with a water bottle is only used in certain situations, as in STOP a certain behavior completely, like chewing on something. If you spray the cat while it’s peeing on the floor or shortly after, it doesn’t comprehend “If I pee on the floor I get sprayed” It thinks instead “If I pee I get sprayed”. Once again this causes more stress for the cat and will lead to even more accidents.
This really isn’t rocket science people… Do a little reading on owning a cat, and you’ll be able to solve most of the problems that might come up, like a cat eliminating in the wrong place. Instead of scaring the hell out of your cat or stressing it out more you need to find the root cause of the problem and fix that (stress, territorial, etc).
If you have multiple cats I recommend the book “Cat vs Cat”. Even if you don’t have multiple cats it’s probably a good book to read to understand your cats behavior a little better.
i agree with doris…it is very frustrating to constantly spend money on trying to eliminate the urine smell. my cats are urinating in the childrens rooms, laundry baskets that have clean folded clothes and over many areas of the carpets. i have done the black light and cleaned constantly with every product under the sun. the time has come for the cats to find new homes. we constatly have to tell the children to close their doors so the cats wont go in there for fear they will urinate. they have already urinated on a new mattress of which we had to throw away and replace. no health problems, just behaviorial. would it be okay to have them become outdoor cats and we continue feeding them outdoors? they have their nails and like to go out alot.
No it’s not OK to exclude your pets permanently from your home and continue feeding them. Pet cats just don’t do well in the wild. The pets urinating places they shouldn’t may indicate an unhappy cat or a dirty litter box. Perhaps it’s too crowded in your home with too many cats.
I bought a small 4″ fluorescent black light to look for stains, and at first I thought it wasn’t working. I was anticipating a CSI camera ready big glow. After I took off the plastic lens covering the bulb, I got much better results. The cat urine glows yellow, not white, and you still have to hold the bulb very close to see the glow.
If you’re having trouble seeing anything, try removing anything covering the bulb and hold it very close. Look for a yellow glow.
Is there anything that will get rid of the glow of the urine on the carpet under the blacklight even after it is cleaned and doesn’t smell anymore? Also, does vomit glow under the blacklight and is there anything to clean it up with to remove the glow of the blacklight? My landlord will charge for urine spots and a dog visited and peed on the carpet…
Doris, I understand your situation being a single Mom myself. I raised two girls by myself and money was tight. I do not agree with putting the kitten’s face in the urine or throwing him in the litter box. You are causing more harm then good. Have you thought about finding the kitten another good home? It sounds like this kitten maybe too much for you to handle especially with your other cat. I have a cat that is 15 years old and would never consider getting another one because it would not be good for her and it would cause her too much stress. She is like one of my children to me and my baby since my daughters are grown now. Sometimes cats just do not get along with each other and probably never will. Your kitten needs a good loving home just as your other cat does. I think this maybe the best situation for you and your cats. Good luck.
I have 7 cats and I think I have AT LAST found a product that will take the smell away! It is called SCOE10X (go to their website) As someone else stated, you can NOT have used ANY other cleaning product on the area. I think that the cats may still be able to ‘smell’ the urine after cleaning the spots but humans cannot! I agree..AWAY with carpeting…. install tile and faux wood floors! 🙂 LOVE my cats, smells and messes are just part of having pets!
I have read through all of these posts, and very few are actually uncovering the actual problem, the root cause! The odor must not only be removed so we can’t smell it, but most importantly, so the animal can no longer smell it either, as if it never happened! The ONLY way to completely eliminate the odor is to use specialized enzymes which literally digest the source of the odor, first time and last time! I highly recommend you take a look at BioDeodorizer, which does this! It is non-toxic, fully biodegradable, has a neutral pH and contains no harmful phosphates. If I didn’t believe in this, I wouldn’t recommend it! Learn more and please just give it a try:
http://www.preciouspets.org/shop/biodeodorizer-enzyme-spray-for-pet-odors/
Ok so you use blacklight find the spots and clean. To the eye stain gone BUT will it show under blacklight next time…I’ve been told will still show!?
Some cleaners will leave residue that shows up under a black-light. But as long as you can’t see and smell it, I would consider the spot gone.
Also you must use a FLOURESCENT BLACK LIGHT. The round bulb-types that you screw into regular light-sockets do not put out the right frequencies or anywhere nearly as much as the FLOURESCENT BLACK LIGHTS.
So, Many people are doubting the blacklight method. As stated previously by Danno, YOU MUST USE A FLOURESCENT BLACK LIGHT WITH A HIGH FREQUENCY!!!!! The bulb must also be rated “BLB” It WILL work if the proper equipment and steps are utilized…
Although in my situation even after repeated findings and cleanings my cat was persistantly marking, so at this point it’s by-by kitty…
I would def recommend sniffing spots that are found because even as in my case where a child has spilled a spot will show. Black lights will also show ringworm, semen and other forensic materials so be sparing with your pet stain remover you may be placing it where it’s not needed.
Works really well:)
Purchased a 22″ Utilitech T8 Fluorescent Black Light from Lowes today for around $20. It’s made to be mounted so it’s set in a housing that’s perfect to hold in your hand. Plugged it in to an extension cord and meandered around the rooms. It’s amazing how well it works! Tested in total darkness about 12-18″ from the ground. Didn’t have to remove the cover as some previous posters suggested. I have a tan variegated shag at home, I’ll be testing it at one of my rentals that has a light brown loop pile that has already been cleaned. Hopefully the results will be just as tremendous because the place WREAKS! Now to determine the best solution to treat with. I will definitely be using an enzyme based product to correct the problem rather than just masking the symptoms. But which one….?! I have Nature’s Miracle which was highly recommended at the co-op, I saw info. online from a professional carpet cleaner with his recommendation but didn’t write it down and didn’t bookmark the page! Boo. Maybe it’s on this blog, I’ll have to re-read.
Just found the product the professional carpet cleaner recommended. He claimed that this has more enzymes than most of the enzyme based products on the market. It’s called ‘Urine Off’. Does anyone have experience with this product? Please share if you do!
I never tried Urine Off but Urine Gone was really good.
Tried the blacklight sold at Petsmart and am so disappointed. could not see anything except lint and white paper. Trying the Icky poo spray, but not sure where the smell is coming from….
It is all in the wavelength as to why an LED black light works or does not work in detecting cat urine successfully. An LED black light with precisely 365 nM wavelength is what is optimal for cat urine. Not all black light LEDs are the same. I hope this helps everyone in finding the right black light and explains why some do not work.