Even the sweetest, well-behaved domestic cats can sometimes give their owner an unpleasant surprise in the form of smelly yellow spots on the upholstery of the sofa. You should not grab your wallet and run to the store for expensive professional cleaning products. Let’s try how to remove the smell of cat urine from the sofa with the help of handy home remedies.

Why is the smell of cat urine so persistent? It’s all about uric acid, the crystals of which do not dissolve in water and have a persistent ambre. To remove the stench, you will need to use products that can remove uric acid. You can use either special purchased detergents (you can buy them in pet stores), or you can save money and adopt simple and effective improvised means.

how to remove the smell of cat urine from the sofa

What to do if you find cat urine on the sofa

In order to remove the smell of cat urine faster , it is important to quickly react to the problem and take appropriate measures:

  1. Take the vinegar and spray bottle. Spray vinegar on the urine mark.
  2. While the vinegar is being absorbed, take paper towels or toilet paper and remove all the liquid (urine and vinegar) from the upholstery of the sofa. Apply the paper to the stain and press, the moisture is absorbed, remove the wet paper, take the dry one and repeat in a circle until the sofa starts to dry.
  3. Sprinkle a layer of baking soda over the urine trail. Spray hydrogen peroxide on top with a spray bottle. Soda will enter into a chemical reaction with peroxide and uric acid, forming carbon dioxide and volatile ammonium compounds (a characteristic smell will appear). The stench from cat urine will disappear.
  4. Wash the sofa upholstery as usual or with a soapy solution, dry well.

If you perform these simple actions immediately upon detection of cat urine, then there will be no unpleasant smell from the sofa.

If the urine managed to be absorbed into the sofa filler, it can be removed using a syringe. First, inject soda into the furniture with a syringe, and then hydrogen peroxide in the same way. If you are afraid of such complex manipulations, it will be easier either to remove the upholstery and clean the filler separately, or to call a clearing company.

Anti-odor remedies at hand

If the cat urine stain was not removed immediately, then over time the smell becomes persistent, and a more serious cleaning of the sofa will be required.

First of all, when eliminating the smell, you need to wash the sofa directly from the urine. Glycerin or household soap is suitable for this:

  • Household soap. Effective only on fresh cat puddles. Rub soap shavings, pour water to the concentration of thick sour cream. Apply the product to the urine stain, leave it for half an hour. Carefully remove the soap from the upholstery with a damp washcloth until it stops washing. Together with the soap, uric acid will go, and with it the smell.
  • Glycerin soap. More effective than household soap, as it dissolves uric acid. Apply glycerin to the stain using a brush. Wait 20 minutes and remove the remaining soap with a damp cloth. Dry the upholstery of the sofa. Important information: the soap must be completely removed, otherwise white marks will remain on the upholstery, and it will become hard, unpleasant to the touch.

If the stain is washed, but the smell remains, then use odor absorbers, which will react with uric acid and eliminate it. The listed improvised means will not only absorb and remove the unpleasant smell, but will also help to better remove yellow urine stains:

  • Manganese solution . From a few drops of potassium permanganate, make a light pink solution. Impregnate the yellow spot with them and repeat the procedure several times until the unpleasant ambre disappears completely. Nuance: this cleaning option is only suitable for furniture with dark fabric.
  • Lemon juice . Squeeze the juice from one lemon and rub it into the damaged fabric of the sofa. Then clean the stains with a damp cloth soaked in water. Dry it. An unpleasant smell can be eliminated from the first time.
  • Vinegar . Mix vinegar with water (1/4). Erase the traces of your pet’s crimes. Wait for the fabric to dry completely and remove the remains with a napkin.
  • Soda and hydrogen peroxide . Treat smelly spots with hydrogen peroxide, and then sprinkle baking soda on top. Baking soda and hydrogen form a chemical reaction that breaks down cat urine. Remove the remains with a vacuum cleaner.
  • Soda or salt . These kitchen helpers are excellent odor absorbers. Pour soda or salt on the upholstery of the sofa, leave for an hour or a half so that the smell is absorbed. Then vacuum.
  • Distilled alcohol . This tool will help eliminate cat’s umber on the armrest or the edge of the sofa. Clean the stain with alcohol and after 10 minutes, cover with glycerin soap.

Important information: Do not use bleach under any circumstances. Of course, it will rid your sofa of a stinky smell, but it will also destroy the presentable appearance of its upholstery.

how to clean a sofa from cat urine

Professional anti-odor cleaners

Manufacturers offer a huge number of professional products that help eliminate organic odors. Among these means, the following can be noted: Odorgon, Zoosan, DuftaPet and others.

  • Odorgon is an organic preparation that contains natural plant components. The spray does not cause allergic reactions in children, is safe for the health of four-legged friends and effectively copes with the elimination of animal urine.
  • Zoosan – does not contain chlorine, phosphates, fluorine. Cleans stains from any surface, and also removes territorial marks of pets.
  • DuftaPet – neutralizes the persistent smell of cat urine. The composition includes plant enzymes that are safe for humans and animals.

How to prevent such incidents

Find out why your cat poops on the couch. Maybe he is not satisfied with the tray filler, the owner does not pay attention to him, or the sofa attracted him with some kind of smell. By trying to understand your pet, you will avoid trouble in the future. The following measures can also help:

  • you need to train the animal to the toilet from the moment it appears in your house;
  • if the cat made a mistake and urinated in an unauthorized place, thoroughly clean the area and eliminate the smell. Otherwise, in the future, the cat will choose this place, as it will be attracted by its smell;
  • use cat repellants to keep them from urinating on the couch. You can buy it in a pet store. Or simply sprinkle the upholstery with orange juice. Cats do not like the smell of citrus fruits.

Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude: removing cat smell can be difficult, but possible. However, by properly raising a kitten from an early age, accustoming it to the tray and giving it proper attention, you will be able to prevent unwanted moments.

How to remove the smell of cat urine from the sofa