Best enzyme cleaner for cat urine, when she keeps going back

Best enzyme cleaner for cat urine, fast

The last cleaner never reached all of it. Pick by the spot you have:

1. Fresh or old spot on carpet, couch or floor: Nature's Miracle Advanced Stain & Odor Eliminator for cats.
2. Big area, many spots, or no added scent: Anti-Icky-Poo Unscented, in a 1 gallon jug.
3. Soaked twice with an enzyme and it still smells: Skout's Honor Cat Urine & Odor Destroyer, the non-enzyme second move.

None of the three has citrus or an essential oil on its ingredient list. That matters: citrus oils are poisonous to cats, and she licks off whatever lands on her fur.

Why enzyme, and how to make it work

Perfume covers pee; enzymes break it down. That's why the ASPCA tells cat owners to use an enzymatic cleanser. When one fails, it's usually the amount, not the brand:

• Soak as deep as the pee went. On carpet, that can mean lifting the corner and treating the pad and the floor under it.
• Don't blot it back up. Leave it wet and let it air dry. The smell fades as it dries.
• Enzyme cleaner first: Other cleaners can set the stain.
• No steam cleaner. Heat can set the stain and the smell in man-made fibers.

The full method, from finding hidden spots to treating the pad: how to get rid of cat pee smell.

Our pick: Nature's Miracle Advanced Stain & Odor Eliminator for cats

Pee on Monday, a hairball on Wednesday, a litter box miss on Friday. It's a cat enzyme formula for all three: pee, poop and vomit. Use it on the carpet or the couch. No citrus or essential oil on its ingredient list.

Best for: fresh and set-in cat spots on carpet, couch and floors

• How much: About 1 ounce for a 3 to 6 inch carpet spot, and the full 32 ounce bottle for a 3 by 3 foot patch
• Old or strong spot: lay a towel soaked in water over it for 1 to 2 hours, then let it dry

No added scent, or a big area: Anti-Icky-Poo Unscented

Anti-Icky-Poo Unscented Pet Urine Enzyme

Best for: Cat pee on carpet, with no added scent

Check price at Amazon

Three spots down the hallway, or a cat who steers clear of anything perfumed. Anti-Icky-Poo is an unscented enzyme cleaner for pet urine in a 1 gallon jug, so you can pour as deep as the pee went without rationing the bottle.

• Best for: Big or soaked-through carpet spots, with no perfume smell left once it dries
• The catch: It's a gallon jug, so plan a shelf for it. Carpet already treated with another cleaner? Read the label first: the maker sells a pre-treatment for that step.

Two enzyme soaks and it still smells? Skout's Honor Cat

You soaked it twice, let it dry fully, and you can still smell it. Before a third round of the same thing, switch tools. Skout's Honor Cat Urine & Odor Destroyer is not an enzyme cleaner. Four ingredients: water, a plant-based surfactant, a mineral-based deodorizer and a plant-based fragrance. It's made for cat urine, marking scent and spray stains.

• The catch: It has a plant-based scent, so judge the spot once it's dry. Not for wool, leather, silk or unsealed wood, and test a hidden patch first.
• Side by side: Nature's Miracle vs Skout's Honor on cat pee.

Keep these off a cat spot

• Citrus or essential-oil cleaners. They're poisonous to cats, and she grooms off whatever touches her fur. Read the list, even on a bottle with a cat on it.
• Ammonia. Urine contains ammonia, so an ammonia cleaner can draw her back to the same spot.
• Vinegar. Its strong smell can make her mark the spot again. More on vinegar and cat pee.

Soaked into the pad?

If the pee soaked into the pad, that patch of carpet and pad may need replacing. Still peeing outside the box? The fix is the reason, not the cleaner: start with why cats pee outside the litter box and check in with your vet.

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