Fun with cat urine
- May 22, 2002
- 2 comments
Ah the joys of owning a cat! Will they never cease?! Today I took one of our cats to the vet to get his little doodads removed. He’s been getting a little uh… how can I say it… aggressive with just about everything around, including other male cats. And 90% of the time when he’s in the house, he’s meowing to the top of his lungs. Very annoying.
Anyway, I was elected to take the cat to the vet this afternoon. I tried putting him in our small pet carrier, but that was like trying to bottle a tornado. So I gave up and let him ride in my car. BIG mistake!
It’s about a 25 minute drive to the vets, and for most of that, he’s doing pretty well. He meows every now and then, and he looks nervous, but he’s more calm than I thought he would be. After about 15 minutes, he decides he wants to lay down by my feet while I’m driving. He went down there and stopped meowing and moving, so I figured he was just meditating or whatever cats do to remain calm.
Then I smelled it. At first it was very faint, but it just kept getting stronger and stronger until I had to roll my windows down! For those who’ve smelled cat urine, you know how amazingly strong it is. But normally, male cats just spray a little when they mark their territory. That’s strong enough, but Junior (the cat’s name) decides to piss about 1 gallon onto my pristine car floor! Not only does he piss on the floor, but also the floor mat and my sandals! I break all kinds of speed limits to get to the vet as quick as possible. It’s a miracle I didn’t get pulled over.
When we get to the vet, I quickly throw on my sandals (that’s when I discovered he had pissed on them too… lovely) and grab Junior. His back legs are soaked and I get a large, obvious circle of piss on my shirt! I walk into the vet smelling like cat piss, with a wet, freaked out cat in my arms. Nothing embarrassing about that! The vet is asking me some questions about who the cat is and what it needs and I’m trying to keep Junior as far away from me as possible.
Eventually, we get things in order and I leave Junior there to have fun with Mr. Scalpel. The whole way back home, I’ve got my windows rolled down and I’m trying to not breathe in very much. When I get home, I open the doors and let the wind blow through to get some of the smell out. I then have the wonderful job of sniffing all over my car to find where the smells are coming from. I put carpet cleaner on the floor mat and let it sit for 30 minutes. No good. I then spray this special pet odor remover stuff… 5 times! The smell is still there, but not as strong. So all I can do is let it air out and live with it.
So after all this fun, I elected my mother to pick up the cat tomorrow. Let’s see how much fun she has with a freshly neutered cat who will get scared again on the way home!
Randee, thanks for the tips. Junior is one of those cats that hates to be cooped up. He would’ve freed himself from the towel before I could’ve even started the engine, I’m sure.
I have no carrier for him. We did have one, but it was old and not the right size.
I’ve never heard of using white vinegar before, but I’ll definitely try it next time it happens.
Chris..first of all you should never let a can roam free in your car. If he have gotten in the way of your brake, you would have been in big trouble! That said..next time wrap the cat in a towel and THEN put him in the carrier. As for the urine smell…it is almost impossible to get rid of it completely, however, the first thing you need to do before it dries…is wipe, spray, soak or rub with WHITE VINEGAR…and asap. Now ya know! Keep a gallon handy, it’s cheap…also works on any kind of pee.