How to Get Rid of Cat Pee Smell, According to Experts

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Professional cleaner Susan Stocker reveals which household cleaners actually neutralize the smell of cat pee

Co-authored by Susan Stocker and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: April 6, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Carpet
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• Hard Flooring
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• Clothes, Bedding, & Drapes
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• Mattresses & Upholstery
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• Walls
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• Air
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• Prevention Strategies
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• Video
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• Expert Q&A
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• Tips
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• Warnings

|Show more |Show less

Few things are worse than the lingering smell of cat urine. The good news is, in most cases, you can remove this horrible odor yourself with some simple household cleaning ingredients. For this article, we interviewed professional cleaners and cat behavior experts to learn how to eliminate cat urine smells from carpet, hard flooring, fabric, mattresses, and more. We also explore prevention strategies to help stop your cat from peeing outside their litter box. Keep reading to clean your way to a fresh, ammonia-free home.

What neutralizes the smell of cat urine?

Professional cleaner Susan Stocker recommends using vinegar and baking soda. She says vinegar neutralizes ammonia, which is what makes cat urine smell bad, and that sprinkling baking soda over a urine stain will help absorb the urine and its odors. You can also use an enzymatic cleaner to neutralize the odor.

Steps

Section 1 of 7:

How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from Carpet

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1. 1
   Soak up the urine with rags or paper towels if it's not dry yet. If you discover the cat urine while it's still wet, Stocker says to spread old rags over the area to soak up as much moisture as possible. You can also use paper towels—just remember to throw away whatever you used to clean up the urine in the trash.

   • If the mess is already dry, proceed to step 2.
   • Pro tip: Cleaning influencer Kate Rowley recommends using a black light or a UV light to see the urine glow in the dark. That way, you can pinpoint its exact location and know which area of your carpet to target for deep cleaning.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Susan Stocker is a professional cleaner and a green cleaning expert. She specializes in reduced-carbon-emission cleaning and has over 10 years of experience.

   Laura Smith is a house cleaning specialist with over 16 years of experience. She specializes in providing natural and eco-friendly cleaning services.

   Brian Bourquin, DVM, is a veterinarian with 19 years of experience. He specializes in wellness and preventative care, sick and emergency care, and more.

   Amy Mikhaiel is a professional house cleaner and a cleaning guru. Her mission is to help women achieve their financial goals by establishing empowerment through cleaning.
2. 2
   Wash the carpet with warm water and dish soap. Fill a bucket or large bowl with warm water from the sink and add a few drops of mild dish soap to make it sudsy. Stocker recommends 7th Generation Dish Soap, but you can also use whatever brand you have on hand. Next, scrub the area thoroughly with a clean rag, then rinse it with clear water. "Make sure you get all of the dish soap solution washed out," Stocker says. Dry the area thoroughly before moving on to the next step.

   • Speed up the drying process by blotting up excess moisture with paper towels or rags and pointing a fan at the wet area.
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3. 3
   Wash the carpet again using a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water. In a spray bottle or a bucket, combine a 1:1 ratio of distilled white vinegar and water. Shake or stir to mix it, then saturate the carpet where the cat urinated with it. Next, Stocker says to scrub the area with a clean rag, then rinse it with clear water. Finally, she says to dry it completely before continuing the odor-removing process.

   • "Vinegar neutralizes the ammonia smell of the urine," according to Stocker.
4. 4
   Sprinkle baking soda over the area and let it sit for at least 1 hour. The last step, says Stocker, is to "sprinkle baking soda liberally over the entire area and let it absorb all the moisture and smells" left from the cat urine. She recommends leaving it on until it's completely dry, "or at least an hour, whichever is longer."

   • Note: House cleaning specialist Laura Smith cautions that if the odor has reached the carpet pad (the padding underneath the carpet), the only thing you can do is replace it. "There are very few things that will get pet odors out of a carpet pad if it's soaked all the way through," she says.
   • If vinegar and baking soda don’t completely remove the smell, try using an enzymatic cleaner on the stain.
   • Reader Poll: We asked 443 wikiHow readers what their go-to cleaning product is for removing cat spray odor, and 58% said a homemade natural cleaning solution. [Take Poll]
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Section 2 of 7:

How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from Hard Flooring

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1. 1
   Pour baking soda on the urine to soak it up. If you catch the urine while it's still wet, pour baking soda on it immediately. "The idea is that you want to absorb as much moisture as you can before it starts setting in," says Stocker. "Baking soda is awesome because it just absorbs [the urine]." When the baking soda is soaked through, sweep it up or wipe it up with paper towels and throw it away before following it up with another cleaner.

   • If the urine is dry, proceed to step 2.
   • Note: Time is of the essence, especially if your floors are made of wood! The longer you let it soak in, the more you risk ruining the wood and having to replace it.
   • Pro tip: If you know your cat has a problem urinating outside their box, set piddle pads out where they normally pee or mark on your floor. Piddle pads are typically used when housebreaking puppies, so they're made to absorb urine without harming the surface underneath.
2. 
   2
   Spray the area with an enzymatic cleaner and wipe it up. Veterinarian Brian Bourquin, DVM, says an enzymatic cleaner is best for cleaning up cat urine because it breaks down the urea in urine and makes it disappear. Spray the urine-stained area of the floor with the cleaner according to the manufacturer's instructions. You may need to let it sit for a few minutes before wiping it clean with paper towels or rags.

   • Avoid Febreeze and scented, non-enzymatic detergents. If you try to mask the urine smell with Febreeze or detergents, says Dr. Bourquin, your cat might think that another cat peed in the same spot. So they'll urinate there again to put up a "Stop" sign for the "other" cat, letting them know it's their territory. Enzymatic cleaners get rid of the urine completely, which Dr. Bourquin compares to erasing the "Stop" sign rather than spraying potpourri on top of it.
   • Note: Some enzymatic cleaners may not work if other chemicals were used beforehand to try to treat the stain. Try the enzymatic cleaner first and saturate the area well. Follow the manufacturer’s directions closely and allow it to dry for several days. You may not have to do anything else.
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Section 3 of 7:

How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from Clothes, Bedding, & Drapes

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1. 1
   Rinse the urine stain in cold water, then blot it with a paper towel or rag. Avoid scrubbing the item, since this will just push the urine further into the fabric and make it harder to get out. Instead, scrunch up a paper towel or a clean, dry rag and press it against the stain repeatedly. This is called blotting.
2. 2
   Cover the stain with ½ cup (100 grams) of oxygen bleach, and let it sit for 2-3 hours. Place the item in a bucket or a plastic tub. Pour ½ cup (100 grams) of oxygen bleach over the stain, then leave it alone for at least 2-3 hours.

   • Oxygen bleach is safe for treating cat pee stains on fabric. Just remember not to use regular bleach! If regular bleach is mixed with the ammonia in the cat urine, it creates a toxic gas.
3. 3
   Submerge the item in vinegar and water, then cover the stain with baking soda. Fill a bathroom tub, a bucket, or a plastic tub with a ratio of 1 part distilled white vinegar to 3 parts water. Mix up enough of the vinegar-water solution to cover the garment or piece of bedding. Submerge the item in the vinegar-water for at least 30 seconds, then take it back out and sprinkle baking soda all over the stain.
4. 4
   Wash the item in the washing machine on cold with no detergent. Dump your cat pee-stained items in the machine with no detergent or other items. Wash them on a cold cycle.
5. 5
   Hang the item up to air-dry. If there's any odor left, the extreme heat from your dryer may lock it in and make it impossible to get out. To avoid that, hang the item up to air-dry somewhere in your home, or lay it on a clothes drying rack.

   • Pro tip: As an extra odor-eliminating effort, Smith suggests hanging the item outside to air-dry in the sun. "Sun goes a really long way to odor removal," she says.
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Section 4 of 7:

How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from Mattresses & Upholstery

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1. 1
   Blot the urine stain with paper towels or rags that you soaked in cold water. Saturate a few paper towels or a couple of old rags with cold water. Next, blot the urine stain on the mattress or upholstered item to absorb and lift as much of the urine as possible.

   • Do this step for fresh and old urine stains.
2. 2
   Saturate the stain with an enzymatic cleaner or a 1:1 vinegar-water solution. If you have an enzymatic cleaner, spray it on the stain and let it sit for however long the manufacturer recommends. If not, mix up a 1:1 solution of distilled white/apple cider vinegar and water in an empty spray bottle. Spray that solution on the stain and let it sit for 3-5 minutes.
3. 3
   Sprinkle baking soda on the stain and let it sit for 1 hour before cleaning it up. For the last step, sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda all over the stain. Leave it alone for 1 hour to soak up the odor and any lingering moisture. Then vacuum it up or sweep it off the mattress or upholstered item and throw it away.

   • Pro tip: If you have the space, professional house cleaner Amy Mikhaiel suggests taking your mattress outside and letting it air out as a final deodorizing strategy. This is also a good idea for upholstered furniture!
4. 4
   Hire a professional cleaner if the stain is older than 3 or 4 days. If a cat urinated on your mattress, couch, or other upholstered furniture more than 3 or 4 days ago, Mikhaiel suggests hiring a professional cleaner with a machine capable of cleaning the item. If the cat urine smell is really, really bad, though, "get a new mattress," says Mikhaiel. That goes for other furniture, as well.
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Section 5 of 7:

How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from Walls

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1. Wash the walls with an enzymatic cleaner or a vinegar solution. If you have a male cat who's been spraying, don't neglect cleaning your walls. "Washing the walls can go a long way toward removing pet odor," says Smith. Simply spray the stained area with an enzymatic cleaner or a 1:1 solution of water and distilled white vinegar. Let the solution soak for up to 3-5 minutes (or however long it says on the bottle), then wipe it clean with paper towels or a rag. The room should smell a lot cleaner!

Section 6 of 7:

How to Remove Cat Urine Smell from the Air

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1. Set out bowls of vinegar and wipe down every surface with vinegar. If the cat urine smell is still lingering in the air, and you've already cleaned up the odor's source, it's time to deodorize the air circulating in your home. To do that, house cleaning professional Kadi Dulude suggests setting bowls filled with distilled white vinegar around the house, especially where it's smelliest. She also recommends wiping down all the surfaces in your home with vinegar, as well. "It will smell strongly [of] vinegar while you’re cleaning," she notes, "but once that smell goes, it also tends to take all bad smells with it."
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Section 7 of 7:

How to Prevent Cats from Peeing Outside the Litter Box

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1. 
   1
   Clean and refill the cat's litter box more often. Cats like clean litter boxes, just as humans prefer clean bathrooms. If you're neglecting your cat's needs when it comes to offering a clean litter box, they may find it harder to resist urinating elsewhere in your home.

   • Pro tip: Fill the litter box with an appropriate depth of litter, says certified cat trainer Russell Harstein, CDBC, CPDT. "There should be at least 3 inches of kitty litter in the box."
   • Keep your cat's litter box in a quiet location away from its feeding area. This will increase the chance that the box will be used properly.
2. 2
   Set up 1 litter box for each cat in your home, plus one extra. If you have multiple cats in your home, but only 1 litter box, your cat may not feel that it's clean enough to use. Ideally, says Harstein, "you should have at least 1 litter box per cat, plus 1 box." In other words, if you have 2 cats, you should have 3 litter boxes.
3. 
   3
   Re-train your cat to use the box with positive reinforcement. Never yell or punish your cat for urinating in the wrong area, as this will only increase their stress. Instead, watch your cat throughout the day and notice if they start pawing at the floor, meowing really loudly all of a sudden, pacing, or squatting. Then, pick them up and put them in their litter box. Praise them and give them treats when they use it to reinforce a positive association with urinating in their litter box.
4. 
   4
   Consider getting your male cat neutered (if you haven't already). Male cats have a natural instinct to spray their surroundings to mark their territory, even indoors. To fix that, Dr. Bourquin recommends neutering the cat at 6 months old, which will eliminate that instinct. If you have a male cat who's not fixed, this could be the easiest solution to their rogue peeing.
5. 
   5
   Have your cat checked by the veterinarian. While accidents do happen, particularly with young or even elderly animals, there may be a medical issue at the heart of your cat peeing outside their box. In some cases, says Dr. Bourquin, it may hurt your cat to pee, "so they start to associate the litter box with [pain]." This makes them not want to use it. Contact your veterinarian to discuss possible medical reasons that your cat is urinating outside of the litter box. Ignoring a health issue, such as a urinary tract infection, kidney disease, or diabetes, could be life-threatening for your pet.
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Join the Discussion...

How to get rid of cat pee smell effectively?

Muawiyah Namadi
Cleaning Business Owner

I grew up around cats, and cat urine contains acid crystals, which will require some sort of enzymatic breakdown. First step, make sure you blot the cat urine if it’s fresh; do not rub. Then use an enzyme-based cleaner, specifically designed for pet urine. There are dedicated cleaners for that, with a specified manufacturer-suggested contact time. Note: sometimes you may need to apply the enzymatic treatment multiple times to get rid of the odor completely.

Read More

Kadi Dulude
House Cleaning Professional

If the urine smell is in the air, try leaving bowls of vinegar around the room, and wash all surfaces with pure white vinegar. It will smell strongly like vinegar while you’re cleaning, but once that smell fades, it also tends to take all bad smells with it.

Read More

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Expert Q&A

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• Question

  What else can I do to remove cat urine smells from our home?

  

  Nat Ismaeil
  Cleaning Expert

  Nat Ismail is a Cleaning Expert based in Howel Township, New Jersey. He is the President of Pure Surface Care, a residential and commercial cleaning company. Pure Surface Care provides a wide range of professional cleaning services, including carpet cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, area rug cleaning, upholstery cleaning, hardwood floor cleaning, laminate and vinyl cleaning, and pet odor treatment. The company’s services cater to both residential and commercial clients, and they are dedicated to delivering top-quality service for all of their clients.

  

  Nat Ismaeil

  Cleaning Expert

  Expert Answer

  You can also consider using an ozone generator. Some companies offer rentals or services that offer the use of an ozone machine. Ozone treatment targets and clears the odor-carrying molecules from your home, effectively eliminating the cat urine smell or any other unwanted smells.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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• Question

  What breaks down the enzymes in cat urine?

  

  Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
  Veterinarian

  Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years. In addition, Dr. Elliott is a freelance veterinary copywriter specializing in taking dense topics and making them easy to digest. Her clients include The Webinar Vet, PetPlan US, TIME, and other top-ranked blogs. She also works with Improve International as a developmental editor for veterinary textbooks. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery.

  

  Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

  Veterinarian

  Expert Answer

  There are heaps of commercial products available, but one of the best options remains a solution of biological washing powder, followed by a solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). Test any soft furnishings for color-fastness first.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Question

  How do you remove cat urine odor from furniture?

  

  Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
  Veterinarian

  Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years. In addition, Dr. Elliott is a freelance veterinary copywriter specializing in taking dense topics and making them easy to digest. Her clients include The Webinar Vet, PetPlan US, TIME, and other top-ranked blogs. She also works with Improve International as a developmental editor for veterinary textbooks. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery.

  

  Pippa Elliott, MRCVS

  Veterinarian

  Expert Answer

  Test the furniture to make sure it is color fast. Blot up any fresh urine with disposable paper towel. Soak the area with a solution of biological washing powder then rinse well. Then soak the area with a solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). Rinse well. You may need to repeat this every day for 2 weeks to totally remove the odor.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Consult a professional cleaner to address damage to expensive carpeting, upholstery, or drapes.
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• Be prepared for accidents when you bring home a new cat, especially if they're a kitten or an outside cat. You'll need to train your cat to use the litter box properly, clean up after them if they don't, and get medical treatment for them if an illness is causing inappropriate urination.
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Warnings

• Products containing ammonia should not be mixed with bleach, as this can cause a deadly reaction.
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