I have a problem. I love my little kitty cat; he is the fluffiest, snuggliest little baby I know, but he has decided that my couch is his litterbox. Any time I leave him alone, he pees on the cushion. It’s weird because he very rarely does it anywhere else!
I’m working on getting him to stop- I’ve used pheremores, I lock him up while I’m gone during the day- but if you have any other suggestions, please let me know. I have taken him to the vet and they said nothing is wrong with him- it is just behavioral. Lucky me.
I’m really sad because I feel like my couch is being ruined. So, I combed the internet for cleaning techniques.
My couch is microfiber and from Ashley Furniture. I desperately want a new couch, but am afraid that he will ruin it immediately.
So, in the meantime, here is what I do to clean it:
- As soon as you discover the “accident,” use paper towels to soak up as much as possible. Luckily, Cesar usually doesn’t go very much- another clue to me that this is just behavioral.
- As soon as possible, fully saturate the area with an enzyme cleaner. I like Nature’s Miracle. Follow the directions on the bottle, but some say to use a white rag to soak up the moisture after 5-10 minutes.
- If you want to do a deep cleaning, take the cushion covers off of the couch & run them through the washer with 1 cup of vinegar. Unfortunately my cushion covers are sewn to the foam cushion and you can’t take them off without ruining the couch.
- Take the cushions off of the couch. I set mine on my screened porch. Spray with a mixure of 1/2 white vinegar, 1/2 warm water. I sprayed until they were very wet all over.
5. Then, sprinkle the entire cushion with baking soda. I sprinkled heavily, using a whole box on the 2 cushions.
6. Let sit for at least an hour- I left mine over night.
7. Vaccum well. I used the brush attachment and vaccumed slowly, twice in each direction (vertical & horizontal). Then I placed the cushions back on the couch.
8. Optional- I scotch guarded my whole couch again once I got it clean. This will hopefully help in the future (it was also scotch guarded when I bought it about a year and a half ago.)
9. Finally, I sprayed the whole thing heavily in Febreeze. I like the super odor eliminating kind, especially for pet odors.
That’s it! My couch seriously smells and feels 10,000 times better! I am very happy with this system- it took a little time but was physically easy and used all ingredients I already had. Most importantly, it worked!
Do you have any tips for cleaning pet odors? What about for keeping them from being bad in the first place?
