Green Home – Page 5 – Green Little Cat

What’s the Best Green Hardwood Flooring for Pets?

What’s the best natural flooring when you have a pet cat? What type of hardwood is eco-friendly, yet can also withstand the abuse of a pet’s nails? Is there a finish that will be less likely to show scratches? These questions were top of mind a few months ago when I was looking for eco-friendly hardwood flooring. There were several criteria that were important, but I wasn’t sure if it was possible to find everything I wanted in one product. I wanted a natural floor that was made from sustainable wood or bamboo, it had to be tough enough to withstand Furball digging his nails into the floor for traction, and it had to look good. Happily, I found a couple of eco-friendly flooring options.

My initial preference from a green perspective was to look for bamboo floors over wood. However, I’d heard from a friend’s real estate agent that bamboo didn’t age well and would look like worn out in only a few years. As I did more research, I learned that it’s actually the cheap bamboo that doesn’t wear well and if you purchase from a quality and reputable company, this shouldn’t be an issue. As well, the durability of the floor also varies depending on what type of bamboo finish you choose.

If you’re looking for a durable eco-friendly floor for your cat, or even your dog, here’s what I learned.

Two very reputable companies for bamboo flooring and other eco-friendly hardwood floors are EcoTimber Flooring and Plyboo made by Smith and Fong Co. EcoTimber has been around since 1992 and they carry bamboo flooring and FSC certified exotic woods and regular hardwoods. All of their products are made with a formaldehyde-free adhesive. Smith and Fong is the first company to produce FSC-certified bamboo plywood and flooring. The salesperson said that the product quality from both companies was very comparable. Choosing one over the other would really depend on the colour and finishings we preferred, availability and the price as there occasionally were special promotions.

The key to choosing a bamboo floor that will withstand scratches from a pet’s nails really boils down to the grain. There are three predominant types of surfaces when it comes to bamboo flooring:

1. Flat Grain

The best way to describe this is to imagine a bamboo shaft. Lay it flat, then slice it lengthwise into rectangular pieces. Then take these rectangles and lay them side by side. The flat grain floors show off the natural knobs and segments of bamboo.

2. Edge Grain

To picture edge grain bamboo flooring, go back to your image of the lengthwise rectangular pieces. Now, instead of laying them flat next to each other, turn them on their edges and then place them side by side. This results in narrow repetitive strips, where you don’t really see the bamboo’s natural texture as much.

3. Woven or Strand Grain

In my opinion, this style of bamboo floor finishing most closely resembles natural hardwood flooring. Basically, take all of the leftover scraps from the previous two finishes, throw them into a machine that mangles them together, mix with adhesive and then form a floor with it. That doesn’t sound that attractive, but the end result is a lovely random pattern that is also more durable than the other two grains.

Pick a dark finish and now you’ve got a natural hardwood floor made from a green sustainable resource. It’s durable, hard-wearing and most importantly, it will hold up well to cat scratches and dog’s nails too.

Acclimatizing Furball to the Sound of Babies Crying

The wee one is due in about a month, so as the baby’s due date draws closer, it’s imperative that we train Furball to get used to babies because he can become aggressive when he feels threatened. I’ve had Furball for almost eight years now and I will not be one of those people who gives up their cat (thus, contributing to pet overpopulation) because they weren’t able to train the cats to adapt to the baby.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been playing audio of babies crying for Furball to get used to the sound. I’ll admit that it has been a challenge. I would have thought that after a few weeks, he’d start ignoring it, but he still perks up and comes by whenever I play it. Here’s a video of one of his early reactions.

It seems like he’s quite concerned that there’s a distressed being making these sounds. He kept looking at me like I should do something to help. Sometimes, he cries along. A few times, he’s actually nipped me. That totally freaked me out, which is the opposite effect of what I was trying to accomplish.

Fortunately, the way to Furball’s heart is through his stomach. So, I started giving him snacks and treats whenever I played the sound of babies crying. I also pet him a lot too. Today, I feel I may have made a breakthrough. When Furball heard the crying babies, instead of wailing along, he came by and started to purr and rub up against me. I gave him a little snack and he seems to be remaining fairly calm.

Ideally, I’d prefer it if he would ignore the crying completely, but I guess it’s not so bad if the cat associates the sound of a crying baby with happy things like food and petting.

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Introducing a New Baby to Your Cat

Introducing a New Baby to Your Cat

You may be wondering why I’m writing about this topic in a blog about greener living for you and your cat. There are a few reasons. First, one of the top reasons people give up their pets is because of incompatibility with a new baby. This contributes to the overpopulation of pets and also puts an additional burden on animal shelters. You can pretend to yourself that your pet will be adopted by a loving home, but the reality is that most people don’t want older cats, especially one that has been identified as “not good with kids”. Most likely, unless you take your cat to a no-kill shelter, he or she will be euthanized.

The second reason I’m writing about this topic is because being green shouldn’t just stop at the environment. I find most people who care about the planet also care deeply about their communities and contributing to the global good. If you can create harmony in your home and not have to give up your cat because of a new baby, then you’ve just added to the karmic good of the universe :).

Finally, I’m writing because I found most of the resources for introducing a baby to your pet cat to be quite brief. The information was good, but it seemed fairly superficial. For example:

Don’t bring the baby up to the cat, let the cat approach the baby.
If possible, let your cat sniff something with the baby’s scent on it before you bring the baby home.
Give your cat lots of attention and treats whenever the baby is in the room so that they associate the baby with good things.
Never leave the baby and cat alone together.

I did get some good advice from a presentation by the SPCA:

A couple of months before the baby is due, play the sound of crying babies to your cat so they can get used to the sound. Start off playing it softly and gradually increase the sound level.
Before heading home from the hospital, take a towel or wipe that is scented with the baby and place it under your pet’s food bowl and give him extra special food.

I think that pretty much sums up most of the advice. However, I have a VERY FEISTY cat. I talked to friends with cats and babies and they had fairly smooth introductions. One friend even sent pictures of their newborn CUDDLING WITH THEIR BABY. Another friend said her cats were scared of the baby and ran away.

These scenarios would never apply to Furball. He is a high energy, fiery little cat. If he perceives something to be a threat, instead of running and hiding, he goes on the offensive. I’ve seen him go ballistic when my brother brought his dog over and when a friend’s pant leg swished too closely to his head. He even struck fear into the hearts of the maintenance men at my old apartment. I came home one day to find a message on the answering machine that one of the maintenance guys had tried to pick up the cat and the cat bit him. Another time, I found a note on the door that said, “Maintenance was here, but cat would not let us into the apartment.” The one guy who was supposedly not afraid of the cat (I guess he was the one who didn’t get bitten) tiptoed around the cat when he came by. This was a grown man, about 6 feet tall and 180 lbs. He looked like those illustrations of the big elephant cowering in a corner when facing a little mouse.

Thus, since we’re expecting in a couple of months, I am very concerned that the introduction of Baby to the cat goes smoothly. I’ve had Furball for almost 8 years and I feel it would be terrible if I had to give him up, but the baby’s safety comes first. I need advice for how to introduce a high-strung, aggressive-when-threatened cat to a baby. Since it doesn’t seem to exist, I’m doing some trial and error to come up with own.

Here’s what I’ve started to do:

1. Tell the cat about the baby.

This may be totally pointless in the minds of most people, but who knows? The cat may understand absolutely nothing, but there is a chance that he’ll pick up on something. At the very least, he may get a sense that a change is in the air and I’ll get comfortable with the idea of the cat and baby together by talking about it all the time.

I tell Furball that he’ll soon be a “big brother” to the new baby. I tell him about what babies are like, that they’re noisy and small, that they’re delicate and not sturdy like kittens. I tell him that I appreciate his understanding and am asking him to make room for the baby. I also tell him that I’m going to be busy and tired and he may not get as much attention as he’s used to, but it doesn’t mean that I love him any less.

I also imagine an image of a baby in my mind while I’m telling Furball all of these things. Some people believe pets can pick up on your thoughts, so I figure why not try it?

I tried this technique when we moved into our new home. For months, I told Furball we were looking for a new place and told him about all of the space he would have in a house and let him know when the movers were coming. To be honest, this was the smoothest transition we had. Furball adjusted to the new home really quickly. Did it have anything to do with me telling him about it? Who knows?

I remember when my family moved when I was 4 years old and they never told me we were moving. I think they thought a 4 year old wouldn’t comprehend what was going on, but it was a total shock to be in one house one day and suddenly in a new house that evening. If my parents had said anything, even if I didn’t fully understand it, it would have helped me out.

2. Remember to keep giving the cat attention, but cut down on the duration of the interaction.

It’s easy when pregnant to inadvertantly start to neglect the cat. I occasionally feel like crap, I’m tired, it’s hard to bend down and pet him. I can only imagine what it will be like once Baby arrives. However, I feel it’s really important to make some effort to acknowledge my pet even if things get hectic. I know I’d rather have me cat feeling content and thus, less likely to demonstrate his displeasure. Since I know I’ll be exhausted at first, I’m reducing my interaction time now so that he’ll get used to it when Baby arrives. I figure I’ll still be able to give him the occasional pat on the head and chin rub. To me, it seems like a necessity to keep the cat reasonably reassured once the baby arrives.

3. If possible, let your cat see other kids if they’ve never seen little humans before :).

My friend brought her infant daughter over for my baby shower. Furball was fascinated by her, but also freaked out, especially when she dropped her toys or let out a baby squeal. I would not recommend that you invite people over to “use” their kids as a testing ground. In this case, it just happened. What was good about it, was that the baby was only over for a short duration of about 2 to 3 hours. I watched the cat like a hawk and gave him tons of attention whenever he approached the baby and fed him numerous treats. I also reassured him that everything was ok and that the baby was not a threat. I stayed with him for the whole time that he seemed on edge or was near the baby. After about an hour or two, he settled down and plopped himself on the floor. It was business as usual and he completely ignored the baby. I expect the next time he sees a baby (probably mine), he’ll be less freaked out by it.

4. Find some easy, lazy ways to play with your cat

Furball gets hyperactive if he doesn’t get enough exercise. Exercising him doesn’t happen naturally and easily since he’s an indoor cat. As I mentioned in my book, Make Your Own Cat Toys, I’ve probably spent something like 83 full days of my life playing with cats and a good chunk of that went to Furball. And, a large portion of that was due to necessity because he was too crazy if I didn’t. With a new baby, I don’t want to litter my floor with cat toys that could be potential choking hazards. Also, it’s not practical for me to keep bending down to pick them up and throw them. So, I’m preparing a few “Lazy Wrestle Sausages” from my book which takes about 2 minutes to make as opposed to the “Wrestle Sausage” (link to instructions below). The “Lazy Wrestle Sausages” will help him channel his biting, tussling, and wrestling urges. Also, I bought a laser pointer so that he can get a good run while I sit on the rocker with the baby. I figure if I give Furball a good run, he’ll be better behaved.

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Day 19: Eco-friendly Cat Beds
The 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

Furball will sleep anywhere, so the idea that he needs a bed is purely a construct of my human mind. That said, he does have a penchant for sitting on top of things even if it’s a magazine lying in the middle of the room, a purse by the door or a placemat on the table.

Furball made my 30-Day Green Cat Challenge easy today by finding his own eco-friendly cat bed solution. In fact, when I think about it, he’s actually come up with quite a few ideas. Given that they’ve received the feline stamp of approval, your cat may also enjoy napping in one of these green cat bed options.

1. The Portable Bed

Featuring a feather-soft texture and an innovative loop texture perfect for kneading paws, the Portable Bed is lightweight and easily transportable. It’s so easy to set-up that human companions no longer need to throw out their backs to answer to the fickle whims of their felines. Simply take an old towel and place it in a pile in a sunbeam.

2. The Exclusive Living Room Centerpiece

Human companions may mistakenly believe that this exclusive furniture piece belongs to them, but your cat knows better. This architectural marvel measures in at a sleek profile of 5″ wide, 30″ long and 15″ high. It’s purrfect for the cat who measures 7″ or wider when reclining. The natural cotton weave often contrasts starkly with cat hair, the darker the better, and is ideal for exercising and stretching out cat claws. Just turn your head the other way, and sure enough, you’ll find your cat balanced precariously on the arm of your sofa.

3. Furball’s pièce de résistance

I wish I could take credit for this perfect eco-friendly cat bed, but Furball deserves all of the accolades. This masterpiece is warm and cozy and comes complete with a built-in night shade. Take your off-season blanket or comforter, fold it up nicely and place it under the bed. Your cat will inevitably discover this lovely gift that smells like you, is malleable to knead and feels oh-so-cozy to tuck into, especially with the protective covering of the bed frame.

4. Eco-friendly Cat Beds

Inconceivably, if you still need to find an eco-friendly cat bed, may I suggest one of these cat beds made from recycled plastic bottles. http://astore.amazon.com/greenlittlecat-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION TODAY

If your cat needs a bed, try one of the eco-friendly cat bed ideas listed above.
If you’ve got a great suggestion, let us know by clicking the “Comments” link below.
If you thought this post was mildly humourous, share it with your friends by clicking the “Share This” link to email it or post it to your favourite social networking site 😉

Day 17: Reviews of Green Household Cleaning Products — The 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

The other day, Furball followed me into the bathroom and after I flushed the toilet, he immediately ran up to the bowl and peered inside. I simply shook my head and left him watching the toilet bowl. A few minutes later, I found him with all four paws carefully balanced on the toilet seat. As Furball gawkily looked into the bowl, I realized the inspiration for Day 17 of the 30-Day Green Cat Challenge had just presented itself to me.

At first, you may wonder why I’m doing a post on green cleaning products for your home, but once you think about it, it makes perfect sense. When you’re not looking, your cat is probably peeking into your toilet bowl, traipsing along your counters, lounging in the bathtub or grabbing a sip from the sink. Not to mention, your cat must spend at least 80{456796300b989ac2391159a2df073ed1ad38074dfcdb28494d5d1df8ab5972d8} of his or her life in really close contact to your floor. Thus, Kitty is being exposed to whatever household products you use to clean your home. Doesn’t it make sense to use products that don’t contain harmful chemicals or fumes — not just for Kitty, but for you and your family as well?

I’ve been using green and natural cleaners since the late 80s, so I can share with you what works and what doesn’t. I think I became really serious about green cleaning in university when we had a really obnoxious student who had an internship at Procter and Gamble. Every class, we’d hear about how superior P&G was in all of their business practices. Then, I read Soap Opera : The Inside Story of Procter & Gamble and was enlightened enough to vow never to purchase another Procter & Gamble product again. I can proudly state that I have not owned a single P&G product since I made that vow over 15 years ago. Once you start getting something as pervasive of P&G out of your home, it’s not too much of a stretch to move to eco-friendly cleaning alternatives.

Since this post started with the potty, the green cleaning product reviews will start with the potty :).

ECO-FRIENDLY TOILET BOWL CLEANERS

1. Earth Friendly Toilet Kleener
I tried 2 or 3 eco-friendly toilet bowl cleaners before I found this one. Earth Friendly Toilet Kleener is a natural cedar oil based product and was heads and shoulders above the competition. However, that was about 7 years ago, so maybe the ones that didn’t work so well (eg. Ecover) have since reformulated their green cleaning products. The only con about this earth friendly toilet bowl cleaner is that it’s not that common to find it in stores.

2. Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner

This green emerald cypress and fir household cleaner is much more commonly available in stores . Hence, when I ran out of Earth Friendly Toilet Kleener and couldn’t find any at my regular store, I tried the Seventh Generation product. I was quite pleased with the results. They add xanthan gum to the cleaner which helps it adhere to the sides of the toilet bowl. It’s quite effective for dealing with light mineral build-up.

3. Baking Soda

For general maintenance and deodorizing, baking soda works surprisingly well. It’s also inexpensive and probably uses the least amount of packaging, especially if you can buy it at a bulk store. Just sprinkle it on the sides of the bowl and on the brush, then dip it in and scrub. Pouring it directly in the water dilutes it too much. Baking soda has a gentle abrasive action which works really well as long as your toilet is not too dirty.

4. Baking Soda and Vinegar for Scaly Deposits

I tried this and it DOES NOT WORK, even when I added boiling water and let it sit as directed. I was very liberal with the use of vinegar and baking soda and it bubbled up nicely, but it wasn’t enough to loosen the mineral build-up. I even tried letting it soak for hours. My advice is that you’ll have to suck it up, buy rubber gloves and something to scour with and use good old fashioned elbow grease.

ENVIRO-FRIENDLY FLOOR CLEANER

1. Ecover Floor Soap

Ecover’s eco-friendly floor adhd cleaner contains natural linseed oil, which gives it that certain floor cleaner smell that you remember as a child, but without the harsh chemicals. I find this green floor cleaner works well on your typical linoleum or tiles without the need to rinse. I think I’ve used 1 or 2 other products, but they were not particularly memorable.

GREEN ALL PURPOSE CLEANER FOR COUNTERS, SURFACES, ETC.

1. Seventh Generation Natural All Purpose Cleaner

Hands down, this is one of the best eco-friendly all purpose spray cleaner that I have used. It’s great for the kitchen and the bathroom, cuts through grease and leaves your counters sparkling clean. The only con about Seventh Generation Natural All Purpose Cleaner is that their spray bottles don’t work that well, so when the bottle gets to about 1/4 full, you have a hard time spraying. As well, this product is not good for glass or mirrors as it leaves streaks and “fog”.

2. wowgreen All Purpose Cleaner

Full Disclosure: I’m a wowgreen Independent Distributor. I thought Seventh Gen was as good as it gets until I tried the wowgreen All Purpose Cleaner. It was partly because of the effectiveness of this product that caused me to become an independent distributor. It works as well as Seventh Gen. The kicker is that their spray bottles are reusable and that they sell concentrated packets of their cleaners. You simply pour the refill into the bottle and add water. With Seventh Gen, I was amassing a huge collection of spray bottles, and let’s face it, even the greenest of us can only come up with so many ways to use a spray bottle. BTW, the wowgreen spray bottles work really well.

NATURAL GLASS CLEANERS

1. Half Vinegar with Half Water

I used to work at a fast food joint in the 80s (yes, I’m atoning for my sins now) and they used a mixture of half vinegar and half water to wash the windows. This works really well and is especially effective for scaly build-up like you would find on a glass shower door. The only con is that it smells bad.

2. Earth Friendly Window Kleener

This is my favourite green window cleaner. I even like it better than Seventh Generation’s Natural Glass and Surface Cleaner. This natural cleaner cleans without leaving streaks and makes cleaning windows as effortless as is possible to make cleaning windows :).

2. wowgreen Glass and Stainless Cleaner

Full Disclosure: I’m a wowgreen Independent Distributor. Since I raved about the wowgreen All Purpose cleaner, I’ll keep this one simple. It works well on mirrors and glass. I found it was ok, but not the greatest for stainless steel. For steel, you really need to use as directed (spray and leave for 60 seconds), whereas it was much more flexible for glass/mirrors. It also comes in reusable spray bottles with concentrated refills.

ECO-FRIENDLY CARPET STAIN AND SPOT REMOVER

1. Seventh Generation Carpet Spot and Stain Remover

As I mentioned in my review of natural pet odor removers, this is probably a product that your cat doesn’t need, but your “friend’s” cat might. If your “friend’s” cat is a little hasty in doing his number two and leaves a little feces in the carpet, this product is good for some spot cleaning, or so I’ve heard.

SINKS AND TUBS

1. Baking Soda

Baking soda is like a miracle cleaner and I find it to be almost as good as those very harsh scouring products (you know the powders that make your nose tingle because they’re so strong and they have the corrosive symbol on the front of the package). Pour about a half cup of baking soda in a pile by the sink. Take a lightly moistened cloth or sponge, dip it in the baking soda and then scrub. It will take that layer of grime right off. You’ll be amazed. You just need to rinse the sink really well afterwards.

You can also use baking powder to polish pots and pans or remove burnt food crusted on them. A small dab can also remove tarnish from silver.

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

This review of green and natural household cleaners has just saved you a lot of time and money trying out different eco-friendly products to find one that works. So, if you’re still using chemical cleaners, pick one or more household cleaning product and replace with an eco-friendly alternative.
Have a friend or family member interested in using green cleaning products? Share this post with them by clicking the “Share This” link below to email this blog entry or post it to your favourite social networking site.

Day 12: Re-carpeting a Scratching PostThe 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

As you can see from this photo, Furball needs a new scratching post. The bottom of the post is practically scratched down to the board. If you look at the round hoop, you can see what the original carpet should look like. The carpet on this cat scratching post really needs to be replaced.

The easy and convenient thing to do would be to throw this out and get a new scratching post. However, this is a large cumbersome object that would take up a lot of space in the landfill, not to mention the added resources required to get a replacement scratching post.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to try to replace the carpet on the cat scratching post. Can it be done? What about the big round thing in the middle? How should we remove it? What’s the most eco-friendly way to re-carpet a scratching post? I don’t want to use glue. Nails? Staples? Are they strong enough? Will it be an easy task to put new carpet on a cat scratching post? Do I take off the old carpet before putting new carpet on the scratching post? Who knows?

In spite of all of these questions, I’m going to move ahead as part of the 30-Day Green Cat Challenge to give my cat a green makeover. The first step is to get carpet. Luckily, I have an idea on how to obtain this in the most eco-friendly asthma manner possible.

I’m placing a post on my local freecycle.org. It’s going to say:

Wanted: Carpet remnant 2′ x 3′ – small amount needed to re-carpet a cat scratching post

If you have recently installed new carpet and have some leftover scraps, I would appreciate a small piece, about 2′ x3 ‘, preferably of a low-pile carpet (different enough to discourage the cat from scratching the regular carpet).

I’m sorry I can’t take all of your scraps and will only use new scraps (not your old carpet). However, in the spirit of freecycle, I hope you will appreciate that your carpet scrap will prevent a cat scratching post from going into the garbage and it will also reduce the resources required for purchasing a replacement. It may even have further far-reaching effects as I’m going to blog about this process of putting new carpet on my cat’s old scratching post. Hopefully this will inspire others to do the same.

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION TODAY

Check out your local freecycle.org to learn how you can give away and get free items. Freecycle is great. I’ve given away a pedometer and matte board, and have received plastic grocery bags. There’s often great stuff being given away and the best part of using Freecyle is that you know your item is going to someone who is going to use it. So, while today’s action is not specific to your cat, you just never know — I’ve seen cat stuff being given away too :).

Day 7: Natural Pet Odor RemoversThe 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

There may come a time in your pet’s life when you might need a natural pet stain and odor remover product. Of course, it’s hard to broach this subject with friends, “Hey, has your cat ever peed in your house? I thought I smelled something funny in the basement.” And if you do bring up the topic, what are you really going to say? “Well, uh, my cat peed on the carpet that your baby crawls on. Is there any natural pet cleaner you recommend that works really well? Like, good enough that you’ll let your kid crawl on my floor again?” That’s why there’s this post in the 30-Day Green Cat Challenge.

And, everyone knows you can’t ever get rid of the smell of cat urine. Or, can you?

Of course, MY cat has never needed a natural pet odor remover and I’m sure yours won’t either, but if you have a “friend” who has a problem, read on. Your “friend” might be interested in learning that there are alternatives to chemical cleaners for getting rid of the smell of cat urine. In fact, you can tell your “friend” that some natural pet odor remover products work really well, not that we would know from experience.

Most pet stain and odor removers work in one of three ways:

Chemicals are used to break down the odor-causing molecules.
Enzymes are used to “digest” the odor-causing proteins
Fragrances, natural and/or chemical, are used to cover up the smell.

Since we all know that you can’t ever cover up the smell of cat urine and that we’d prefer to avoid chemicals, let’s take a look at products containing enzymes and other natural pet odor removers.

1) Simple Solution Natural Pet Stain and Odor Remover

Simple Solution has a pretty extensive line of traditional pet stain and odor removers, but they recently introduced a natural pet odor remover. They describe it as an “eco-sensitive stain and odor remover that combines renewable corn-based ethanol, plant-based cleansers and natural bio-cultures to remove tough stains and odors.” The line about renewable corn-based ethanol is stretching the natural claim slightly and is also somewhat insulting to your intelligence, but people rave about this product. Simple Solution Natural Pet Stain and Odor Remover is reported to work when all other natural pet cleansers failed. The after-smell is also supposed to be fairly pleasant.
Simple Solution website

2) Just for Cats by Nature’s Miracle

Nature’s Miracle is an enzyme based solution that works by “digesting” the protein found in cat urine. It’s one of the top-selling brands of stain and odor remover and gets heaps of accolades from cat owners. It works well, but usually requires more than one application to get rid of funky smells. However, a friend reported that the after-smell was itself a bit funky. They couldn’t tell if they were smelling cat urine or the cleaning product. The cat didn’t birth control resoil the area, so it must have been the cleaning product. After several weeks, the smell from the odor remover finally dissipated.

3) wowgreen Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner

Full Disclosure: I’m an independent distributor for Wowgreen
wowgreen Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner uses enzymes to break down cat pee. It’s non-toxic, all natural and comes in a reusable container. What makes wowgreen unique is that they’ve figured out how to combine different enzymes together in one formula, whereas most enzyme cleaners only feature one enzyme. A friend used the product on cat urine and said the smell was gone in about 15 minutes. I’ve found it’s also very effective at removing stains (of course, my cat doesn’t leave poop marks on the carpet, that’s someone else’s cat). The product worked so well that I joined the company ;). It also doesn’t have the funky cleaner smell that Nature’s Miracle has.
wowgreen website

4) Get Serious! Pet Stain, Odor and Pheromone Extractor

This is a non-enzyme based product that claims to be the only product that removes not just pet stains and odor, but also the pheromones that attract your pet back to the same spot. It’s biodegradable and its primary action is to “lift” the odor-causing materials out of your carpet. Reportedly, it leaves no detectable residue, even under a blacklight.
Get Serious! website

5) Natumate Pet Stain and Odor Remover

Made by Earth Friendly Products, Natumate uses “nature’s way” to remove pet stains and odors. The ingredients are pretty simple: coconut-based surfactant, purified water, enzymes, corn-derived alcohol and lemon oil. This product was also featured in the book, Green Clean by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin.
Earth Friendly Products website

6) Wee Cleaner Pet Urine Odor Remover

This product neutralizes urine, but contains no enzymes. It’s non-toxic, fragrance-free, dye-free, phosphate-free, and also biodegradable. What is unique about this product is that it claims to work even after you have tried other products such as enzymes or chemicals. Many of the enzyme-based products are reported to be less effective if you’ve already used a chemical cleaner, which “sets” the stain/odor. Wee Cleaner also leaves no fragrance. The main drawback is that it is for odor removal only, and you’ll need something else to remove the stain.
Wee Cleaner website

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

Share this post with your friends in case they ever have need of a solution for a private pet matter. Simply click the “Share” or “Share This” link at the end of this post.