Hi JSN..
When a cat pees on rugs, carpets or furnishings it can leave a very unpleasant distinctive cat smell that is hard to get rid of. This urine odor stimulates the cat to urinate in that area again thus increasing the problem. Once you remove the odor permanently the cat will no longer keep going back to the same area to re-offend. Try the following... I rang a friend who's a pet sitter, and she gave me the following advice... She swears by it...
1. If the cat has recently urinated on the carpet, first absorb as much of the cat urine as possible using paper towels or an old towel. Place clean paper towels over the cat urine area and tread on them so as to absorb as much of the urine as possible. Repeat with dry towels until no more moisture can be absorbed.
2. Next, wet the area with a solution of 50% white vinegar and 50% water. Make sure you use enough of the solution to penetrate the fibers deep down. Allow it to almost dry. You can assist drying by blotting with paper towels as described above. If you own a wet and dry vacuum extractor use that to remove excess moisture.
The acidity of the vinegar will neutralize the ammonia in the cat urine.
3. Apply a liberal amount of baking soda over the affected area and drizzle it with a quarter of a cup of hydrogen peroxide (available cheaply from the chemist) mixed with a teaspoon of washing-up liquid... Work it in with a scrubbing brush or your fingers (be sure to wear rubber gloves) to dissolve the baking soda and work it down into the carpet. Allow it to dry. Then vacuum.
The vinegar will neutralize the ammonia and hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidizer capable of killing bacteria which cause the urine smells. Baking soda is a well known deodorizer which absorbs odors. Sprinkle it on your carpet monthly then vacuum up to keep your carpet smelling fresh all the time.
Important. Never use ammonia or ammonia-based products on the carpet. One of the ingredients of urine is ammonia and your cat may well be encouraged to re-offend in the same area if it detects the smell of ammonia. Many household cleaner cleaners contain ammonia so be sure to read the label.
Oh and TLC's idea's a good one for 'general urine', but Cat Urine is MUCH stronger, and has a different composition of hormones, etc... Lots of the difference is connected to the mog's high protein diet (Yuck... How do I get into these discussions???)...
Two other things...
1. Feed your cat in that area for a while... They won't soil where they eat...
2. Kitty should probably see a vet... The fact that this is a recent development suggests that there may be a medical reason... Diabetes, UTI, or kidney failure spring to mind... Also if it's an 'intact' Tom, it could be a good time to have him 'fixed'... The un-neutered Tom often does this to mark his territory...
Hope this helps... It'll mean a bit of work, but to get rid of that awful pong, you'd do anything, right???...
God bless...
Darth...