"recipe" I found.

[rainbowgardener]

So we are getting our house ready to sell. We have a bad kitty who has been peeing in a couple spots under windows for a long time. It is wall to wall carpet and we just kept shampooing the carpet and treating the areas and it seemed OK.

When we took the carpet and pad up, we discovered that the floorboards under there were soaked through in cat urine and REEKED. I tried various pet odor removal products and nothing made any difference.

So I turned to the all knowing internet and found this formula: water, vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, orange extract.

In my typical slapdash way, I didn't measure, just put in a bowl maybe between 1-2 C water and about the same amount of white vinegar. Dumped in maybe a cup of baking soda (gets very fizzy for awhile), 1/4 cup of dish soap and all the orange extract I had in the house, which was maybe a couple tsps. I just wiped the solution on with rags, left it for 10 min or so and wiped it up again.

It was amazing! Odor about 80-90% gone, the floor was very clean, but in the areas where there was any finish left, it didn't harm the finish. Since the odor wasn't all gone, I put more down and left it longer. Now the odor is barely detectable.

Sometimes the home remedies really work!

[applestar]

Sounds amazingly effective -- I will have to remember this one. Thanks!

[imafan26]

My cats think utility blanket I use as a rug is a litter box. I wash it every week in vinegar, pineso; (phenolic disinfectant) and baking soda. It helps but eventually, I will have to just get another one. Only one cat is using the litter box and when I put out more he claims them all.

[Sweyn]

Strong smells are known to keep cats away from certain areas. They don't like garlic or citrus smells. You can put some orange scent somewhere that you know a cat normally goes to, then watch their reaction. It's funny and it works.

[webmaster]

Why would a cat not do their "business" in the litter box? I have one that suddenly stopped pooping in the box and it's a pain!

[applestar]

Hm? Ones that I've had with a problem with the litterbox typically was more inclined to use the box for No. 2 and more likely to pee in the wrong place.

Perhaps you changed the type of litter? Or maybe the manufacturer changed the formula -- texture, scent, etc. It takes more digging to poop and cover so any issues with litter could maybe be a turn off.

One of our two cats needs to be re-trained to pee in the litterbox every so often. I think sometimes it's a dominance thing with the other cat.

I do it like any potty training -- when I think she needs to go (time factor, daily routine, feeling belly to see if she's "full", etc.) I encourage her to go by taking her to the litterbox. If the box is less than in ideal condition, I add litter, etc. to make sure she has no excuse, then stand over her until she goes, then praise her and give her a treat. Usually doesn't take more than a couple of times for her to get back into routine.