Why do cat urine stains smell worse in hot weather?

Here in the United States, spring has finally arrived. If you’ve had a cat urine odor problem since last fall or winter, and thought you’d cleaned every puddle thoroughly, you may find otherwise now that the warmth and humidity have returned.

This article briefly describes the different components of cat urine and why it smells so much worse in warmer climates. This article also discusses the most effective cleaning solution to permanently remove odor and stains.

Cat urine stains are difficult to remove because they contain five different strains of bacteria. Two of these are associated with the cat’s marking odor. The others are in cat spray, urine, and uric acid.

The sticky, sticky part of cat urine is urea. The pigment is urochrome, and then there are the uric acid crystals, which look like salt.

The first two components clean up pretty easily. It is the uric acid with its crystals and salt that lingers, causing the continual smell of cat urine. These crystals are insoluble and bind strongly to anything they fall into. This is why you cannot successfully remove cat urine odor with ordinary household cleaners.

The crystals reactivate with moisture. And that’s why the cat urine smell is stronger in hot weather: the moisture in the air reacts with the crystals and you smell the cat urine stain again, even though you’ve cleaned and cleaned that particular spot.

To completely remove the odor and stain, the crystals must be removed from the surface to which they adhere. The only effective cleaning solution is a pet enzyme cleaner made specifically to attack the components of cat urine.

These cleaners are special enzyme formulas that consume the bacterial components, ultimately removing odor and stains. Common household cleaners do not contain enzymes, because most masses do not contain uric acid.

There are several reputable pet enzyme cleaners available at your local pet store. Please read the instructions carefully and follow them completely for best results. If the stain is very old, it will take several applications to completely eradicate the stain and odor.