How to get cat pee out of shoes? Several household products such as baking soda, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, etc. work great to neutralize both the cat urine smells and stains. Sometimes, you have to use urine enzyme cleaner as well.
Seeing your feline friend peeing on/in your favorite footwear is surely frustrating. But accidents happen, you know!
That’s why you need to be ready to treat those stinky shoes if your dearest kitty suddenly soaks them by urinating.
However, with some household products and simple know-how, you can eliminate the urine odor without much hassle.
So, here we go with the 10 easy solutions if your shoe smell of cat pee.
How to Get Cat Pee out of Shoes- 10 Easy Tips
Whether you rely on homemade solutions or commercial cleaners, first you need to detect what your shoes are made of. As commercial cleaners might have discoloration properties, beware of using them on your leather or suede shoes.
However, follow the following quick tips to get those nasty smells of cat pee out of your shoes-
1. Use Baking Soda
If you ask how to get cat urine out of shoes leather, we have a remarkable tip here. We all have baking soda at home, right?
Just sprinkle some of it on your shoes. Make sure to cover the insoles thoroughly.
Then leave the shoes overnight so that the powder sits on them properly.
As baking soda consists of multipurpose cleaning properties, it kills the cat pee smell by making your footwear smell fresh.
Otherwise, you can fill a plastic bag with baking soda and put the shoes into it. Now, you should shake the bag vigorously to spread the powder throughout the shoes.
Leave them in the plastic bag for 5-7 days if the urine odor is too strong.
Then take the shoes out of the bag and shake them outside to remove the powder.
Finally, you should let the shoe air dry under the sun.
Thus you can remove the cat urine smell from running shoes as well.
Here is a video you can check to see how it works.
2. Make a Solution of Vinegar and Water
Suppose your darling kitty peed in your really expensive pair of shoes. Aside from enduring that nasty smell, you will probably see yellowish stains on the insoles. Now what to do?
Hey, why fret when you have cleaning vinegar at home? Mix it with regular water at a 1:1 ratio and see the magic.
Now take a clean sponge, microfiber cloth, or scrubbing brush. Dip it into the solution and then clean the urine-infected area with it.
As vinegar is acidic, it is a super standard cleaning agent that neutralizes cat pee smells and stains.
Besides, it has disinfectant properties too. By killing the uric acid and bacterial attack on the shoes, it surely seals the deal.
So, if you ask how to get the cat pee smell out of shoes, vinegar helps in both cleaning and disinfecting.
And yes, don’t forget to dry your shoes after you clean them thoroughly.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar Also Works
Thanks to its powerful acidic properties, apple cider vinegar works as a wonderful cleaning solution for cat pee.
If you say, a cat peed in my shoe, what should I do? Take an equal portion of lukewarm water and apple cider vinegar. Mix them well and make a solution.
Point to be noted, you need to use warm/lukewarm water to create this DIY urine cleaner. Using hot water is prohibited.
4. Make Use of Hydrogen Peroxide
To combat the upsetting urine odor of your furry friend, you can rely on hydrogen peroxide.
Yes, you heard it right! What’s more interesting is that you don’t need to mix it with anything.
Instead, you can apply it directly on the slot where your darling kitty created the mess.
Of course, you have to use it in a very small amount. After applying hydrogen peroxide, let it sit on the shoes for a while until the spot is entirely dry.
Then dip a clean rag into warm water and scrub the spot with the rag. No matter how stubborn stains the cat urine creates, it will eventually fade away in this way.
Nevertheless, you must read the manufacturer’s guide thoroughly whether the shoe materials are compatible with hydrogen peroxide or not.
5. Apply Rubbing Alcohol
Similar to apple cider vinegar, rubbing alcohol is a great deodorizer and disinfectant as well.
Once you wash your shoes with mild soapy water, spray rubbing alcohol inside them.
Thus you can kill the bacteria and unmask the intense urine smell in your shoes.
Well, some people often ask how to get urine out of leather shoes. They can follow this tip as rubbing alcohol certainly removes all the stains from leather shoes or sandals.
But you have to use leather conditioners once the shoes are dried.
6. Wash the Shoes in the Washing Machine
Wait wait. This method is not for all types of footwear. Still, if the shoe materials permit, you can throw them into the washer for an all-around shoe cleaning.
If the shoes don’t contain delicate fabrics like suede, leather, satin, silk, etc., you shouldn’t follow this way.
If not, then remove the shoe laces, toss them into the washing machine, set it to a cooler temperature, and select a delicate cycle to wash the shoes.
Things to remember, you must use mild detergent not to ruin the shoe colors. And after every wash, they must be air dried.
7. You Can Use Dryer Sheets As Well
To get rid of cat pee smell, you can use dryer sheets too.
But how to get cat pee smell out of boots with a dryer sheet? Well, you need to wash the shoes with an antibacterial soap first.
Then rinse them thoroughly with regular water. Now you can place a dryer sheet inside and leave the shoes to dry.
The next morning, all those nasty stenches will go away.
Aside from absorbing intense urine odor, dryer sheets mask foot odor as well.
8. Go for Sprays and Deodorizers
If you have made it this far, probably you are not interested in any DIY methods mentioned above.
Okay, we have a readymade solution for you. Visit a nearby pet store and you will find plenty of fabric sprays and shoe deodorizers.
You can easily apply them to remove those foul pee odors. And yes, they work!
9. Invest in Enzyme Cleaners
Another way to get cat urine smells and stains out of shoes is to use enzymatic cleaners.
Though it’s a commercial cleaning solution, enzymatic cleaners are non-toxic and pet-friendly. They use enzymes as the key properties to kill any kind of intense smells and stains.
You will easily get them in any pet store or supermarket.
10. Borax Works as a Powerful Cleaning Agent
If you experience a sharp cat urine odor from your footwear, borax could help. Being a very powerful cleaner, it removes any kind of strong pet odor.
So, if you wonder, how do I clean cat urine off footwear?- wash the shoes first with a mild soap or color-friendly detergent.
Then let the shoes dry properly. After that, sprinkle one tablespoon of borax in each shoe and wait for 12-24 hours.
Once you shake it off the shoes, the strong urine odor will be gone.
FAQs
Why is my cat peeing on my shoes?
Probably your furry friend had a medical condition kike diabetes, infection, or bladder stone.
Otherwise, it doesn’t like the little box you assigned for it to pee.
Last, but not the least, cats sometimes mark their territories by peeing outside of the box.
How do I stop my cat from peeing in my shoes?
You should store your shoes in a closed-door closet to save them from cat pee. Also, train your kitty to urinate inside the assigned box. And do visit a vet to rule out any medical issues and treat the cat accordingly.
Will cat urine smell ever go away?
Umm, yes. But you need to follow the methods above more than once to make the smell fade away. Otherwise, the uric acid in cat pee can recrystallize after a while and make the shoes smell again.
How do you get cat urine smell out of leather shoes?
By applying baking soda, white vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide. Before that, use a paper towel to blot up the pee as much as possible. This will make the process easier.
How to get cat pee out of suede shoes?
You cannot toss your suede shoes into the washer. So, clean them carefully by sprinkling baking soda on the shoes. You must let the powder sit on the shoes for several hours, preferably the whole night. Then vacuum or brush off the powder from the shoes.
Final Words
That’s all about how to get cat pee out of shoes. We shared the easiest tips ever to get you out of a mess created by your feline friend.
Just follow them accordingly and you don’t have to deal with the smelly shoes again.
However, when you try a DIY method, it’s very important to mix the elements in the correct proportion.
For example, when you mix vinegar with water, it should follow a 1:1 ratio. A little mistake could ruin the shoe fabrics.
So, beware!
