How to Get Cat Pee Out of a Mattress (7 Step Process)

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There’s nothing worse than a cat who urinates outside of the litterbox. Probably the worst place to find cat urine is on your mattress. Is is possible to clean the stain and remove the odor? Let’s take a look at the different methods for how to get cat pee out of a mattress and see if there’s a way to do it without throwing everything out.

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Steps For How to Get Cat Pee Out of a Mattress

Urine stains are easier to clean before they get dry. In order to successfully remove them, it is necessary to:

1. Remove and wash the bedding
2. Absorb the liquid
3. Spray an equal mixture of water and white vinegar on the stain
4. Let it soak
5. Cover the spot with baking soda
6. Vacuum up the baking soda
7. Let the mattress dry

To get through these steps, you’ll need to use some common household items. Believe it or not, the list is not long. You will need:

1. Paper towels or a towel
2. White vinegar mixture or enzyme cleaner
3. Baking soda
4. Vacuum cleaner

Yellow stains on your mattress don’t always have to be a cat’s fault – they don’t even have to be from urine. They can be products of skin oil or nightly sweating.

You need to act quickly after a pet urinates on your mattress. If you don’t, the odor can settle in and spread throughout your home.

When choosing cleaning products, you should avoid those that contain ammonia at all costs. Being one of the components of cat urine, ammonia attracts cats to pee right where they can smell it.

Step 1: Remove the bedding

Cat pee gets worse with time, and older cats have worse-smelling urine. The longer the urine stays on the material, the harder it will be to remove the stain and odor.

As soon as you notice an incident, strip your bed and put bedding in the washer. Add a quarter cup of white vinegar and laundry detergent to the bleach dispenser. It’s advised to use cold water settings on your washer. It may take more than one washing to remove old stains.

Enzyme cleaners are effective at removing stains from bodily fluids. Enzymes are usually found in biological detergents. Labels indicate whether a detergent contains them or not. Most pet stores have enzyme cleaners, but you can also order them online.

Step 2: Absorb the liquid

Use a dry towel to absorb as much of the urine as you can. Dab gently. Aggressive movements and rubbing will have the opposite effect. You could push the urine deep into the mattress rather than lift up the excess liquid.

Memory foam mattresses are particularly sensitive to excessive moisture, so be extra careful.

Step 3: Spray vinegar on the stain

Vinegar is an acid that neutralizes alkaline salts (salts that form when urine dries) and it works well in removing cat urine odors and stains.

Mix white vinegar and water in equal measures, slowly pour the solution into a spray bottle and shake vigorously.

Spray vinegar solution all over the stain.

Step 4: Let it soak

After you soak up the affected area, let it sit for a couple of hours. During this time, the vinegar mixture should break down the stain.

Fresh urine should be dissolved in several hours. However, to clean dried pee, soak the affected area completely in the cleaning solution and cover it with plastic wrap for 24 hours. 

Step 5: Cover the spot with baking soda

Sprinkle the stained area with a thin layer of baking soda and wait for a few hours. You will notice that baking soda is getting darker in color as it pulls urine moisture out of your mattress.

Within those few hours, repeat the process with new layers of baking soda until all moisture is pulled out. You’ll know it’s dry enough when baking soda stops getting dark and remains white.

Step 6: Vacuum up the baking soda

Use a vacuum cleaner to remove the dry baking soda. Vacuum thoroughly – you want to remove the powder as well as the remaining moisture.

While you are at it, vacuum the entire mattress and bed frame.

Step 7: Let the mattress dry

Make sure that your mattress is completely dry before using it again. If the drying process is well done, no odor should remain.

Excess moisture is favorable for bacteria, bed worms, and bed bugs, especially if you spread clean, fresh sheets over a damp mattress and sleep like that. Drying in the sun and fresh air is the way to go. Air drying will refresh your mattress while sunlight purifies the fabrics (check the manufacturer’s recommendations regarding direct sunlight exposure).

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How to Get the Cat Pee Smell Out of Your Mattress

Baking soda will do a couple of great things for your mattress. It will remove cat urine odors, sanitize it and even pull out moisture.

Step 1: Sprinkle baking soda on the mattress

Sprinkle a thin layer of dry baking soda all over the urine-soaked mattress to dissolve the pee stain and neutralize the cat urine odor.

It’s helpful to use a sieve to get consistent sprinkles on the entire surface. Baking soda absorbs moisture, so apply an additional layer to the pee-stained area.

Step 2: Let it sit for 5-10 hours

Let the baking soda rest on your mattress for at least 5-10 hours. Dry pee stains will take even more time, and you will not go wrong if you leave baking soda overnight.

Step 3: Vacuum the mattress

Vacuum your mattress up using a clean upholstery attachment. Vacuum slowly so that a lot of it gets extracted.

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Preventing Your Cat From Peeing on Your Mattress

Keeping the cat physically away from the bed and using a mattress protector are two good ways to keep the bed clean, but they won’t change the cat’s habits.

If the accident is frequent, we advise you to consult a veterinarian to rule out any health problems, such as a urinary tract infection, diabetes, or kidney disease – it could mean that your cat is trying to tell you she has problems. If she meows while urinating or defecating, it means she’s in pain and you need to visit the vet as soon as possible.

This kind of cat’s behavior can also be caused by sudden changes. A new household member, the arrival of a new pet, or anything that would ruin their normal routine.

Keep your cat off the bed

Keeping your pet far from the bed and closing the bedroom door is the only guaranteed method. Make the litter box more attractive than your bed, clean it more often, and you can even use more than one litter box so that your pet has more alternatives.

Cats often understand what a “No” means, especially when it’s paired with a commanding tone. You need to say this whenever you see that they intend to climb onto the bed.

Cat repellent sprays deter cats from marking the territory and peeing on your carpet or furniture. They can also be a helpful tool for training your cat not to jump on the bed.

Use a mattress protector

The mattress protector will prevent not only cat urine from reaching your mattress, but will also keep your mattress clean from accidental spills, food crumbs, dust, and even bed bugs.

In the long term, a mattress protector or a large plastic sheet will not prevent your pet from urinating on a mattress, but it will prevent pet urine from reaching it, which is useful until you find a way to prevent future accidents.

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FAQs

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Conclusion

It’s not complicated to remove urine stains, but the lingering scent may be a bigger bummer because it’s very likely to invite your cat to repeat it. Be persistent with the cleaning process until you entirely remove the cat’s urine odor. Vinegar and baking soda are widely available and very effective in removing stains and odors.

Some cleaning products are intended exclusively to remove the smell of cat pee and effectively break down stains caused by pet urine. A cat can urinate in unexpected places for various reasons, from health problems to character problems. If you make your bedroom out of the cat’s reach or use a mattress protector, you may not eliminate the cause, but you will prevent the consequences.

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Next step: Read our guide to cat-proof air mattresses. If you’re having a hard time keeping your cat out of bed, then these mattresses are all good options because they’re thick enough to avoid getting popped by the cat’s claws. Any brand on this list is a good option if you need an air mattress and have a cat.

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