Even though it wasn't finished & appeared a tad bit dirty, I had my husband plop it down in the living room upon it's arrival home. There it sat for a few weeks, untouched by human bums.
On Monday, as I was walking through the living room, I noticed a few water marks on the back & cushion. I thought it was weird that I hadn't noticed them before, so I decided to touch them to see if they were wet. They were. At this point I was completely confused. I was almost 100% sure that no one in my family had come near the sofa since we brought it home. I looked up at the ceiling above the couch, to see if the ceiling had been leaking, which would have been really weird, since it is above my daughter's bedroom, away from any water pipes. Nothing. Then, as only a mother would do, I decided to smell my hand, to see if I could at least determine the substance that had made the sofa wet.
An awful feeling came over me, as I recognized the aroma on my hands. Urine, from a feline species. Most likely, this particular feline:
{Kit-Kat}
What would cause our litter box loving cat to suddenly, after nine years, urinate on furniture (& the floor underneath the love seat, which we realized after throwing the furniture out the door)? She is our only cat, so there is no competition to worry about. She was spayed when she was a kitten, which is supposed to prevent cats from spraying.
The most-likely cause (in my opinion) for Kit-Kat to do such a thing is that we got duped by some dishonest people who chose to sell us furniture that had previously been peed on by another cat. (As I said, it was a little dirty & did have a couple of stains, but I wasn't concerned about it, since the plan was to re-upholster it.) In her territorial way, Kit-Kat decided to "mark her territory" by spraying the back of the sofa & area around it, to prove to this other (non-existent) animal that this was her domain.
Ugh...What to do now? I have been so stressed out this week, trying to figure out how to solve this mess that I have created. After several Google searches, this is how I am hoping I can resolve the problem:
1. Remove the offensive furniture. (Sadly, my $40 is going into the garbage tomorrow.)
2. Contain Kit-Kat in the laundry room, where her food, water, & litter box are, until we have taken the next steps. (This has been torturous for us, as we've had to listen to her meow all day & night. Luckily, she is using the litter box, so that's a good sign!)
3. Use an ammonia-free urine cleaner to saturate & remove the urine spot from the carpet. I plan on going to Pet Smart tonight & hopefully, I can find at least one of these recommended products: Stainaway, Natures Miracle Just for Cats, Urine Off, Odorlogic Cleanaway Pet Stain & Odor Remover.
4. Let the spot completely dry & then use a black light to make sure all of the urine was removed. (Repeat step 3 if necessary.)
5. Spray a repellent, such as SSSCat Spray or No Scratch Spray on the previously peed on area, to keep the cat away from there. I've heard aluminum foil also works well as a repellent, as cats don't like the feel or sound that it makes when walking on it.
6. I guess I will have to choose between #5 & #6 for this one...Spray Feliway, on the area, which is a pheromone product designed to comfort cats, on the area in which the love seat sat, so Kit-Kat doesn't get upset, if there is a lingering scent from the offensive "cat couch".
7. Once the carpet is completely clean & dry, we will probably let the cat out of the laundry room while we are awake & at home. It will probably be a while before I will trust her alone in the house while we are either sleeping or away.
8. For added protection, we will try to keep her litter box extra clean.
9. If all of those solutions fail, the vet can prescribe a short term anti-anxiety medication (for the cat, although I may need some too!) which has been known to help solve the problem also.
So, have you ever had a failed Craigslist purchase? Do you have any additional advice to offer on the whole cat pee situation? I need all the advice I can get, because I've heard this type of habit is hard to break.
Well, that sums up my epic fail! I guess if you want to prevent this type of situation for yourself (since I will most likely never buy used upholstered furniture again), you may want to bring a black light to make sure there are no surprises once you get the furniture home!
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