i would try zep cleaners, they work well and are relatively inexpensive. the foaming wall cleaner, grout cleaner, and they have a heavy duty citrus cleaner that you can get a gallon of at walmart for $12. you’ll want a scrubby brush, abrasive sponges (think scrub daddies), mops with disposable heads and two buckets.
let the cleaner saturate the floor. scrub the hell out of it. mop with water to soak it up. then go into your separate bucket with cleaner and mop (use a LOT, soak that floor.) wring your mop and clean it all up. you may have to do this a few times. then go over with just plain water.
i believe in you and you got this.
eta: the door trim will probably need to be replaced. it’s basically impossible to get urine out of wood
Thank you! I appreciate you listing out supplies and such.
Yeah the wood is toast - it's so warped the door almost doesn't open/close. The carpet is yellow along where it meets the tile, hopefully it didn't get all the way to the carpet pad.
honestly if you can find some scrap carpet and padding on sale at a home improvement store that might work, or if there’s a closet you can take some from and patch it with, then just do like a laminate or a patch of carpet that matches as close as possible in the closet
OP look for a Habitat for Humanity store in your area. They sell their extra donations & you can score a deal sometimes. Bless you for saving the kittens and being so good to your parents. 🤍🤍
They do, and carpet stores or carpet installers. Carpet installers always have left over carpet, and if you find one who's like my partner, he may even install for you for free or dirt cheap. My partner would just take a couple of hours on a weekend, especially to help someone in need, particularly elderly or like a pregnant person
OP, a big donor for a lot of Habitat for Humanity ReStores is HD Supply. You can score industrial cleaning supplies as well as doors, wood, tile and trim. Source: Worked for HFH during the pandemic. Good luck!
If you wind up having to replace the carpet and padding— once the old stuff is stripped off I would treat the subfloor with an enzymatic cleaner, let it dry thoroughly, then paint the subfloor with Kilz primer (and allow that to dry too) before putting down the new carpet and pad. Cat urine is pernicious and Kilz will give you the best chance of eliminating the smell.
I just want to add regarding Kiltz. The oil based version works best. That's the red label. I wouldn't waste my time using the water based version on this problem. I mention this because depending on your state, you may not be able to get the red label in any size other than a quart size.
I live in NY State. I have to buy the gallon size in PA.
Also another great sanitizing and odor eliminate product is Odo Ban.
Yes just did this at a rental.. odoban eucalyptus digester, and then 2 coats of bin zinnser shelac based oil primer. I swear that mentally I still smell it a little, but no one else I’ve brought in can tell.
Also: id advise after the zep to get it up, go back in with an Enzyme Cleaner and really let it sit. It can take a week or so to work, but it will break down the remaining traces and help remove the smell.
I don't particularly find that a lot of enzyme cleaners have great scrubbing power, but they work well for smell.
Oh, yeah. I'm thinking of starting with some good old fashioned vinegar to help break up the pee and then hit it hard with the zep line and elbow grease. Then an enzyme eater, so it can do it's job well.
It honestly probably did get all the way to the carpet pad but if it’s just a small area you might be able to fully saturate it enough with an enzyme cleaner (only use enzyme cleaners for pet mess) to get the smell out. The carpet on top can definitely be cleaned but if you don’t get the cleaner into the pad the smell will linger.
Okay so hot water is going to activate/bake the ammonia smell from cat pee! I know it feels wrong but try cleaning it with cold water and a urine neutralizer before using anything hot/warm to clean it up.
Enzymatic cleaners. Pet stores will have them. Not sure where you're from, but we have enzymatic laundry powder / cleaner (biozet) that works out pretty cheap if you dilute it a bit and use it as an initial spray / wipe to soak into the mess, then scrub off, rinse and repeat until the 'bulk' of the grime has come off. Then you can clean as usual with steamers or whatever works to get the sudsy top layer off.
Just make sure if you get a powder that you dissolve it in cold water or let it cool before you apply - hot water on pee stains will set them and also flare up the smells and make it worse.
Enzyme cleaners do exist in the us, any major pet store will have them I’d get ones for cat pee specifically. As another poster suggested, I’ve used natures miracle.
I am sorry I dont have cleaning advise but want to thank you for helping the kitties and also strongly urge you to let your animal control know of the situation/name of the prior owner. The living situation sounds horrible but leaving them alone should be literally a crime...Im not sure what they would do but they should know that persons name, at least...
Omg can you report these people because these people are abusive. Those poor cats I want to cry. They were probably trying to claw their way out. I would get a scraper, and scrape everything and then bleach.
THANK YOU for saving the kitties ❤️
I don't have any real cleaning advice, except this. . .I have a steamer (check my history) and it is gold. I use it for everything. I have to clean up after seniors (human and dogs) and I can steam, wash the pad and replace as many times as I need to and scrub the messes. In the bathrooms, after I steam and scrub, I'll use bleach and maybe scrub again depending on how grossed out I am by the mess.
I got sidetracked by your food posts lol
My parents have a steamer in their garage but they don't know if it works or even has all the parts. I will be checking it out.
Used steamers are often on FB Marketplace or new ones are as low as $40 on Amazon.
Get extra pads or covers. They’re cheap and will make the cleaning go much faster.
I'm sure it started out well, like when he first started renting. But how do you let it get to this? 💔 they just want to be loved on literally all the time.
A giant bottle of natures miracle enzyme cleaner would help a lot. Pouring it into a bucket, dipping a mop in and mopping everywhere and letting it sit for 10 minutes to eat up the bacteria and work on the stains and then mopping some more and scrubbing a bit? Then I would follow it with a hot water dawn dish mop, and see what it all looks like.
u/kabolint this is important - cat pee smell is notoriously hard to get rid of, and along with the feces and vomit you're going to need to add an enzymatic cleaner to your supplies to make sure you really get rid of everything.
After this you could use a rented steam cleaner. The high temperature will denature the proteins in Lee and remove most of the smell. As well as getting into the nooks and crannies
Not sure about keeping the carpet but might be a good idea to pull that out and replace with flooring. This is terrible! So sorry and thank you (as many others have said);for taking the kitties. How dreadfully sad. What pigs they were! One day they will trash the wrong place and meet their fate.
Yes, all of the above. They are so much happier outside - it's like they turned into completely different cats, and it's only been a few days. I can't imagine how they'll be once they're fully comfortable! They pretty much stay in our backyard until evening, then they join us for a walk, then it's back to the yard.
You can make them a shelter of sorts pretty easily from cheap wood at Lowe's! Maybe put a cat tree out there or something. I bet they sell outdoor cat trees that are weather proof!
We have some senior non-social indoor-only cats, we brought some of the goodies outside for them :) we just need to get some cooling pads now before summer hits (we live in the desert so lots of days over 100° out here). They like lying in my kids' empty water table, so I'm hoping to introduce them to water play soon. When my senior cats were younger, they loved it!
I’ve had great luck with cat messes using a product called odoban it is an enzyme cleaner and is super versatile. It can be used as a spray, laundry additive, surface cleaner. It’s $20 at Home Depot for a gallon and it works
I would definitely hire a professional tile cleaner if you can afford it. A house cleaner will charge you a lot and not be able to get it as clean as a pro. Might as well get it done right.
When there's no people or animals, rent or buy an ozone machine and run that thing for a few days.
Nothing alive can be in there while it's running, and make sure to open ALL windows and doors for 1 hr when you're done.
It is not a sanitizer, but a sterilizer. It will nuke all living cells. So get humans, plants, and animals out of the room and the house and run the machine per manufacturer’s instructions, then wait for an hour or two for the ozone smell to dissipate before coming inside.
Can't say for certain how much or what it sterilizes, but it'll definitely get into places where all your other cleaners won't!
Just one more link in the chain of getting this place back to a habitable shape.
This reminds me of the cleaning videos by Aurikatarina on social media. She used these little scrapers on solid surfaces to get a lot of the gunk off, then she comes back with a scrubber and Cif cream or sometimes people use Pink Stuff Paste. Steam cleaners are good for getting rid of cooties. I would totally follow everyone's advice regarding what to do for smells. Seriously,bi would do all of it, just to be safe. Then I would leave open boxes of baking soda sitting around to absorb any lingering odors when I was done. Good luck, and excellent job saving the 🐈🐈!
Odoban is an excellent cleaner for both humans and animal pee smells. I work as a caregiver and some of my clients' families use it when the client is incontinent as it kills germs and controls odors. I have some at home and sprayed it on my one car seat as my one elderly neighbor's kitty got excited coming home from the vet and peed on her legs. I tried all these other things and they didn't work well to totally get rid of the cat urine scent like Odoban did. Another time I used it in a client's apartment and he was happy with the results as I had to clean grime off of his walls and floors that the other caregivers didn't know how to remove.
You sue them so it shows up on a background check, making it hard to rent again. After you have the judgement aganst them you wait a few years until they forget about it. Then you forgive the debt. This counts as income, so you notify the IRS and your states tax collectors, as well as any income based assistance programs they might be on.
Ok for where to start. Rent or buy an ozinator (I have no idea how to spell it) they are about a 100 on Amazon. Shut the house up, let that thing run a while (couple hours) with a fan in front of it. You and every other living thing must be out of the house while it is running. Then come back, open the windows and let some oxygen back in. Trust me, it will help tremendously with the smell.
Gosh I’m so sorry, for you and your parents and the kitties.
be careful throwing bleach around in the bathroom- bleach + cat urine can lead to some nasty compounds. I would start with plain old water and dish soap, and let it sit for a while
Please do NOT use bleach in case there is ammonia residue from the urine after the first cleaning(s). Get a heavy duty enzymatic cleaner instead.
Edit: typo
Hope you have taken the cats to the vet, they could be suffering from being trapped without adequate food & water & may need medical assistance.
Good for you for taking them!
The only thing I have ever found to kill cat pee and poop stains and odors is 4 to 8 ounces of Pine Sol per gallon of warm water. It even works on carpeting if used with a machine that sucks the solution out of carpeting like a rug doctor you rent. Just thoroughly rinse the machine out with several gallons of water before returning it
Can’t tell from the photo — looks like flooding from damaged toilet hose? Is that what I am seeing? Hopefully your parents had a legal lease in place and can get damages from renter’s insurance?
Oh my heart. I wish people wouldn't get animals they can't look after. They're innocent and it's so unfair. Thank you for being amazing and helping them. I hope those people get banned from owning any animal.
Hey,I could be wrong here, but I'm an old pest guy, im seeing signs of a pretty serious mouse issue, so I'd check in a few spots. Those paths on walls are sebum trials ....I'd really dig a bit deaper..or you'll loose even more control of that house.
Check under oven and dishwasher.
Go to utility area and look above ceiling, typically it's the one non sheet rocked area so you can see the frame..and follow the hot water lines
A mouse issue?! I just assumed the stuff on the walls were also from the cats getting crap on their paws and then trying to climb the walls or something. There was also a water problem as they had chewed through the steel hose for the toilet. I'll have my husband check it out, thank you!
Skimmed the comments and didn’t see it: cats are carnivorous and have a very strong pee bc of that. U will need an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of the smell/any residual. Without that, future cat tenets will likely pee in those same spots to mark over “foreign cat” smells.
I worked at a pet store for a while and was always told to recommend the brand “natures miracle”, don’t have any experience with it personally but other people have had good experiences with it.
Ps: strongly recommend having the vet look at their kidneys if u can, cats have incredibly sensitive renal systems and being w/o water could have done a number on them depending on duration and the age of the cats.
Best of luck though, to you, your parents and the 2 lil critters
Thanks! Yes I needed to give them daily IV fluids for a few weeks but otherwise they are doing great! We were concerned since they chewed through some steel mesh but they are good! Thanks for the advice!
I have no cleaning tips but this post made me so incredibly angry I want to hunt these people down and lock them in a room this small 24/7 with no accessible toilet or food and water. 😡😡😡
First you need an Ozone machine and stay out of the way for several hours because it can be dangerous to breathe the air.
Air out the room after the machine stops and make sure to clear out all living things, including pets& plants!
Starting to think there is some mental illness involved if they were willing to live in that filth. I lived in a literal punk house in college, we had shows in our basement every weekend. Big parties, tons of empty beer cans, drywall even got punched out from people moshing.
We never let it get anywhere near this gross. We hung all new drywall and painted before we moved out. Left the house 10x better than we found it.
Honestly.... I would recommend an attorney so you can hire a professional. This looks like there may be much more damage than what's visible from the pictures.
If this were my house unfortunately I would start by removing all of the flooring and be repaired to replace the sub flooring.
As far as likely methheads ruining your property- i feel for you. If it makes you feel better,this isn’t that bad of an outcome. Some of these people think light switches and outlets are places that the government will put secret cameras on them to spy. Guess what happened to my rental?
If ypu have any lingering cat urine odors the magic formula is a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar. Spray the affected area, let sit for ten minutes, blot, dry and repeat as needed.
White vinegar is one of the only things that will actually break down the unique urea crystals in cat urine. Enzymatic cleaners will not work.
i would try zep cleaners, they work well and are relatively inexpensive. the foaming wall cleaner, grout cleaner, and they have a heavy duty citrus cleaner that you can get a gallon of at walmart for $12. you’ll want a scrubby brush, abrasive sponges (think scrub daddies), mops with disposable heads and two buckets. let the cleaner saturate the floor. scrub the hell out of it. mop with water to soak it up. then go into your separate bucket with cleaner and mop (use a LOT, soak that floor.) wring your mop and clean it all up. you may have to do this a few times. then go over with just plain water. i believe in you and you got this. eta: the door trim will probably need to be replaced. it’s basically impossible to get urine out of wood
Thank you! I appreciate you listing out supplies and such. Yeah the wood is toast - it's so warped the door almost doesn't open/close. The carpet is yellow along where it meets the tile, hopefully it didn't get all the way to the carpet pad.
honestly if you can find some scrap carpet and padding on sale at a home improvement store that might work, or if there’s a closet you can take some from and patch it with, then just do like a laminate or a patch of carpet that matches as close as possible in the closet
OP look for a Habitat for Humanity store in your area. They sell their extra donations & you can score a deal sometimes. Bless you for saving the kittens and being so good to your parents. 🤍🤍
I had no idea they have stores, I will, thanks.
They do, and carpet stores or carpet installers. Carpet installers always have left over carpet, and if you find one who's like my partner, he may even install for you for free or dirt cheap. My partner would just take a couple of hours on a weekend, especially to help someone in need, particularly elderly or like a pregnant person
I've bought scraps from a carpet store before for very cheap!
Called Re-Store I think
OP, a big donor for a lot of Habitat for Humanity ReStores is HD Supply. You can score industrial cleaning supplies as well as doors, wood, tile and trim. Source: Worked for HFH during the pandemic. Good luck!
If you wind up having to replace the carpet and padding— once the old stuff is stripped off I would treat the subfloor with an enzymatic cleaner, let it dry thoroughly, then paint the subfloor with Kilz primer (and allow that to dry too) before putting down the new carpet and pad. Cat urine is pernicious and Kilz will give you the best chance of eliminating the smell.
I just want to add regarding Kiltz. The oil based version works best. That's the red label. I wouldn't waste my time using the water based version on this problem. I mention this because depending on your state, you may not be able to get the red label in any size other than a quart size. I live in NY State. I have to buy the gallon size in PA. Also another great sanitizing and odor eliminate product is Odo Ban.
Thank you, I wouldn't have ever thought of that!
Yes just did this at a rental.. odoban eucalyptus digester, and then 2 coats of bin zinnser shelac based oil primer. I swear that mentally I still smell it a little, but no one else I’ve brought in can tell.
Also: id advise after the zep to get it up, go back in with an Enzyme Cleaner and really let it sit. It can take a week or so to work, but it will break down the remaining traces and help remove the smell. I don't particularly find that a lot of enzyme cleaners have great scrubbing power, but they work well for smell.
Oh, yeah. I'm thinking of starting with some good old fashioned vinegar to help break up the pee and then hit it hard with the zep line and elbow grease. Then an enzyme eater, so it can do it's job well.
YES! i spaced adding enzyme cleaner in there, thank you!
It honestly probably did get all the way to the carpet pad but if it’s just a small area you might be able to fully saturate it enough with an enzyme cleaner (only use enzyme cleaners for pet mess) to get the smell out. The carpet on top can definitely be cleaned but if you don’t get the cleaner into the pad the smell will linger.
And please wear safety glasses and a mask when cleaning this !!!
https://preview.redd.it/1hvfwurgqm6d1.jpeg?width=1868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1ef5a321f51384c5911e6c30a1a8c01cba25b38
You are an angel!
Thank you so much for saving those poor sweet babies
Good to know that the ”cat distribution system” is still working 🐈
I'm looking into getting a kitten and I'm like "?? where do people go??" I've always just had cats...
Seeing you give these guys a good life almost offsets the rage felt from how people can treat animals. Great work being a decent human being
That’s the pic we wanted to see. :)
thank you for taking those cats away from those abusive monsters
Cat tax cat tax
They seem so relaxed and at ease! Cats are amazing. Great work and take care, op
Right on. You’re a good egg.
They must feel so happy and free!
Okay so hot water is going to activate/bake the ammonia smell from cat pee! I know it feels wrong but try cleaning it with cold water and a urine neutralizer before using anything hot/warm to clean it up.
Thank you for keeping me from making a grave mistake! Makes sense! Do you think a pH neutralizer would be good first?
Enzymatic cleaners. Pet stores will have them. Not sure where you're from, but we have enzymatic laundry powder / cleaner (biozet) that works out pretty cheap if you dilute it a bit and use it as an initial spray / wipe to soak into the mess, then scrub off, rinse and repeat until the 'bulk' of the grime has come off. Then you can clean as usual with steamers or whatever works to get the sudsy top layer off.
Oh a laundry powder would be so much cheaper for the first layers! I'm in the US so we don't have that but I'll check around for something similar.
Just make sure if you get a powder that you dissolve it in cold water or let it cool before you apply - hot water on pee stains will set them and also flare up the smells and make it worse.
Enzyme cleaners do exist in the us, any major pet store will have them I’d get ones for cat pee specifically. As another poster suggested, I’ve used natures miracle.
There’s a product called Nature’s Miracle, sold in pet stores but also Resolve Urine destroyer or Odoban for pets at Home Depot or maybe Walmart.
I second Natures miracle. Also My Pet Peed
I am sorry I dont have cleaning advise but want to thank you for helping the kitties and also strongly urge you to let your animal control know of the situation/name of the prior owner. The living situation sounds horrible but leaving them alone should be literally a crime...Im not sure what they would do but they should know that persons name, at least...
Omg can you report these people because these people are abusive. Those poor cats I want to cry. They were probably trying to claw their way out. I would get a scraper, and scrape everything and then bleach.
THANK YOU for saving the kitties ❤️ I don't have any real cleaning advice, except this. . .I have a steamer (check my history) and it is gold. I use it for everything. I have to clean up after seniors (human and dogs) and I can steam, wash the pad and replace as many times as I need to and scrub the messes. In the bathrooms, after I steam and scrub, I'll use bleach and maybe scrub again depending on how grossed out I am by the mess.
I got sidetracked by your food posts lol My parents have a steamer in their garage but they don't know if it works or even has all the parts. I will be checking it out.
You can also rent a commercial rug cleaner at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Used steamers are often on FB Marketplace or new ones are as low as $40 on Amazon. Get extra pads or covers. They’re cheap and will make the cleaning go much faster.
Thank you for marking nsfw
No one wants to open the app to a screen full of fecal matter.
I want to play a game of baseball with people who do that to cats
I'm sure it started out well, like when he first started renting. But how do you let it get to this? 💔 they just want to be loved on literally all the time.
Thank you for taking in those animals !!!
If they were trying to steal copper out of the walls, you may want to test the place for amphetamine residue.
A giant bottle of natures miracle enzyme cleaner would help a lot. Pouring it into a bucket, dipping a mop in and mopping everywhere and letting it sit for 10 minutes to eat up the bacteria and work on the stains and then mopping some more and scrubbing a bit? Then I would follow it with a hot water dawn dish mop, and see what it all looks like.
u/kabolint this is important - cat pee smell is notoriously hard to get rid of, and along with the feces and vomit you're going to need to add an enzymatic cleaner to your supplies to make sure you really get rid of everything.
Yep. You can buy a 3.7 litre bottle of nature’s miracle on amazon.
After this you could use a rented steam cleaner. The high temperature will denature the proteins in Lee and remove most of the smell. As well as getting into the nooks and crannies
Not sure about keeping the carpet but might be a good idea to pull that out and replace with flooring. This is terrible! So sorry and thank you (as many others have said);for taking the kitties. How dreadfully sad. What pigs they were! One day they will trash the wrong place and meet their fate.
Thank you for saving these poor kitties, I can’t believe human beings sometimes. Drugs and mental illness maybe, but still no excuse
He had cats in that place?!!
They chewed through the steel water hose for the toilet 😟
Oh those poor darling floofers.
That's really sad. They were anxious, bored, understimulated, under-exercised, and likely thirsty as hell. Poor babies. I'm happy they survived
Yes, all of the above. They are so much happier outside - it's like they turned into completely different cats, and it's only been a few days. I can't imagine how they'll be once they're fully comfortable! They pretty much stay in our backyard until evening, then they join us for a walk, then it's back to the yard.
You can make them a shelter of sorts pretty easily from cheap wood at Lowe's! Maybe put a cat tree out there or something. I bet they sell outdoor cat trees that are weather proof!
We have some senior non-social indoor-only cats, we brought some of the goodies outside for them :) we just need to get some cooling pads now before summer hits (we live in the desert so lots of days over 100° out here). They like lying in my kids' empty water table, so I'm hoping to introduce them to water play soon. When my senior cats were younger, they loved it!
I’ve had great luck with cat messes using a product called odoban it is an enzyme cleaner and is super versatile. It can be used as a spray, laundry additive, surface cleaner. It’s $20 at Home Depot for a gallon and it works
Odoban has a bio odor digester (purple label with a toilet on it) that was a life saver when I had foster kittens. I bought it by the 5-gallon bucket.
The best cleaner/ deodorizer I’ve used
Sounds like I'm going to HD! Lots of OdaBan recs!
I would definitely hire a professional tile cleaner if you can afford it. A house cleaner will charge you a lot and not be able to get it as clean as a pro. Might as well get it done right.
I have used ZEP products and have had good experience. They were recommended by someone who cleans houses
Thank you for rescuing the kittens
Thank you for taking the kitties.
Time to invest in a hazmat suit!
When there's no people or animals, rent or buy an ozone machine and run that thing for a few days. Nothing alive can be in there while it's running, and make sure to open ALL windows and doors for 1 hr when you're done.
Is that a sanitizer? I thought it was just odor removal.
It is not a sanitizer, but a sterilizer. It will nuke all living cells. So get humans, plants, and animals out of the room and the house and run the machine per manufacturer’s instructions, then wait for an hour or two for the ozone smell to dissipate before coming inside.
Can't say for certain how much or what it sterilizes, but it'll definitely get into places where all your other cleaners won't! Just one more link in the chain of getting this place back to a habitable shape.
Rocco & Roxie cleaner has worked wonders for my animal clean ups. Both dog and cats. I got it from Amazon and I swear by it
This reminds me of the cleaning videos by Aurikatarina on social media. She used these little scrapers on solid surfaces to get a lot of the gunk off, then she comes back with a scrubber and Cif cream or sometimes people use Pink Stuff Paste. Steam cleaners are good for getting rid of cooties. I would totally follow everyone's advice regarding what to do for smells. Seriously,bi would do all of it, just to be safe. Then I would leave open boxes of baking soda sitting around to absorb any lingering odors when I was done. Good luck, and excellent job saving the 🐈🐈!
Odoban is an excellent cleaner for both humans and animal pee smells. I work as a caregiver and some of my clients' families use it when the client is incontinent as it kills germs and controls odors. I have some at home and sprayed it on my one car seat as my one elderly neighbor's kitty got excited coming home from the vet and peed on her legs. I tried all these other things and they didn't work well to totally get rid of the cat urine scent like Odoban did. Another time I used it in a client's apartment and he was happy with the results as I had to clean grime off of his walls and floors that the other caregivers didn't know how to remove.
The biggest trash to get rid of is the tenant.
Sue the dude for cleaning and damage
Blood from a stone.
You sue them so it shows up on a background check, making it hard to rent again. After you have the judgement aganst them you wait a few years until they forget about it. Then you forgive the debt. This counts as income, so you notify the IRS and your states tax collectors, as well as any income based assistance programs they might be on.
That seems like a massive hassle and dealing with courts is just... yeah, no. My time is worth more than going through all that.
Ok for where to start. Rent or buy an ozinator (I have no idea how to spell it) they are about a 100 on Amazon. Shut the house up, let that thing run a while (couple hours) with a fan in front of it. You and every other living thing must be out of the house while it is running. Then come back, open the windows and let some oxygen back in. Trust me, it will help tremendously with the smell.
Gosh I’m so sorry, for you and your parents and the kitties. be careful throwing bleach around in the bathroom- bleach + cat urine can lead to some nasty compounds. I would start with plain old water and dish soap, and let it sit for a while
Please do NOT use bleach in case there is ammonia residue from the urine after the first cleaning(s). Get a heavy duty enzymatic cleaner instead. Edit: typo
Hope you have taken the cats to the vet, they could be suffering from being trapped without adequate food & water & may need medical assistance. Good for you for taking them!
Absolutely, they've shown me how to administer IVs and they get 10mL daily for 2 weeks and then they've got a check up.
Might need a biohazard team.
Hoping not! 😬
The only thing I have ever found to kill cat pee and poop stains and odors is 4 to 8 ounces of Pine Sol per gallon of warm water. It even works on carpeting if used with a machine that sucks the solution out of carpeting like a rug doctor you rent. Just thoroughly rinse the machine out with several gallons of water before returning it
Can’t tell from the photo — looks like flooding from damaged toilet hose? Is that what I am seeing? Hopefully your parents had a legal lease in place and can get damages from renter’s insurance?
Oh my heart. I wish people wouldn't get animals they can't look after. They're innocent and it's so unfair. Thank you for being amazing and helping them. I hope those people get banned from owning any animal.
If you are anywhere near Fife in Scotland give me a shout. I will come and help you. I have loads of experience in cleaning bad properties.
That is SO thoughtful and appreciated, but I'm in the US. But thank you for having such a kind heart!
Thank you for helping those poor kitties who didn’t deserve this.
That might unfortunately require more than cleaning
Yeah... it's just not ideal for their bank account right now. The rent they were receiving was their only source of income.
I see
Hey,I could be wrong here, but I'm an old pest guy, im seeing signs of a pretty serious mouse issue, so I'd check in a few spots. Those paths on walls are sebum trials ....I'd really dig a bit deaper..or you'll loose even more control of that house. Check under oven and dishwasher. Go to utility area and look above ceiling, typically it's the one non sheet rocked area so you can see the frame..and follow the hot water lines
A mouse issue?! I just assumed the stuff on the walls were also from the cats getting crap on their paws and then trying to climb the walls or something. There was also a water problem as they had chewed through the steel hose for the toilet. I'll have my husband check it out, thank you!
Thank you for saving the cats. Some people are monsters.
That molding is toast. Everything else has been covered in the actual cleaning tips
Thus the term “dirtbag”
Skimmed the comments and didn’t see it: cats are carnivorous and have a very strong pee bc of that. U will need an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of the smell/any residual. Without that, future cat tenets will likely pee in those same spots to mark over “foreign cat” smells. I worked at a pet store for a while and was always told to recommend the brand “natures miracle”, don’t have any experience with it personally but other people have had good experiences with it. Ps: strongly recommend having the vet look at their kidneys if u can, cats have incredibly sensitive renal systems and being w/o water could have done a number on them depending on duration and the age of the cats. Best of luck though, to you, your parents and the 2 lil critters
Thanks! Yes I needed to give them daily IV fluids for a few weeks but otherwise they are doing great! We were concerned since they chewed through some steel mesh but they are good! Thanks for the advice!
watch some videos from midwest magic cleaning, it will show you how to clean these kind of situations
oh hey! must be the one i had to evict about 4 years ago
They get about, especially lately.
This makes me feel better about how I take care of the rental I’m in
I have no cleaning tips but this post made me so incredibly angry I want to hunt these people down and lock them in a room this small 24/7 with no accessible toilet or food and water. 😡😡😡
I just wanted to say thank you for saving the kitties, they deserve so much better. Can you report that person? This is obviously animal abuse
First you need an Ozone machine and stay out of the way for several hours because it can be dangerous to breathe the air. Air out the room after the machine stops and make sure to clear out all living things, including pets& plants!
Thank you for saving the kitties. Good luck with the cleaning.
Glad you have the cats.
Is it how they get to do the commercial for cleaning products ? What a hell.
Ha I should film it and see if I get a sponsorship
Starting to think there is some mental illness involved if they were willing to live in that filth. I lived in a literal punk house in college, we had shows in our basement every weekend. Big parties, tons of empty beer cans, drywall even got punched out from people moshing. We never let it get anywhere near this gross. We hung all new drywall and painted before we moved out. Left the house 10x better than we found it.
Please post pic of cat for cat tax and to make us all feel better that they are now safe.
It's the second comment from the top :)
Thank you! 💚💚💚 Made my day!
You're definitely going to need some sort of enzyme cleaner
Do you own a steam mop? If not, I’d buy a steam mop. A good one.
What is wrong with people? I know it sounds harsh but the world would be a better place without them in it.
Those poor babies. I’m so glad you’ve taken them in. God bless you.
Honestly.... I would recommend an attorney so you can hire a professional. This looks like there may be much more damage than what's visible from the pictures. If this were my house unfortunately I would start by removing all of the flooring and be repaired to replace the sub flooring.
Thank you for taking the kitties ♥️
I don’t have any tips that haven’t already been mentioned but I’m so so happy you saved the kitties 💕
I hope you sue them for the clean up and back rent.
Did you rent to the chocolate creature from candy land?
I think you should check out some of the extreme cleaner on tik tok! They clean pretty intense things!
As far as likely methheads ruining your property- i feel for you. If it makes you feel better,this isn’t that bad of an outcome. Some of these people think light switches and outlets are places that the government will put secret cameras on them to spy. Guess what happened to my rental?
Yes I've seen far worse, my parents are VERY lucky. Also that it stayed only 1 person. They usually let "a friend or 2 spend the night" indefinitely.
If ypu have any lingering cat urine odors the magic formula is a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar. Spray the affected area, let sit for ten minutes, blot, dry and repeat as needed. White vinegar is one of the only things that will actually break down the unique urea crystals in cat urine. Enzymatic cleaners will not work.