# Nix on the vinegar **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 13, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074 "2002-03-13T16:20:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074/1 "2002-03-13T16:20:05Z")
In Cecil’s column on [cat “spray,”](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_011.html) Cecil manages to dodge potential accusations of inaccuracy by hedging, “it’s \*claimed \* that vinegar will neutralize the smell” [italics mine]. Vinegar, in fact, does nothing more than add a layer of, well, a vinegary odor to the stank of cat spray. I’ve personally logged about 150 cat years in my life as a pet owner. I also worked at one of Chicago’s oldest and largest independent pet stores for about seven years, spending a lot of that time in the “Cat Room.” Nothing reliably eliminates cat spray or urine odor except enzymatic solutions that chemically break down the proteins in the stuff, thereby making it _not urine_. It’s these proteins that are impervious to such things as soap, vinegar, and curses. The product that I personally endorse without reservation is called [Odormute](http://www.odormute.com/). It also has the distinction of being about the cheapest such product on the market. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074/2 "2002-03-13T16:29:28Z")
What does Cecil have against cats anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074/3 "2002-03-14T01:12:14Z")
lissener, what do you think of Nature’s Miracle? I’ve seen it recommended by several people at the SDMB, including, IIRC, our own Duck Duck Goose. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074/4 "2002-03-14T17:30:03Z")
Nature’s Miracle works, and on the same principle as Odormute. The very _best_ thing about NM (from the manufacturer’s point of view at least), is that it comes already mixed with water! Odormute, on the other hand, is sold as a powder, which the user must endure the drudgery of mixing with his or her own water. For this fantastic time saving service (I can’t call it labor saving, since you’re lugging the water home from the pet store), Nature’s Miracle adds a small premium onto the price of its product: a gallon of Nature’s Miracle costs around $30, while a gallon’s worth of Odorumute powder costs about 50 cents. So really, it’s 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Unless of course you have better things to do with the other $29.50. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074/5 "2002-03-16T00:14:10Z")
Thank you for the tip. I will look for it at my local pet shop(s). ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2002, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nix-on-the-vinegar/98074/6 "2002-03-21T09:19:51Z")
The column can also be found on pages 11-12 of Cecil Adams’ book «[_The Straight Dope (1984; reissued 1986, 1998)_](https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/dopestore/buystuff.bat#tsd)».