Fact: These cats have hated me since day one. One of the first times I ever went over, they splashed their litter box contents all over in some territorial show of assholery.
Fact: My sneakers this morning were damp and smelly.
Conclusion: My sneakers have been pissed in by one or more of the asshole cats.
Question: How do I stop my sneakers from smelling like pee?
The internet says I might be able to throw them in the washer, depending on the sneaker. The shoe is mainly canvas with some of that leathery/rubbery sneaker material thrown in. Pic here. If not washer safe, I’m reading about vinegar solutions? I really like these sneakers and would like to wear them without smelling like a homeless person, but don’t like them enough to go through any laborious process to remove the smell. I like them just enough to do work to remove the odor that is not very hard. Hoping I can just throw them in the washer? I’ve got a few days to let them dry out. Halp!
Get enzyme based animal pee smell stuff and follow the directions. You usually have to saturate the object and let it dry naturally. I’ve seen different versions even at Walmart… but be sure that it is enzyme based and not just something that covers odors. They enzymes actually destroy the bacteria that makes the smell.
The way I cleaned my running shoes.
Sink of warm(not hot) water.
Tbs of laundry detergent.
Stiff nylon brush.
Sprinkle detergent and scrub each shoe in a fresh sink of water.
Rinse and stuff with newspaper. Remove paper after an hour and place in front of fan. They should be dry in a few hours.
First step: Pour baking soda in the shoes and rub it in, so it goes deep into the toes and you get a thick layer over the innersoles.
Throw them in the washer with a couple of towels. If you’ve got any OxyClean or clones, use that with the detergent.
If your washer has a rinse dispenser, fill that with a couple of glugs of white vinegar.
Give them a good sniff when the cycle is done. Wet, you’ll definitely be able to detect if there is any “Eau de Latrine” still present.
If they still REALLY stink, repeat the wash.
Dry them in the dryer with the towels. Check frequently, you don’t want them to get too hot. Besides, the thumpety thumpety thump will drive you NUTZ, and you’ll be glad to get them out of the dryer!
Fill an old pair of socks with baking soda, and place them in the shoes, and set them aside to finish drying. Preferably in a place where no animals can get to them!
The pee is most likely on the outside, too. Cats who will pee in your shoes aren’t likely to be so discriminating about their aim that all the pee goes in, ya know? The whole shoe will need to cleaned. Luckily, those shoes look washer safe, being primarily canvas and that smooth leather. (I would be somewhat hesitant to toss them in the washer if they were partly suede, but it’s not like getting suede waterlogged is going to ruin the shoe any more than cat piss will.) I’d use a gentle cycle with a decent bit of detergent, a healthy slug of vinegar, and a shot of borax if you have some handy.
If you don’t want to go the washer route, you can always try Nature’s Miracle on the bits you don’t mind getting waterlogged. It’s some pretty good shit.
Stupid question: how will I know it’s enzyme based and not just a cover-up? Will it say so on the bottle?
I’m mean? It/they peed in my sneakers!
Okay, so I think for now I’m taking the easy, lazy route and will throw them in the washer with some detergent, vinegar, and OxiClean. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try one of the hand washing methods.
Why are you complaining about cats?
My friend’s dog once ATE my shoes. I kicked off my shoes at the door, we watched the football game on TV,and when I got up to leave, the damn dog had chewed both shoes entirely in half. I suddenly had four shoe-pieces. I went home barefoot.
ummmmm…did you, like, ya know, well, err, umm…spend the night with your friend?And maybe the cats got jealous because the bedroom door was closed and you were taking up space normally reserved for them?
'Cause that can make some cats really,really jealous…and then they resort to trickery and revenge.
Ha! I laugh with you, my friend – with! This makes me feel a little better, but really, shoes that reek of urine may as well be shoes that do not exist. At least I had something to keep my feet warm on the way home.
Oh yes, I am very aware of a jealous cat’s bloodthirst for trickery and revenge. I have many stories about the kind of crap these cats have pulled out of spite. Remember that thread asking if animals felt emotion? Yes. Cats feel hate.
Go to a pet store. They should be something called Nature’s Miracle. You want something like that. There should be a few brands of it around–just ask an employee to help you.
Yes, it actually will say enzyme or a name that sounds bio-zymish on the bottle. They usually stock it in the animal section and it will always require that you wet the area thoroughly with the solution (to basically coat the bacteria with the enzymes). Right now, I have one called “Nature’s Miracle” and about mid label it says “Nature’s Enzyme Formula”
If the other methods fail: soak shoes in vinegar. Let dry. In sunshine, if you have it.
As a frequent puppy/dog foster person, I am here to tell you that vinegar - plain, cheap white vinegar - is amazing for neutralizing pee smell.
A kitten I took in a few years back had a very bad UTI and pissed extravagantly, profusely and deeply on my mattress. A crazy cat rescue lady friend of mine suggested vinegar and by doG it worked. Google white vinegar cat urine or similar if you don’t believe me.
I have since replaced the mattress but once I soaked it in vinegar, let it dry and then steam-cleaned the surface it really came out like new.
Yeah, the vinegar solution is a common one. Forgot about that. Our vet was pretty adamant that it doesn’t work well for marking dogs–that they could still pick up on the scent and will remark–but, anecdotally, I’ve heard it works well for a lot of people, and, besides, this is just odor removal for a human, not a marking dog. I would definitely give it a go first.
Seriously it works as well as, or better, than Odormute and other enzymatic cleaners. At least for animal pee.
In over a decade of having foster dogs/puppies and the occasional cat or kitten in and out of my house, I’ve settled on plain old white vinegar as being the most effective. It is what is in the tank of my old Hoover carpet cleaning machine for “oops” moments.
Edit: I’m not sure how a marking dog’s urine is different to “I gotta pee now” urine. or even worse and most stinky: cat marking urine?
That said, both dogs and cats have incredible olfactory mad skillz and I wouldn’t put it past a determined marker of any species to see (or smell) through vinegar or any other odor-muting chemical.
Update: So I threw the shoes in the gentle cycle with laundry detergent, OxiClean, and vinegar, gave them a good whiff afterward, and they smell dandy. Maybe the cat would be able to smell its handiwork if it came around my shoes again, but my human nose smells nothing but sneaker. I’m also happily surprised by how well they held up in the machine. I thought they might become misshapen, but they look and smell like nothing ever happened. I’m a little concerned about how easy this was. I suppose I’ll reserve my final verdict until after they’ve dried.
What I’ve tentatively learned is detergent, vinegar and OxiClean are key. Not sure if all three of these items were necessary, but they worked. However, my tentative lesson isn’t worth much considering my definitive lesson is do NOT let these asshole cats unguarded around my goddamn shoes EVER again.
FYI, in 1994, on the Dave Letterman show, Madonna admitted she held her pee until she got into the shower, then peed on her feet…claiming it cures / prevents AF. Also, notice that neither Madonna, nor any of her girl-/ boyfriends ever were shown to have facial acne.
That episode became a StraightDope topic years ago, and it appears there may be some merit to its benefits.
Perhaps that cat noticed you had Athletes Foot, and decided to help you:
PS urine is also sold in plastic containers, to combat facial acne (see same cite above at SD)
SO please do not kill the cat, if , while in the middle of a nap…
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