Removing Cat Pee from a Duvet

Cat pee is vicious. Unlike dog urine, cat urine clings to anything it touches, leaving behind a striking smell that refuses to be washed away. In most cases, cats pee in inappropriate places for one of three reasons. First, there may be a medical cause, such as a urinary tract infection, which is the leading health reason for a cat urinating on the bed. The second common reason is territorial issues or a way of expressing dissatisfaction with changes in the home. The third reason is simply that their toilet (the litter box) wasn’t clean enough, so they chose something that seemed as close to the litter box as possible. Regardless of the cause, removing cat pee from a duvet can be an impossible task.

How to Remove Cat Pee from Your Duvet

What’s worse than climbing into bed after a long day, ready to settle in and drift off into a well-deserved sleep, only to realize that cold, wet feeling at your feet is cat urine? After getting over the initial shock (and perhaps resisting the urge to chase your cat down and plaster her to the wall), you now have to strip the bed, make it up with fresh sheets, and deal with the cat pee before it settles in permanently.

Start by using dry cloths or paper towels. You want to remove the urine, not spread it through the fibers by adding more liquids. Soak up as much as possible before moving on to the next step of treating the stain and eliminating the odor.

Removing cat pee from a duvet is a two-step process: first, you need to remove the stain, which isn’t too difficult, and then tackle the odor, which can be next to impossible. The stain can typically be removed in the wash cycle. Most comforters and duvets can withstand a gentle cycle. Treating the spot itself, however, can be tricky. Never, ever use ammonia-based products—ammonia smells too much like cat urine and will invite your cat to mark the bed again.

Never mix ammonia with bleach, either, but you probably already know that. For a duvet that can handle a bleach-and-water solution, this is an acceptable option. However, very few duvets are perfectly white, as eggshell tones are in fashion this year. And if you have a brighter-colored duvet, you may be in for a challenge.

Soak the stain in a pretreater. The Oxyclean line does deliver on most of its promises, except for being colorfast. Oxyclean can often leave white staining on colored fabrics. Trust me, I have enough faded, whitish-out blue shirts to confirm this. Also, Oxyclean requires complete dilution before use, which can be difficult with front-loading machines.

Enzyme-based products are the best for removing cat pee. They are specifically designed to tackle both the stain and the odor. However, if a cat repeatedly pees in the same spot, the odor can become permanent, no matter what you try. Cat urine is naturally designed to ward off predators and rival felines, so the strong aroma that benefits wild cats can quickly ruin your comforter or duvet with just a few solid dousings.

Once you’re sure the pretreater has soaked in and you no longer smell the urine when you hold the duvet close to your nose, wash the comforter on a gentle cycle until you’re absolutely certain the smell is gone. For most machines, this takes two cycles.

If you’re still using a laundromat, keep the area your cat has peed on continuously soaked in fresh water and enzyme-based detergents. You don’t want it to dry out until after you’ve had a chance to wash it thoroughly and remove the lingering scent.

Some people debate whether to throw the duvet in the dryer or to dry it outside in the sun. In my opinion, the answer depends on your climate and the time of year. The sun is a great natural bleaching agent and can help deodorize the duvet while it dries. However, if it’s January and you live in Minnesota, the sun isn’t likely to offer much help. If possible, drying the duvet in the sun will make it easier to get rid of the smell.

When removing cat pee from a duvet, always, always, always smell-check before drying. Even pressing your nose close to the area, you might not be able to detect any lingering odor until the duvet is fully dry. If, after drying, you still notice a smell, you’ll need to repeat the process until your comforter or duvet smells like it should. In the meantime, you might want to consider keeping your bedroom door closed until you figure out why your precious cat insists on christening your bed.