How does one clean cat urine off a stuffed animal?

January 12, 2009 8:27 AM

How does one clean cat urine off a stuffed animal? You can't throw them in the washing machine because the interior would never dry, but a simple washing with a damp cloth like the label recommends will never get rid of the smell.

One of our house cats has taken an abnormal liking to one of our son's stuffed animals, very obviously humping it. Possibly as a result of his fondness for the stuffed animal, the cat just urinated on it.

posted by cyborgirl to home & garden (13 answers total)

You can purchase special products that contain enzymes that break down cat urine. I have one called "PetZyme" and it has worked well on carpets and sheets. Try any major pet store. YMMV.
posted by entropy at 8:36 AM on January 12, 2009

You can't throw them in the washing machine because the interior would never dry

Not entirely true. I've washed numerous stuffed animals, and the insides dried just fine. The biggest issue is that the "fur" may not look the same after washing. My guess is, whatever product you use, you will need to at least hand-wash it in the sink and entirely dunk it in the water. The machine spin cyle will get the majority of the water out, and you might have to wring out the rest by hand before tumble drying it on low with an anti-static sheet.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 8:40 AM on January 12, 2009

I wash my daughter's stuffed animals all the time. It all depends on what they're made of. You risk the more cheaply made ones falling apart.

Wash them in a normal cycle and dry them in a tumble dryer on low heat.

Should work fine for 90% or so of all stuffed animals.
posted by camworld at 8:52 AM on January 12, 2009

If you don't think it will handle the dryer, even on low, you can try this: place the wet stuffed animal on the edge of the biggest, fluffiest bath towel you own. Roll it completely up, as tightly as you can. Gently step all over the rolled up towel. You can repeat if needed. Then set it somewhere warm and let it finish air-drying.
posted by peep at 9:12 AM on January 12, 2009

Most stuffed animals are machine washable. Why would they not dry? You just squeeze the water out and let them dry naturally.
posted by fire&wings at 9:16 AM on January 12, 2009

I wash my daughter's stuffed animals all the time, and they come out looking fluffier (not to mention cleaner) than they went in. I don't machine dry them, and they dry out just fine. If I need to dry them in a hurry, a blow dryer works fine too. Then, they are fluffy galore!

I don't ever machine wash the kind with mechanical guts, though, for obvious reasons. However, if I were willing to sacrifice the functioning guts to get the cat piss smell out, I'd do that.
posted by Capri at 9:36 AM on January 12, 2009

Throw it out and buy an identical one? If that is possible.
posted by a3matrix at 9:59 AM on January 12, 2009

i wash stuffed animals all the time - throw them in a pillow case or lingerie bag - wash them on delicate. then i take a slacks hanger and hang them up by their seam and leave them hanging for 1-3 days. the fur can be a tad different, but the insides seem just fine.
posted by nadawi at 10:07 AM on January 12, 2009

Do what my pillows tell me. Wash it then run them through the spin-cycle again to squeeze the water out of it... they maybe a little bit in the dryer.
posted by syntheticfaith at 10:09 AM on January 12, 2009

You can purchase special products that contain enzymes that break down cat urine.

Nature's Miracle is another one.
posted by desjardins at 11:13 AM on January 12, 2009

I've thrown a ton of stuffed animals in the washing machine over the years.

I send 'em through a double spin cycle and then put them in my inferno of a dry. Everyone comes out bone dry and fluffy.

As far as the urine itself goes... I second Nature's Miracle for breaking down the urine and accompanying smell.
posted by JFitzpatrick at 11:22 AM on January 12, 2009

I hate to tell you this but even the washer and hot water may not get out the smell of cat urine.
posted by tamitang at 6:01 PM on January 12, 2009

Awesome, thank you guys. I'd just assumed you couldn't throw stuffed animals in the washer because the insides would get moldy, but between that and one of those enzyme sprays I hope to have this one back in circulation soon!
posted by cyborgirl at 5:44 AM on January 13, 2009