Premier, i can't tell you how comforting your words are to me. I have literally shed tears over this issue ... thank you so much for your response ...

I'm familiar with Natures Miracle, and have gone through gallons of it. It does help manage the smell, though i think it may have also contributed to the saturation issue that spoiled the molding. Still, i would have had to replace them anyway.

The wainscoting is in the dining room, which has been far less of an issue. I'm pretty sure the wainscoting above the molding hasn't been at all effected.

I'm just so very happy to know that when the time comes, this won't be a horrifying project.

Thank you, Premier. You've set my mind at ease ...

PS: No hardwood floors under those carpets. I've come to realize the builder took many liberties where shortcuts and quality issues were concerned. Like so many things in life, if i only knew then what i know now ... :)

Your welcome estreya. After you rip up the carpeting, you have to examine your subfloor to make sure that no spray got on it. I would try washing the subfloor first as it may have some odor from the carpeting but the odor may not actually be in the subfloor. What to do with the subfloor will depend on what material was used for the subfloor and if any odor got in the subfloor. But cat spray normally doesn't penetrate that deep.

If you feel there is a lot of smell in the molding, you can replace the molding now or knock out the smell in the molding even though it has swelled. You can paint it with BIN Primer Sealer Oil based with shellac. Shellac will knock out that odor. Then you would paint it with your finish coat. That would at least get rid of the odor from the molding. The product also works on sheetrock.

One of my cats has been recuperating from a lower spine/pelvis/tail injury and is a little incontinent becuase of it, so I sympathize. She's lost the function of her tail entirely and it may have to be amputated. Control of bladder/bowels seems to be slowly improving, but until then every piece of furniture in the house that she lays on has to be covered in plastic and towels. But I love her, so we'll somehow deal with it.
To remove molding/trim, insert a putty knife in between the molding and the wall, tap it with a mallet, and try to gently pry it away. As you enlarge the space this way you can switch to a small pry bar. In order to protect the wall put something like a piece of cardboard between the wall and the pry bar.
We had a ceiling leak that did swell wood trim (pine), but after it dried out the swelling went down some.
Removing carpeting is only difficult if the padding has been glued down. I'm currently removing some 70's carpeting in my office and it's been quite a job (if interested, see my post with pics in the 'Old House' forum). The carpeting itself is coming off very easily. Those strips with the little hooks used along the edges are very sharp so be careful.

kim I read your other post. I don't know of anyone who glued carpeting except for in a basement or in commercial buildings. Based on the photos of her house, I doubt the carpeting was glued. Anyways, you have quite a project with that carpeting Kim. Good luck

Thanks--I believe in 'the cumulative effect' and every day I accumulate a little more progress! These old houses are notorious for a bewildering range of unorthodox treatments, so I'm not surprised to hear that gluing the padding isn't a standard procedure! It was the only room in our house that had glued down padding, as far as we know. I think it took us about 2 hours tops to remove the carpet, (unglued) padding, tacks, staples, hook strips and to sweep and wash the oak floor in the den. That was a cakewalk.

Kim2007, i'm so sorry to hear about your cat's injury. It must be wrenching to see her in such discomfort. Some folks may find it absurd to be so "accommodating" to a tiny animal when weighed against destruction of property. But when you've shared your life with another living creature for a decade or two, one makes allowances. :) I hope your cat's recuperation is swift ...

Thanks, guys, for your understanding and guidance ...

Estreya - Very easy to pull up carpet and remove moldings (BTW beautiful!!), done it twice. Have you looked into the replacement wood? We ran into problems trying to match a laminate from a previous owner. That will turn out fine too no matter. Anyway it will turn out beautiful I'm sure. Go forth and don't be afraid...(fist going in the air camelot style) :)

In my first house we had to literally replace 3 doors, jams and all, because of the cats. I removed drywall too. I used Kilz product on the concrete floors and on any framing I thought might have got wet. We were already ripping up carpet to put laminate down. Baseboards had to be replaced too. Then we found another house to buy. So we finished up the job and new owners never new what happened.

I would caution the use of too many products to remove stink and stains. Choose one and use it. I tried way too many things and the carpet was ruined.

Another thing to consider is catching the ferral cats. I love animals but we all know the problems with breading and such with strays.

As for what we do for pets. My wood floors have had runners all around so that my shephard could walk around the house without falling in his old age. My glass doors are full of scratches because large dogs have large paws. I installed shutters on my french doors. I had to make these very unattractive lucite covers to protect the lower half from him. He passed a few weeks later. I also have a few large scratches on the livingroom shutters, they are low windows, from him wanting to look out and the louvers were not opened for him. But he guarded our home from intruders for nearly 14 years. He made me safe when home alone. He was the love of our life. So whats a few scratches here and there. He had an accident on the carpet when he died and it left a small stain. As much as it gross, I will have a hard time when it comes time to rip up the carpet and put the new wood down.

Good luck repairing.

PS: No hardwood floors under those carpets. I've come to realize the builder took many liberties where shortcuts and quality issues were concerned. Like so many things in life, if i only knew then what i know now ... :)

Estreya: builders do not install hardwood floors and then cover them with carpet. This is not a quality mistake but a fact of building. The only times this was the norm was probably 40 years ago when all homes had hardwood floors and wall to wall carpet wasn't the norm. New construction all has subflooring made of plywood if carpet is going to be installed.

Thank you, Piper101, and Shannon01! It's good to know i'm not alone. Dgmarie, you're right, of course. I wouldn't have expected to have hardwood floors beneath the carpet in this newly constructed home. My statement was more of a general one (the moldings not being real wood as an example), but that's a topic for a totally different thread. :)

Estreya, yes you can rip up carpeting quite easily and quickly as others have explained. However, the next question is, what is under the carpet padding? Particle board, plywood, concrete slab? That will dictate where you go next. If it's a concrete slab, you can either put down laminate or an engineered wood floor (engr wood would be glued down on concrete.) If your subfloor is particle board, that will also have to be ripped up and replaced with plywood before you can install a wood floor. If your subfloor is already plywood, you should be good to go shopping. (Check over in the flooring forum for more info on subfloors and what can and can't be used.)

Long ago we also had a sweet cat who wanted to spray in this one corner. Someone told me about plain old club soda. Spray that on your carpeting and let it stand for a few minutes and then wipe it up. The baking soda in the club soda water will literally "eat" that smell and it does work. I put a large plastic garbage bag under the carpet to protect the subfloor before I sprayed it liberally with club soda... and then a while later used old towels to soak it up. Then put a fan on it to dry it out. Wash your walls and trim with the club soda water. Frequently. There is also a spray that you can get that will keep your cat away from that area - can't remember what it's called.

As others have said, before you replace your floors, you will need to make sure that smell is gone. If it's in the subfloor, you will want to replace that area of subflooring before you put in new wood flooring or carpeting.

Good luck - yes, the things we do and put up with for our animals but what would we do without them? They are just part of the family :)

We tore up 1200 sqft of carpet and pad on the second floor. That is easy...dusty, but easy. If you are DIY be sure to wear a mask. We also installed the hardwood ourselves. We chose a prefinished that is nailed down onto the subfloor. Luckily I found a match to the first floor hardwood. While not technically hard, it took a few weekends and lets say I'm glad I don't install hardwood everyday. The cost of hardwoods varies from $2 sqft to more than $10 sqft for the hardwood. Then you have the installation costs, which will of course vary depending where you live.

I'm reading with interest - not because I have animal/carpet problems, just ugly carpet in two rooms that are separated by hardwood. How do you get the new wood floor at the same level as the existing wood floors that surround it?

Any ideas about how to have 2 different woods next to each other? Otherwise I'd have to have professionals lay the wood and refinish it all at the same time to try and match.

estreya,

don't be embarrassed. i had the same problem two years ago. we have solid cherry floors that our new kitten peed on -- all along the periphery of the LR and DR, including the masonry of the fireplace. it was weird because i have an overly keen sense of smell, and odors really bother me. then came the kittens, and i had two strongly competing problems: the smell and the love of the poor orphaned kittens. we tried 2 products and i don't think they worked too well. but now 2 years later, most of the odor seems to have faded.

i don't know if spraying is different from peeing. but i did find a cat litter that finally got her to use the litter box. it's called "Cat Attract". I read about it online, then found a store that carried it. i couldn't believe it was so easy to litter train her after months of suffering over this.

anyway, if the carpet's not glued, it'll come up easily. are you planning to install the floors yourself? it's not hard if you'can do basic diy. my husband and i have installed several wood floors. just be careful, tho, when you remove the moldings to be gentle. they're usually not glued, just nailed every foot or two. so loosen it gently with a prybar, and use more force near where the nails are. if you're hiring someone, i wouldn't think it would be too disruptive, and it's somewhat costly, of course, but not major, as these things go.

good luck!

Hmmm ... i'll look for Cat Attract! She does use the litter box now, so i'm not sure the new litter would alter her territorial spraying. But we'll see! It's worth a try ... :)

Meanwhile, thanks, all, for your collective understanding and encouragement. I'm much better armed now to take on the renovation when the time's right. I would hate to put all that effort in only to have her spoil it. Once she passes, my next pet may have to be a puppy! :)

estreya, ask your vet about an anti anxiety medication for your cat. It really does work, and even if you do get a bit of scorn for having a pet be on "kitty Prozak" it's worth it to know that it really does help to calm the anxieties that lead to the marking behavior. Also, try a Feliway plug in diffuser as well. Some cats are just high strung and will react to any form of stress with inappropriate elimination behaviors.

As far as ripping up the carpet, that's easy. What's hard is finding out what's under the carpet and what type of prep work you need to do to have the hardwoods. I ripped up the carpet in my dining room because I wanted to stain the concrete slab. I discovered that the carpet and padding hid a lot of "sins" under it. I needed to use a lot of self leveling compound to fill the pits and fix the low spots. This is prep you'd have to do to do a gluedown of engineered on slab. Gluedown on slab is harder than naildown on subfloor. If you have a good plywood subfloor under the padding, nailing down hardwood is not that hard. You can rent the nailer. Go with the prefinished wood (enginnered for slab, solid for crawlspace) as the aluminum oxide topcoating will be more durable and you won't have the mess and fumes of site finishing the floors. Matching the existing flooring won't be easy, but it'll be worth it to have a more cohesive look, as well as being a bit more pet friendly.

Thank you for your reply, live_wire_oak! I actually did try two Feliway plug in diffusers, which i thought would surely work since there are outlets in the corners just above her spray locations. Alas, no. She must have simply sniffed them and sprayed straight away, undaunted.

I've been hesitant to put her on "kitty Prozak" for cost reasons, but with what i've been spending on Nature's Miracle, it may well be a wash (no pun intended).

In any event, she's over 15 years old now, so at the risk of sounding heartless, how much longer can she live? I expect to be able to put my new floors in any time. Gads, that really does sound like i'm waiting for my pet to die. I can feel my soul blackening just typing out the words!

You pet owners know what i mean ...

Meanwhile, i'm thrilled to learn here that i can do at least some, if not all of the work myself. As much as i'm sure i'll miss my cat, it's going to be wonderful to have those two front rooms looking (and smelling!) great.

"I've been hesitant to put her on "kitty Prozak" for cost reasons"

My dog takes Prozac. The generic is $4.00 per month at Wal-mart. I would give it 8 weeks before you decide if its working or not.

And yes, I know what you mean - I have a cat that is also 15 and while I love her, she sometimes decides to go on the tile floor for some reason.

Oh, patches123, is that all? You know, i think i'm going to try this! If it works, i can get going on the floors right away!

All but the edges of the carpets are in great shape, what with them only being three years old. I may just have them cut and edged and made into door mats so it doesn't feel like a total waste ... :)

I haven't seen anyone else address this part of OP's question:

"Was it very costly, and too terribly much of an upheaval?"

Yes and yes. Pulling up carpet, as many have said, is not a difficult job,. However as far as upheaval taking up flooring and replacing it after you are living in the space is a huge upheaval. You've got to consider that quite literally everything on the floors must be removed to do the job. That means all the furniture including the heaviest and bulkiest pieces.

The other factor is cost. HW flooring is one of the more/most expensive floor coverings you can choose. Especially if you are going to need to have it installed get ready for sticker shock compared to other surfaces like carpet or vinyl or even laminate...HW will cost you plenty. Is it worth it? As many threads will confirm most people who go that route don't have regrets. But it isn't a quick/painless/cheap alternative for your floors.

Having said all that I speak from experience. I've been steadily replacing carpet in my home with HW. I love, love, love it and think the investment is well worth it. But it's equally true it has been, bar none, the most disruptive decorating project I've done over the 20 years I've been in the house.

Good luck with your floors, and your cat too of course!

Ann

Hi, Ann! Thank you for sharing your experience. How satisfying it must be for you to look around your home and see gleaming floors that are the direct result of your frustrations and perspiration. What a feeling!

Having said that, you've given me lots to think about. And i've decided i DEFINITELY want hard wood floors in the whole entry space. I think having carpet in the rooms that flank the front door just breaks up the area, making each room look smaller. No?

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And although the dining room table will be a bother to move, the only thing in the front room at the moment is a sideboard (the other furniture items were there just cause i was fooling around with how the room might ultimately be arranged.) I've been purposefully keeping that room unfurnished:

a. Because the sofa i want in there is cost prohibitive so i have to wait until i find a used one to make a purchase; and
b. Because it's the cat's room, of course! :) And she likes it the way it is ...

Thanks again for your comments, Ann. This feedback from you all helps immeasurably.

Replacing the first floor carpet of my home with hardwood floors 2 years ago was one of the best things I have ever done. It was also extremely dusty, disruptive, and expensive. It was like moving! I had it professionally done, and it cost several thousand dollars. The installers were excellent - they finished the job in four days, and I have a big house! If I could afford it, I would have the upstairs done, too! Good luck with your kitty.

Thanks for the encouragement, taxanjana! When the time comes, i have to admit, i'm fairly sure i'll rip up the carpets, the pads, and remove the moldings myself. Then i'll make sure the surface is ready to receive the wood. THEN ...

I'm gonna let the professionals take over. :)

Honestly, i just don't have enough "do it myself" experience to feel confident. And i want all the angles and whatnot to match the existing floor.

Maybe i can save a little money by at least doing the prep work myself. We'll see what the future holds!

Thanks again for your thoughts ...

If you go with prefinished its less dusty and disruptive as the pros will come in lay the floor down and you can move your furniture back in the same day. We have site finished on the first floor which was done during the build and then prefinished on the second floor which was done two years later. There are pros and cons to both of course.

I'm going to disagree with a few things said earlier in the thread, although the issues may not matter in your installation.

:: It is not true that real wood never swells. Wood swells and shrinks constantly with changes in humidity and temperature. Some ersatz products have more dimensional stability than wood.

:: Some engineered wood floors can be installed as floating floors over concrete slabs. Other engineered wood floors are designed only to be nailed (over subfloor) or glued.

:: Particle board subfloors do not always have to be ripped out. Many floating floors can be installed over particle board or oriented strand board if it is in good condition. Some other wood floors can be installed over OSB but some manufacturers advise against it. In many cases, if particle board isn't suitable as a subfloor, it's possible to install plywood over it; in other cases it has to be removed because another layer would make the floor too high.

Estreya, my parents went through the same thing. They thought they had successfully blocked off the area where the marking was occurring and got also just got to the point where they couldn't stand the scent, and so they had the carpets/pads ripped out professionally. Then they spent days with an ozone cleaner (I think), ferociously scrubbing the subfloor and replacing the parts of the subfloor that were too far gone. Then in went the lovely, expensive new carpet... and, instantly, the cat began marking again! Oh, the heartache.

So, if I was you, I would make sure to be ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that the feline Prozac is working perfectly before putting in new wood floors. Or, like you said, wait until she passes on. I know this is a tough thing to deal with. I so hope this gets resolved easily and painlessly for you. :)

~~ nods gratefully ~~

Thank you so much for your thoughts everyone. And Xantippe, i SO feel for your parents and what they must have gone through. I haven't tried the kitty Prozac yet (an appointment's been made), but even if it seems to be working, i think i'm going to wait. Since it sounds like this is destined to be a costly endeavor, i want to make sure there's no further risk of it getting ruined.

Hi Estreya: I have five cats and one male sprayer named Elvis. I had Elvis on antidepressants for about three years. The vet changed from Amitryptilin to Paxil. They just kept upping the dosage and it never did ever stop his spraying completely. He was just doped up all the time. I finally hated seeing him look so out of it and took him off of them completely. Yes he still sprays, but not near as much as he did in the past. I have no idea why that is. He is 11, so I guess I will be dealing with this for a couple more years, but I am used to it and have become quite the cleaner because of it. LOL! I tried the Feliway spray when it first came out. I would have to spray the whole house because he would just spray somewhere new. It was a bit rediculous and costly. I am lucky that now in the house we have lived in for the last four years he has more room and is keeping his spraying to one room in the basement. We have cement floors that I sealed thank goodness, but like your problem we had the cheap base boards. We took them off cleaned the area replaced with new cheap base boards and this time I sealed around the top of the base boards with caulking. We now keep the door closed, but the odor is gone. It was just absorbed into the baseboards not the drywall because I had painted the wall all the way to the floor before we installed the first base boards. I really don't think there is any product out there that will get the urine smell out of carpet padding though. The enzyme cleaners like you are using are the only option for cutting some of the odor though. I use a Hoover steam cleaner on my carpet. It is the best investment I have made for my house and my sanity. LOL! I am with you about putting in hardwood floors and ditching the carpet. Go for it! If you do decide to put your cat on an antidepressant ask your vet to prescribe it in a compounded form. It is basically a cream form you rub on the outside of the ear and it absorbs into the skin. Pilling a cat is no fun as you probably know, so just to save you and your precious cat from a stressful situation go for the cream form. I also used a liquid form and it was a mess. If you ever have to have someone else watch your cat it is much easier for them to put cream on the cat's ear than pill it. LOL! Sorry this is so long, but I feel your pain. We love them so much we will do about anything for them. One more thing you might try is putting a second litter box in the room she seems to be spraying in the most and see if she will use it instead of spraying. My male cats sprays in his litter box also. LOL! I know that is not very appealing having a litter box in your living areas, but it might do the trick. Just make sure it is a hooded one to keep the smell in. I clean my three litter boxes twice a day and I have used the attract cat litter. It is pretty expensive for three litter boxes and I am not certain if it did any good, but it is always worth a try. Boy have I worn your eyes out yet? Sorry this is so long. :) Good luck tomorrow. Let us know how it all goes.

Whippet2katt5, thanks so much for your wonderful words! No, you didn't wear out my eyes. I must say, i'm amazed at your stamina for negotiating not only Elvis, but four others as well! Thank goodness Elvis is the only sprayer ...

You've given me lots to think about regarding the kitty Prozak ... mostly, i'm very intrigued by the notion of putting a second litter box in the main spray location! I may try that before i make a decision about sedatives. I can always just move the box when company comes over, since she hides under the bed then anyway ...

Thanks again for your kind thoughts and suggestions ...

Estreya you are very welcome. I am so glad that you are going to try the second litter box. I would try everything you can before resorting to a sedative. That should be your last resort and in my case the drugs didn't do anything but keep my cat drugged up and out of it. If you seal up the tops of your base boards it will keep the pee from seeping in between the wall and base board. You don't want pee in your dry wall. You can't even notice the caulking since the base boards are white and I used white caulking. :) You have a beautiful home. Keep us updated on your kitty. Take care and Good luck.

On the prozac...here is the trick I use to keep the cost down as I can get the capsules from Wal Mart for $4 for the month. Since its capsule, I open the capsule, empty it and mix it in moist canned food. Also, not sure if anyone mentioned Cat Attract. It works wonders for some cats....you can get it at most Pets Marts...worth a try!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cat Attract