Problem 1 : The urine odor. Try saturating the smelly spots with Natures Miracle or Odoban. Let air dry (keep windows open day and night), then have the rug professionally shampooed. Chem Dry comes to mind. Good luck. Problem 2. Regarding the behavior of the Nanny. My daughter is a self-employed nanny. She has plenty of customers because she is darn good and kids love her (and she loves them) . She is reliable, always on time, will clean up a little, make meals and feed kids, changes diapers, has her own transportation (Mom and Dad keep her car running, but she buys her own gas). Anyway, my daughter would never, ever have a pet. She owns a cat that lives with us (Mom and Dad). She had an apartment for a while but her cat remained with us. So, allowing a Nanny to even have a pet is OUT. Tell your sister to be very careful in her next hire. And my daughter's in New York, and not willing to re-locate, so I guess she's out.

I wish I would have timed how long it took me to read every single one of these posts. My beloved cats are destroying my house. I'm single, working, commuting, and losing my mind trying to clean it and get them to stop. I think that a fair number of these posts are written by SHILLS, which I find despicable. People like me are going through hell. Not only is there a mess, it's a smelly, toxic mess, and it's caused by my children. Yes, they are my children, and I can't just get rid of them. I, too, want to chime in and say that Nature's Miracle does NOT work. I'm fine with ripping up the carpet and starting over, but even that is going to be so incredibly difficult and time consuming. After reading all of this, and not having very nice carpet, I've decided to rip up my carpet, but I wish all of you cat lovers the best of luck in trying to eradicate the stains if you do want to keep your carpet. There isn't much on this thread about preventative measures to stop cats from doing this in the first place, but I encourage everyone to visit some reputable sites to deal with that as well. I've listed some below. Please don't ever think your cat is angry or vindictive or something like that. Cats don't have those types of emotions. Educate yourself and respond appropriately, but be careful of opinions in forums. Look to the experts for advice. I so very much appreciate the time people took to offer solutions. Thank you. I also want to recommend a money saving litterbox filler that will encourage you to keep up with cleaning it, as well as keep the smell at bay. My cats' issues have to do with new cats in the home, age and illness - not the use of this litter. I use plain wood pellets (no scent!), bought at Menard's or Fleet Farm type places. They're sold as woodstove fuel, as well as pet bedding. Way more economical that commercial litter and, I think, abate the smell much better. http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/06/cat-going-outside-the-litter-box-super-smart-behaviorists-share-their-tips/ http://catinfo.org/?link=litterbox http://www.littlebigcat.com/?s=litter+box One of the many posts on the brilliant Dr. Becker's site: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/08/29/cat-litter-box-aversion.aspx http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2011/02/9-useful-sites-for-researching-cat-health-issues/

Seen too many properties with this problem and itâÂÂs nasty. Every cat owner will swear their home doesnâÂÂt smell but I have never been in a home that I couldnâÂÂt tell had a cat. IâÂÂve been in hundreds where it was noticeable but the owners still believe itâÂÂs not a problem. Cat urine is far more concentrated then dog and human urine. A cats kidneys are so efficient at extracting absorbable water that the high concentration makes the urine extremely foul. With that high concentration, the real problematic component of cat urine is uric acid. This concentrated acid causes that nasty odor and makes stains hard to remove. Uric acid contains non-soluble salt crystals which bond like crazy glue to any surface. These crystals bond to wood, drywall, grout, ceramics, marble and even concrete. Even when the crystals are dry, the problem remains. Any moisture will reactivate the crystals releasing the smell all over again. Usually the smell gets worse since the crystals concentrate after drying. Humid summer days will reactivate the problem years after the cats are gone. The only way to resolve the problem totally is to get rid of the carpet and pad. If wood subflooring needs replacing due to the urine damaging the integrity of the plywood, replace those areas. The rest of the subflooring needs to be thoroughly cleaned, dried and sealed with Binz. YouâÂÂre not cleaning the subfloor to get rid of the cat urine but to make sure you have a clean, dry surface for the Binz to adhere to. The Binz shellac primer will seal down to a .005 microns which is critical. Kilz only seals down to .015 microns so I recommend Binz to fix it the first time. Any walls or trim that are suspect to the urine also needs to be sealed with Binz and repainted. Even concrete needs to be cleaned and sealed but I recommend using and epoxy on the concrete if itâÂÂs going to be left exposed. The biggest lesson I learned is if a cat is urinating frequently in a few areas of the home, itâÂÂs likely a problem throughout. I purchase properties for investments and if IâÂÂm looking at a property with cat issues, I figure replacing the carpet and pad in all rooms, cleaning and sealing all the floors, sealing half way up the walls, repainting entirely, sealing (sometimes replacing grout and/or ceramics) and even having the duct systems cleaned as this odor permeates all areas and cats will even urinate into the floor vents. The last property I purchased like this had the price reduced $35,000.00. I cost me $40,000.00 when I was done so I should have reduced the price $55,000.00 as my intent is to be profitable and this is a horrible problem.

Keep in mind that cats and dogs can smell things we can't. If there were cats living in your apartment previously, your cats may be able to smell any old urine spots, even if the carpets had been cleaned(especially if the pad or subfloor wasn't treated) or replaced. Most odor eliminators use enzymes that take time to work and as Elly_nj said, you have to soak all the way through to the floor. I have used Nature's Miracle more than any other and it has always worked for me, but at times I've had to pull up the carpet and soak the backside, pad and floor to get the job done. Also, if it's mainly a couple of problem areas, after you treat those areas, re-arrange the furniture if you have to, to keep your cats from getting to those spots. Good luck.