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How to get cat pee out of clothes (stain and smell)

To get cat pee out of clothes, rinse the spot in cold water, presoak the garment in cold water with an enzymatic pet-urine cleaner or enzyme presoak, then wash on a long cold or warm cycle and air-dry. Sniff it before it goes anywhere near the dryer. Cat urine smells because its residue breaks down into sulfur compounds and ammonia, and ordinary detergent and fragrance don't remove that residue, while enzymes break it down.

Best method
Cold rinse, enzyme presoak, long wash, air-dry
Time
15 minutes of work plus a soak of an hour or more
Difficulty
Easy
Stain type
Protein

You will need

  • Enzymatic pet-urine cleaner or enzyme presoak
  • A basin or sink
  • Laundry detergent
  • Oxygen bleach, or chlorine bleach for colorfast whites

How to remove cat urine from clothes

  1. 1

    Rinse with cold water right away

    Wearing gloves, hold the wet area under a cold tap, running water through the back of the fabric.

    Why: Diluting urine before it dries leaves less for bacteria to turn into odor. Urine is treated as a protein stain, so hot water comes later, if at all.

  2. 2

    Presoak with an enzyme cleaner

    Fill a basin with cold water and add an enzymatic pet-urine cleaner or an enzyme laundry presoak as its label directs. Submerge the garment and let it soak for the time on the label, longer for old or dried urine.

    Why: Enzymes break down the organic residue that holds the smell and feeds odor-making bacteria. Soaking lets them reach every fiber the urine touched.

  3. 3

    Wash on a long cycle

    Rinse, then wash with detergent on the longest cycle the garment can take, in cold or warm water. Add oxygen bleach for colors, or chlorine bleach on whites whose label allows it. Skip fabric softener.

    Why: The long cycle flushes out loosened residue. Bleach oxidizes remaining color and odor compounds, and softener only adds scent on top of any smell that's left.

  4. 4

    Sniff, then air-dry

    Smell the damp garment closely. If there's any trace of urine, repeat the enzyme soak and wash. When it smells clean, hang it to dry, outdoors if you can.

    Why: Dryer heat can bake leftover urine into fabric, setting both the stain and the odor.

  5. 5

    Check the rest of the pile

    If the cat peed on a pile of laundry or a bag of clothes, check everything underneath, plus the basket or floor below.

    Why: Urine soaks down through layers, and any missed item keeps smelling and can draw the cat back to the same spot.

Why cat pee smell is so hard to wash out

Cat urine contains felinine, a sulfur-containing amino acid found specifically in cat urine. As the urine ages, felinine breaks down into a volatile thiol with a strong sulfur smell, and bacteria turn urea into ammonia. Uric acid salts in urine dissolve poorly in water, so a normal wash can leave residue behind that starts smelling again when the fabric warms up or gets damp.

That's why an enzyme cleaner matters more than extra detergent or fragrance. Enzymes digest the residue itself. Cat urine, like other urine, is a protein stain, so heat sets it. Intact male cats produce far more felinine than neutered males or females, which is why their urine smells stronger.

Why a cat pees on clothes

Lingering urine odor draws cats back to the same spot, so a pile of clothes that still smells faintly is likely to be used again. If a house-trained cat suddenly starts peeing outside the box, veterinary sources advise ruling out a medical problem, such as urinary disease or stress-related cystitis, before treating it as behavior.

By situation

The smell is still there after washing

Don't dry it. Soak again in cold water with an enzymatic cleaner and rewash. If it has already been through the dryer with the smell, repeat the enzyme soak; heat may have set some of the odor, so it can take several rounds.

Dried or old cat pee

Dried urine has been broken down by bacteria and needs to be rehydrated. Give it a longer enzyme soak, then wash. If you tried vinegar or another cleaner first, rinse the garment thoroughly before the enzyme soak, since residue from other products weakens enzymes.

White clothes

After the enzyme soak, wash with chlorine bleach if the care label allows it, or with oxygen bleach. Rinse the enzyme cleaner out first.

Colored clothes

Use oxygen bleach only, after testing it on an inside seam.

Silk, wool, leather and dry-clean-only items

Skip enzyme presoaks on silk and wool, since they digest protein fibers, and never use chlorine bleach. Rinse with cold water and take the item to a dry cleaner, telling them it's cat urine. Leather and suede need a specialist. For a soaked bed, see the cat pee on a mattress guide.

What not to do

  • Don't put the clothes in the dryer until the smell is gone. Heat sets remaining urine stain and odor.
  • Don't start with hot water. Urine is treated as a protein stain, and heat can set it before the enzymes have done their work.
  • Don't mix chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar. Bleach plus ammonia releases chloramine gas, and bleach plus vinegar releases chlorine gas.
  • Don't mask it with fabric softener or scent boosters. They add fragrance on top of the residue, and the urine smell comes back when the fabric warms or gets damp.

Other methods that work

Baking soda soak

Kentucky's extension guide suggests soaking clothes with a persistent odor in baking soda and water, then washing again. It's useful as an extra round after the enzyme soak.

Caution: It doesn't break down urine residue on its own.

White vinegar

A cup of vinegar in the rinse is a common tip for odors, with weak evidence for urine. Humane society guides warn that strong vinegar smells don't remove urine odor from a cat's point of view.

Caution: Never use it in the same wash as chlorine bleach. Rinse it out before an enzyme soak.

Stain still there?

The clothes smell fine wet but smell again once worn

Body heat is releasing odor from residue still in the fibers. Repeat the enzyme soak for longer, wash, and air-dry.

A yellow stain remains on whites

Soak again with enzymes, then wash with chlorine bleach if the label allows, or soak in oxygen bleach.

Safety

  • Wear gloves when handling urine-soaked clothes, and wash your hands afterward.
  • Never mix chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

What is the best way to get cat pee out of clothes?

Rinse cold, presoak in an enzymatic pet-urine cleaner, wash on a long cycle, and air-dry. Repeat the soak if any smell remains.

Does washing get rid of cat pee smell?

Often not on its own. Detergent doesn't break down the urine residue that causes the smell; an enzyme presoak does.

Does vinegar get cat urine smell out of clothes?

It can help as an extra rinse, but it doesn't break down urine residue the way enzymes do. Never combine it with chlorine bleach.

Why do my clothes still smell like cat pee after washing?

Residue from the urine is still in the fibers, often because the wash didn't include an enzyme step or the clothes went in the dryer too soon. Soak in an enzyme cleaner and rewash.

Cat urine on other surfaces

Other stains on clothes

Sources

  1. Removing Pet Odors and Stains, Humane Society of Sonoma County
  2. How to Clean Cat Urine (Cat Behaviour Guide), Edmonton Humane Society
  3. Stain Removal Guide, American Cleaning Institute
  4. Stain Removal for Washable Fabrics (HE 2-840), University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service
  5. Elucidation of the mechanism of urinary odor production in cats, Iwate University (Yamashita)
  6. House Soiling (WSAVA Congress proceedings, Animal Behavior), Veterinary Information Network (VIN) / WSAVA

Last updated . Methods are drawn from the sources above; how we research and check our guides.