If your cat regularly pees outside on gravel, dirt, concrete, or grass, then it can stink up your outdoor areas in no time. Whilst there are many products designed to get rid of smells, many contain harsh chemicals that can harm wildlife and possibly your cat.
Thankfully it is possible to get rid of cat urine smell outside naturally, and that’s what I’ve covered below with my tips and tricks. In short though:
There are a few effective ways to get rid of cat urine smells outside which use natural methods. These include plain water, baking soda, garden lime, vinegar, lemon juice, or lemon dish soap. Using any of these non-chemical methods consistently can remove the pee smell.
Before you rush off and try it though, check out the step by step guide I’ve described below to get the best results.
How to get rid of urine smell outside naturally
Few things smell worse than the unmistakable smell of cat urine outside. Then there’s the ugly urine stains that leave your luscious lawn or concrete patio looking like a cat pee minefield.
While we all love to enjoy some outdoor fun with family and friends, the smell of cat urine can be a huge turnoff. And it gets nastier during warm weather.
When it’s hot, microbial activity in the urine increases. This means that bacteria breaking down the urea in the decomposing pee will do so more vigorously, releasing an extra-pungent ammonia smell.
And it doesn’t stop there. As the stench worsens, the flies will show up. So now you’ll have to deal with a stinky and fly-infested patio or yard.
The good news is there are natural ways you can get rid of cat urine outside. Here’s how we do it step by step.
1. Rinse the outdoor urine spots with lots of water
Sounds basic, but plain water may be all you need to save your nose from the nauseating cat pee stench… and it’s the most natural method.
Watering the urine-smelling spot thoroughly (whether on bare soil, grass, or concrete outside) will dilute the concentrated cat urine, leaving the spot odor-free.
A garden hose or a simple watering can will get the job done well. Even better, consider facing an oscillating sprinkler towards the pee-smelling area for several minutes daily.
For this watering method to work effectively on concrete surfaces, it’s best if you act as soon as you discover urine on the surface.
Here’s why: concrete has pores. And due to its porous nature, the urine will easily seep through and settle beneath the concrete’s surface.
So, when you hose down the cat urine before it dries up on the concrete, what will penetrate through the concrete will be overly diluted urine with no pungent odor.
But if that hasn’t worked, here’s what you do next to get rid of cat urine smell outside naturally.
2. Apply garden lime
Garden lime (or dolomite lime on Amazon) is well-known for making soil healthy. This alkaline product is made from naturally occurring minerals and does an excellent job at neutralizing and absorbing cat pee odor.
The acidity in your cat’s urine is what makes bacteria continue breaking down the urine and creating a strong ammonia stench. These nasty culprits act best in an acidic environment.
When you cancel out the urine’s acidity with something alkaline like garden lime, it won’t be business as usual for these odor-causing bacteria.
You just must sprinkle a generous amount of the lime (have gloves on to avoid minor irritation) on the areas reeking of urine. Good thing is garden lime is readily available in local garden supply stores (or on Amazon, click the image below).
Apply the garden lime on the smelly spots and water these areas lightly. Let the damp lime sit on these spots for several days.
When the urine stench disappears, you can wash away the lime residue.
Handy Hint: Don’t buy hydrated lime, as it’s quite caustic. Your cat’s feet can get burned if they go to pee on the spot where you’ve used hydrated lime. Garden lime has no burning effect.
3. Baking soda saves the day
It’s hard to think of an odor problem that baking soda can’t fix. And the next best thing about it is it’s cheap and works as a natural cat urine neutralizer.
You just need to spread a good amount on the pee-smelling areas. Then, give the baking soda time to absorb the odor before washing it away.
Alternatively, you can make a baking soda-water solution.
Mix the two, transfer it to a spray bottle, give it a good shake, then spray the solution on the stubborn pee-smelling spots.
If the urine smell is on a concrete surface, you can wet the baking soda and scrub the paste on this smelly spot for a few minutes. Then, rinse the surface.
Handy Hint: Baking soda has a saturation point. If the urine smell is too strong, the baking soda may not absorb all that nasty odor at once. It’s best to repeat the application process for the most stinky areas.
Also, applying baking soda shouldn’t be a one-day thing. Use it consistently for the pee stench to go away completely.
4. Vinegar to the rescue
Another way to get rid of cat urine smells outside naturally is to use vinegar (either white or apple cider vinegar). It truly is a is a foul odor conqueror.
This popular household product contains an acetic acid that kills the bacteria in your cat’s urine and absorbs the horrible smell.
Combine it with water (the 1:1 ratio will do) and pour the mixture on the areas with the urine stench. If the pee odor is too strong to bear, consider pouring the vinegar its undiluted form.
Let it sit there for several minutes before watering that area with a lot of water.
Washing away this acidic solution will ensure two things:
- The strong vinegar smell doesn’t linger in your outdoor space.
- If the area smelling of cat pee has grass, rinsing off the vinegar will help protect your grass from getting burned by the vinegar’s mild acidity.
With consistent vinegar use, the nauseating cat pee odor will soon fade away.
5. Lemon juice or lemon dish soap comes in handy
Like vinegar, lemon juice’s acidic properties will finish off the bacteria responsible for releasing the strong cat pee stench. It will deodorize the stinky spots.
Simply squeeze several fresh lemons to make the juice. Then, mix the juice with water and pour it on the area stinking cat pee.
A lemon dish soap solution can also work perfectly fine. You just need to combine equal parts of it with fresh water, then pour it on the smelly spots.
If the pee smell is on a concrete surface, consider scrubbing the dish soap on that spot for several minutes before washing.
6. Use lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda together
These three odor removers can accomplish a lot together. Besides using them individually, you can add each in the same water to create a powerful solution that will remove the lingering pee smell.
You’ll notice a fizzy reaction, but don’t fret. That’s what happens when lemon juice or vinegar meets baking soda.
After pouring the solution on the urine-smelling area, give it time to absorb the odor before rinsing off the solution.
More tips for getting rid of urine smell outside
- To avoid the possibility of your cat peeing everywhere they see fit, train them to pee in a specific area outside. This will make your future odor-elimination efforts easier as you’ll only have one spot to deal with.
- Once your cat starts to pee at the same place, always use any of the solutions above regularly (or daily, if you have time) to keep the urine smell under control. If they always urinate on that same spot daily and you do nothing to curb the odor, it will build up.
FAQs on getting rid of outdoor cat urine smells
How do you neutralize cat urine in the yard?
You can wash away the urine-smelling spot with a lot of water, use baking soda, vinegar, garden lime, lemon juice, or a lemon dish soap solution.
How do I deodorize my cat’s yard?
Apply natural deodorizers such as lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, or lemon dish soap.
How do you get cat urine smell out of patio?
As discussed earlier, you have several options. You can apply garden lime, baking soda, diluted vinegar, lemon juice, or lemon dish soap on the urine-smelling spot.
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