Carpet Issues

My friend and fellow blogger Rachel asked for more details about the "cat pee incident" that I briefly glossed over here. Since I have asked for my readers to leave more comments (thank you to those that have left a comment or two!), I decided I had best respond to her question to show that my reader comments are important to me. ;o) So, for Rachel - and anyone else who was wondering - here's the longer version of the cat pee incident. Side note: I did not take pictures of the cat pee (you're welcome), but since a post without pictures is boring, I will scatter a few pictures of my beloved cat throughout the post.

Beloved Cat, Calvin

So we went on a three-day Oregon Coast vacation, which was so fun but also tiring (as any vacation with young children always is). We got home fairly late (around 10pm I think?) and both Kevin and I were SO anxious to just get into our own comfy bed and have a good night's sleep. Well, about two minutes after walking in the door, I heard a dreaded sound: a muffled "meow!" I raced down the hallway and my heart sunk when I saw what I had suspected: our bedroom door was shut. I opened it and Calvin came racing out. I was also assaulted with the nasty, nasty smell of cat urine. I did what any mother of three little children would do after arriving home late at night from vacation and finding such a situation: I cried and felt sorry for myself. Knowing that we lacked the energy and state of mind to deal with the problem, we closed the bedroom door, grabbed some blankets, and headed for the living room for a somewhat-decent night of sleep.

The next morning Kevin was gone to Westport before I woke. I surveyed the damage in the daylight and thought that most of the urine was in one spot on the bed. Ugh. I also disposed of the two piles of cat poop (not on the bed) and cleaned the carpet in those spots. We have a sleep number bed, which is actually just two chambers of air with a mattress-looking cover over the whole thing. I unzipped the cover and my mom graciously took it to the cleaners for me. But the room still stunk badly!

I simply did not have anymore time to deal with the matter. Kevin was gone for several days, company was coming over for dinner, and not to mention Christmas was just a couple days away! So the door stayed shut except for quick trips in to get a change of clothes each day. The following week was so full of Christmas activities, including a day-trip to Oregon and hosting the Gardner Christmas at our house, that we just kept sleeping in the living room and the floor of the kid's room and ignoring "the problem."

Eventually, I found this really cool flashlight device that uses black light to find urine spots. It's called Nature's Secret Weapon Professional LED UV Cat-Dog-Pet Urine Black Light Flashlight. And, as cool as it was, it was also really scary as it revealed much more than we expected! I suppose three days is a long time for a cat even without access to water (If you ever have a pet urine problem, I totally recommend it!). We then doused the spots with KIDS 'N' PETS Brand Stain & Odor Remover, which we had used in the past when Calvin had a bladder infection that made him leak. It's a very awesome product and it removed the odors in the carpet completely! Seriously. Unfortunately, there was one more spot he'd sprayed - against the side of the box spring mattress (the light didn't work on any surface except the carpet). We decided that the box spring had to go to the dump, but it led to two very positive and unexpected things: one, we were able to bring in the sleep number platform that had been taking up valuable space in our garage ever since we brought it back from PA in several boxes, and, two, it allowed us a great opportunity to thoroughly clean under the bed....which led to me finding Kevin's wedding ring which he had been missing for a couple years! I screamed in delight when I saw it! We were ecstatic!! In fact, I'd completely given up on him ever finding it (he thought he'd put it in a "safe spot" on the Angela-C, his smaller boat) and had even started to look at new rings. So, as the saying goes, there is truly a silver lining to every cloud. :)

 

And while the story of the cat pee incident ends there, you may have noticed that the title of this post is "Carpet Issues," plural. Well, crazy enough, now it's the KIDS turn to sleep in the living room...in their BEDS!!

Yes, our Christmas tree is still up! We have a hard time taking it down every year because we enjoy it so much!

Several days ago, we noticed a musty smell in their room and then realized that the humidifier had been leaking. The smell got exponentially worse overnight and so I called in a expert who gave me an estimate of $650 (!!) to do the job. We decided that was way too much and that Kevin would have to do it himself even though he is crazy busy getting the boat ready for the start of crab season on Monday. So that night when he got home (at 9:30pm!!), he and my dad removed the furniture, pulled back the carpet from half the room, and removed the portion of carpet pad that was bacteria-ridden and moldy. Thankfully, the floor boards were totally fine since Kevin had painted them with some type of odor-killing sealing paint when we first moved in (because the previous owner's dog had peed everywhere!). Now we wait for Kevin to come home again to finish the job. :(

In the mean time, we deal with a dresser and night stand in the kitchen and beds taking up the entire living room. Jake is sleeping in his play pen in the study...and woke up 5 times last night (I haven't been able to find the silver lining in this "cloud" yet!). It's frustrating, but this too will pass...and hopefully we'll be carpet-problem-free for awhile! :)

P.S. In case you were wondering, Calvin had been exclusively an indoor cat for ten years, but when Kevin put in a fence this summer we started letting him into the back yard for a few minutes here and there (longer when it's warmer out!). He loves it and it makes taking pictures of him more fun too. :)