My living room smells faintly of cat wee.

[MrsThisIsTheCadillacOfNailguns]

But we don't have a cat and there is no way a stray could have gotten in.I can't work out where it is coming from,but it can only be the carpet.I've hand washed the area it seems strongest with carpet cleaner,but it hasn't made any difference.Any ideas what could be causing it and am I going to have to hire/borrow a carpet cleaner to try and get rid of it?

Haven't a clue why you have a pongy carpet but the best way to get rid of cat wee smells and to ensure a cat won't return to the same patch is to clean the area with a bio-washing powder and then spray with a little surgical spirit mixed with water.

That is really weird because the same thing has happened in our living room and hall but no cat and no strays have snuck in.

The nasty smell in cat wee is ammonia. Have you used a cleaning fluid with ammonia in it? or anything else with ammonia?

Steam cleaning should get rid of it. Rug Doctor does a special get rid of cat wee spray but I found (when cat kindly weed on my new curtains before I'd hung them) that simply steam cleaning got rid of the smell permanently.

Thank you all.I think the rug is the culprit,and have washed it and hung it outside.I am still getting faint whiffs of it though and have shampooed the bit of carpet 3 times now.

I'm going to get some bio washing powder tomorrow and will try that,plus have also got a steam cleaner so will try that too.

It can't actually be cat wee,but am wondering if dd2 has had an accident and not told me.

You won't get the smell out because the enzymes are reactivated with moisture and are there forever. This is what I gleaned from extensive internet research and personal experience when I moved into our house 3 years ago. The stench of cat wee in the lounge was horrible. It still fires up now out of the blue, even though I have tried everything on the carpet that was recommended to do on the internet.

If you have an old house there could be wee in the floorboards instead/as well. I am waiting for the money to get rid of the carpet and sand the floor as the only way.

A sand floorer man came round recently to give me a quote and he said the same re: the enzymes. He said in old houses when he sanded the floors in bedrooms you could tell where the chamber pots used to be because the smell lifted out of the wood when he sanded it.

could it be damp in the room?

My friend had that 'cat wee' smell and it turned out she had rising damp in the lounge.

hmmm,well the carpet is fairly new and there have never been cats in the house [knew all prevs owners].The smell has only started recently and we've been here over 5 years.I'll check for damp though,although I've seen no signs so far.
Thanks for the advice.

Have you used Crown paint on the walls - they were on watchdog for their paints leaving a horrible smell:

Crown Paint - not to be sniffed at?

Have you just turned your heating on - smells often ripen when autumn comes and you just start noticing them.

Lilies smell of cat wee to me...

Heating on!!!???? It isn't October yet,and I haven't ordered the coal yet.

No lilies or paint,but will check behind the draught plate thingy in the fireplace to make sure that there isn't a dead jackdaw behind there.

Have you washed your DH recently

You know,I had begun to wonder....
I was at work this morning and thought I could smell it again,outside in someone's garden.Perhaps it is me or I've become so obsessed with it that I am hallucinating it now.

However,tonight I have dropped a full milk bottle getting it out of the fridge,so will now be convinced I can smell sour milk in the ktchen,despite washing the floor 4 times.That should take my mind off the wee smell.

My basil plant makes my kitchen smell of cat pee. Unfortunately, I am not one of life's domestic goddesses, and I had to clean the whole kitchen from top to bottom - took me days! - before I traced it to the basil.

Agent ,I know what you mean.The only plant in my living room is a peace lily and I an now eyeing it with suspicion.

Well,the milk incident did force me to wash the kitchen floor and I can't remember when I last did it [is swept daily though]

I've noticed the same thing with my peace lilies, like omg they stink! I wish I knew why they smell so horrid bc I just started noticing it 2 days ago & it's just getting stronger. :(
They've recently been transplanted too, so I don't know what could be causing the stench.