NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

MrsTC Posted: May 18, 2004 02:01 PM

NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

So, the sellers of the house we are in the process of buying will not have the house cleaned before closing. The prior owner who passed away had 12 cats who he let run rampant. The smell is currently being masked by air fresheners but my DH and I have no idea what to do...how does this get cleaned? I did not know it was so serious...I thought a little bleach or vinegar would fix it. Any ideas?? HELP!

eta: My DH spoke to the sellers and they agreed to pay for 1/2 of the cost of the floors to be refinished. So thats a little better....and my DH was meeting the repair person today for an estimate.

nov04LIbride Posted: May 18, 2004 02:38 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

Ugh--is it carpeted? I would recarpet...Those smells stay in there! Maybe try repainting too. Time with the windows open should help, but I can only imagine how much it stinks! (looking for the holding nose icon...)

MrsTC Posted: May 18, 2004 03:21 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

sorry forgot to mention , no carpeting - all hardwood floors....

kittyke Posted: May 18, 2004 03:31 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

I am sorry to say that I have had a sick cat and she peed on all the carpets and the only way the smell would go away was by ripping them up. As far as hardwood floors you may have to get the floors stripped and lacquered. I really don't know what to tell you, I would call a floor re-finishing place and ask their opinion.

DjPiLL Posted: May 18, 2004 04:19 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

The better question to ask is.... WHY will this house not be cleaned before closing? Thats a load of horsesh-t if you ask me.

I wouldn't close until the house is in move-in condition.

MrsTC Posted: May 18, 2004 04:59 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

DJ - we don't want to close until the smell is gone!! We want to be sure.

mlp924 Posted: May 18, 2004 08:42 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

Play hardball! No professional cleaning, no closing! They want your money just as much as you want the house!

sophie78 Posted: May 18, 2004 08:48 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

I had a cat who got sick and peed on everything. The smell will never disappear (I don't think professional cleaning will do it). I bet refinishing the floors will work. You will definitely need to rip out the carpet.

MrsTC Posted: May 18, 2004 09:26 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

Yeah that is what someone suggested to my DH - to have the floors sanded and refinished. That's probably what it will come to.

Elizabeth Posted: May 18, 2004 10:05 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor

Good luck, I hope it works out. I know that cat odors are the worst and if you can, try to go to the house on a rainy day - that will tell you if the cleaning worked or not. A damp day would intensify the odor tenfold.

MrsTC Posted: May 21, 2004 12:20 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

looks like i spoke to soon ...DH said 2 different contractors told him that ALL of the floors need to be ripped out and replaced. not sure what to do at this point....

Valentinegirl Posted: May 21, 2004 12:24 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

DjPiLL Posted: May 21, 2004 01:16 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Just a question... but why did you even go into contract on a house like this? Didn't you look at the house before you made an offer? Didn't you notice the cat smell then?

Sassyz75 Posted: May 21, 2004 02:28 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Posted by MrsTC

looks like i spoke to soon ...DH said 2 different contractors told him that ALL of the floors need to be ripped out and replaced. not sure what to do at this point....

Oh No! They are either going to have to take care of this or take $ off the price. You cannot live in a house that smells of cat piss- that WREAKS!

MrsTC Posted: May 21, 2004 02:28 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Posted by DjPiLL

Just a question... but why did you even go into contract on a house like this? Didn't you look at the house before you made an offer? Didn't you notice the cat smell then?

listen since you never have anything nice to say and just want to make people look dumb - don't bother answering my questions. NO we did not notice it because there were air fresheners everywhere and we figured it was because the sellers were showing the house. It came up during inspection. Do you think my husband and I are that stupid that we would bid on a house if we knew beforehand!!

It's going to cost $8k and the sellers are paying for 1/2.

palebride Posted: May 21, 2004 09:08 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

we had the same problem with our co-op....the previous owners let their cat use the one corner in the bedroom as a litter box...mmmm, yummy, i know!
we cleaned it with industrial cleaner and it got rid of it pretty well, but my cat wanders over there every now and again, so it must still be there a bit....
last time i was at petco, i noticed they had something to clean up that smell....good luck!

Valentinegirl Posted: May 21, 2004 09:54 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Posted by MrsTC

Posted by DjPiLL

Just a question... but why did you even go into contract on a house like this? Didn't you look at the house before you made an offer? Didn't you notice the cat smell then?

listen since you never have anything nice to say and just want to make people look dumb - don't bother answering my questions. NO we did not notice it because there were air fresheners everywhere and we figured it was because the sellers were showing the house. It came up during inspection. Do you think my husband and I are that stupid that we would bid on a house if we knew beforehand!!

It's going to cost $8k and the sellers are paying for 1/2.

Awwww. I feel so bad!

Leelee Posted: May 22, 2004 06:07 AM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Ugh..sorry you're dealing with this.
Unfortunately, the contractors sound right. My family had 14 cats when I was growing up (I think it's an illness to collect cats!) and the smell seeps into the wood flooring and the only way to get rid of it is to put new down.
I'm glad to know the prior owner is paying for half!

mv1003 Posted: May 24, 2004 08:59 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Awh- Jenn- I'm just reading this now.
I'll talk to you tomorrow, but I may be able to help you in some way! I'll do whatever I can- you know that!!!!
Since I can't talk to you now, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Don't worry, it'll all work out.

First- I hope you and 'TC' have amazing news in the morning

DjPiLL Posted: May 24, 2004 09:54 PM

Re: NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

Posted by MrsTC

listen since you never have anything nice to say and just want to make people look dumb - don't bother answering my questions.

It's going to cost $8k and the sellers are paying for 1/2.

ROFL! My god why do you have to cop an attitude for? I was just asking a simple question. And don't say I don't help people on here cause I have answered numerous home questions, and plenty of PC ones. I just had somebody FM me about job opportunities.

But despite the attitude... ill still try to offer some constructive advice.

If you say you didn't smell it when looking at the apartment... well perhaps you can mask it with air fresheners after a good cleaning/painting. Its amazing what a new paint job will do.

Did you have a clause in your contract that the bid was pending a clean inspection? If you have this... then you shouldn't have to pay the 8k period. Do you have a lawyer? Even if you don't have that clause in the contract, I would have your lawyer play hardball with the seller and try to get them to pick up the entire 8k. There are plenty of legal loopholes that you can use in this situation. Talk to your lawyer about this.

Why live in an apartment/house that you aren't happy with?