Why Did My Cat Pee On My Bag?
If you have noticed cat pee on your bag, chances are you are annoyed, to say the least. And, looking for reasons why, and what you can do about it…
Why did my cat pee on my bag?
While it’s unfortunate, the good news is that your cat isn’t doing this to be mean. Cats are very scent-driven creatures, and one common reason why they pee on new furniture, bags, or clothing is that it smells ‘wrong’ to them.
In the wild, this makes sense – a predator marks his scent all over the place and if anything smells wrong, it could mean an intruder has visited, or that they’ve forgotten to mark a part of their territory.
Health issues can also cause this, however, and conditions such as struvite stones or a simple urinary tract infection can also cause your kitty to potty outside of the bog, and your bag might have been selected simply because it was clean, had a good texture to them, or because it was quickly available.
How can I clean off the cat pee on my bag?
A person picking a red gift bag from the ground.
Avoid detergent or standard soaps, as they are going to cover the smell at best, but will not get rid of it. Cat urine has uric acid as part of its composition and when you clean with detergent, it simply recrystallizes once the item is dried and the smell comes right back.
Enzymatic commercial cleaners, however, will get the cat urine smell out of your bag. Keep in mind, however, that it may take a few cleanings, as cat urine is pretty tenacious and stubborn stuff. The enzymes in the cleaner will eventually do the trick, though, as they will break down the uric acid with each cleaning.
How long will the cat pee smell linger?
If you don’t clean it, that smell could be there for years. The best thing to do is to simply stick to your guns and clean them as many times as it takes.
Use only enzymatic commercial cleaners, although you can spray your bag with citrus oils as well to improve the smell for now and to keep your kitty from doing it again. While citrus oils smell good to us, can’t seem to hate them for some reason, making them useful to have in the house.
Apply the enzymatic cleaners and get it deep into the bag, which you should then air dry afterward to avoid getting the smell in your dryer from the heat. It might 3 or 4 cleanings and possibly more, but if you stick with it then you will eventually get the smell out of your favorite or new bag.
How can I get rid of the smell of the cat pee on my bag?
Click here for the price, on Amazon #Ad
Enzymatic cleaners are going to be the way to go. Commercial detergents won’t work and anything ammonia-based might bleach your bag, at best, and at worst they might tempt your cat to spray the bag again – as urine naturally decays into ammonia.
Your local grocery will have enzymatic cleaners that you can use or you can get a big bottle of them online, and as long as you keep cleaning then eventually you’ll remove 100% of that cat urine.
How can I prevent my cat from peeing on my bag?
Keeping your cat from peeing on your bag or from peeing on it AGAIN can be a daunting task. Thankfully, we have a few simple strategies which you can use that should help. Let’s take a look at some easy ways to protect your beloved baggage.
Lock the room door
If you can, simply store the bag in a room that you can lock, preferably hanging from a coat or hat hook on the wall – just in case your clever kitty sneaks into the room behind you or manages to open the door.
You can increase security by spraying said door with a little Citrus oil and that will greatly increase the chances that your cat will leave your bag alone.
Store the bag in a lockable cupboard
Lockable cupboards are another great option and a good choice if you have one of those kitties that somehow manages to open doors on their own. You can add a childproof plastic attachment if the cat might conceivably get to the door and try to open it, and this should effectively protect the bag.
Cover the bag in protective plastic
The protective plastic is another good option and you could use a trash bag to do this if you like. Just be sure to label it so that your roommate doesn’t throw out your bag or simply go with a clear variety bag so that they can see that there isn’t trash inside.
Mind you, if your cat ‘kneads’ at the bag, then some urine might still get on it if they potty there, but cleanup will be much easier if this happens than it would be if the bag hadn’t been covered.
Should I discipline my cat for peeing on my bag?
An orange kitten indoors behind a curtain.
No, you should not discipline your cat for peeing on the bag. Your cat will not understand why you are angry, as to them they are just marking something with their scent, or perhaps they couldn’t help it because of a health issue.
When your cat pees outside of the box, check the box first to see if it’s dirty and if it isn’t then take your kitty to the vet to rule out a health issue. Urination outside of the box is often the first symptom that something isn’t right, so skip the punishment and instead find out for sure that your kitty is okay.
Is it normal for a cat to pee on a bag?
Yes, this can easily happen if you leave a bag out where your cat can get to it.
It might be the texture of the material tempting your cat, the litter box could be dirty, your cat might have a medical condition, or they are simply being territorial and putting their scent on ‘your’ bag – which is now your cat’s bag, at least in their eyes.
With cats, it’s best to citrus spray clothing or bags to help keep your cat away from them or to simply get into the habit of putting away things like this where your cat cannot see them, get curious, and possibly decide to ‘mark’ them in the process.
Sometimes you can spot symptoms, with the most common being that urination seems to be painful for your cat or occurs very frequently. With the latter, your cat might also be drinking more water, but as long as the litter box is clean then any urination outside of it needs to be considered a possible health issue.
Get your kitty in for a checkup to rule this out – while it seems excessive, anytime your cat’s potty habits change then you’ll want to get in the habit of bringing them to the veterinarian.
Many health issues start with this symptom, so by getting into this habit now you can help to ensure that if health issues DO arise, you’ll have a better chance of eliminating them or at least managing them since you’ll be catching them almost right away!
