Product Reviews

Feliway and Urine-Off

Stacy Mantle 15 years ago

When you live with 14 cats, 10 of which are male, you know you’re going to have to deal with certain things in life. It’s like living with ten young human boys. There’s going to be fighting, there’s going to yelling, there’s going to roughhousing and there’s going to be wetting the bed. Well, with male cats, there’s going to yowling, there’s going to be territorial disputes, there’s going to be broken vases, there’s going to be veterinarian bills and there’s going to be spraying…

Now my very patient husband (who I personally believe is St. Francis of Assisi reincarnated) and I have tried just about everything to stop our males from spraying. This is not to say that females are incapable of spraying, because they are VERY capable of spraying (I have proof of this little factoid if you care to stop by). It’s just that males tend to do it more often (and more accurately). It’s sort of like the contests that young boys (and lots of middle-aged men) engage in while they are standing outside of a bar after a night of drinking. Well, you get the idea. Bottom line is they are good at what they do and, more importantly, they enjoy showing off their skills. Cats are much the same way.

And so, when the doorbell rang last week and the dogs raced to be the first to reach the UPS man (while I bravely fought them back with a stick that I keep nearby) I just had a feeling that the product I was signing for was going to change the way that I viewed urine forever. I unwrapped the box and stared at the 55 oz black bottle of liquid, much like Frodo gazed at the golden ring in the movie Lord of the Rings. You see, one of the manufacturers of the product, CEVA, who developed the product known as Urine Off Odor and Stain Remover for Cats had prepared me for this particular delivery.

Earlier in the week, they had sent me a large packet of information, complete with instructions on how to use my little UV light so I could see urine stains that were invisible to the naked eye – something I wasn’t really excited about at first. But, their promises of a product that could dissolve every trace of urine so thoroughly that even a Crime Scene Investigation unit couldn’t tell that a cat lived there, was promising. As I walked through our house, which looked clean enough without the black light, was a little nerve-wracking with the light.

But, I digress… I removed the black bottle from its package, and warned the cats that their day of reckoning had come. I was determined to live in a clean house, and if this bottle promised such a clean home, it had better deliver. The cats shivered at my words, and disappeared under the comforter on our king sized bed …

And Urine Off Odor and Stain Remover for Cats did deliver. This was the stuff that dreams were made of… Another pass with the black light a few days later proved this. Not a trace of anything to be found. Even old stains were gone. It had permeated wood, drywall, and even grout. Amazing..

However, let me clarify: Urine-Off works does not stop spraying, it eliminates odor and the crystals that cause the odor. Simply spray the area down thoroughly, allow to remain moist for a few hours (cover with a moist towel if necessary), and then allow to dry. After drying, you can follow up with a carpet cleaner, but I can promise you – there will not be a urine smell there again. You can even view it with a black light once more, and like magic – it’s gone. The trick is in the product’s ability to eat away the uretic crystal, which causes the odor. No other product (that I know of) does this. While it is a bit pricey, (averaging $19.95/qt) it is the best way to spend your money when treating urine areas. It can even be used on clothing, tile, concrete and about anything else that you or your cat can dream up.

Of course the ultimate goal is to stop your felines from spraying in the first place! How does a simple person stop cats from doing something they have been doing for thousands of years? By using another miraculous product known as Feliway Behavior Modifier Spray . As I mentioned before, we share our home with 14 semi-psychotic cats and 3 dogs (one of which is a wolf/coyote hybrid), so tensions can sometimes run a little high. Feliway is the first product I have seen which can almost completely eliminate spraying (and a host of other maladies) in a household.

Farnam Pet Products has worked with veterinarians to develop this incredible product that works in the same way that pheromones (those little invisible smells that cats transfer onto you for identification purposes when they rub against you) in felines work. If Urine-Off is the Ring, then Feliway is the diamond pendant that gives life to the elves (and I’m hoping you’ve all seen the movie, Lord of the Rings or my analogies will be lost forever on my readers.

I have fallen in love with UPS, simply because of all of the wonderful products they send over for me to try out. And once again, when the UPS man showed up with my Feliway Plug-In Diffuser , I was in awe. I held it up to the light, paid homage to the beautiful crystal plug-in figure, thanked the good Lord for electricity, and plugged it into the wall. That night was one of the calmer evenings I had ever spent in my home. The cats were happier, the dogs could do little to upset them, and over the course of the next few days, I had less use for my other new product, Urine-Off. That’s right – the cats were not spraying as much. In fact, they were not fighting as much either. They weren’t hissing, they weren’t yowling, and they were sleeping contentedly beside us – not walking all over us – throughout the night.

The diffuser was wonderful, but the Feliway spray was even better. The few problem spots that remained were quickly taken care of with the small spray bottle. Just a couple of sprays that smelled a bit like alcohol at first, but quickly dissipated into a smell of nothing, stopped the cats from returning to their favorite areas.

The drawback is that the products are on the expensive side. The payoff is that they are worth every cent. With fewer veterinarian bills due to catfights, fewer household cleanups and furniture damage, and more peace of mind, it is perhaps the single best purchase you can make as a cat care provider. So if you have more than one cat, Feliway and Urine-Off are “must haves”.

From the cats:

Hisses & Spits: None! We love it! We have reached a harmonious Zen oneness in our home.

Purrs: Unanimous. We sleep better, eat better, and feel better. Even the dogs leave us alone!

From the humans:

Two opposable thumbs up!

Drawback? A little on the expensive side, but worth every cent!

[note style=”5″ icon=”yes” class=”template-style”]Disclosure: We received product for review. This has not influenced our review – the opinions expressed above are our own. We use affiliate links where possible. Thank you for using these to help us keep our site free from cluttering ads![/note]