So, how does one get the scent of cat pee out of a barn?

[SharonA1]

Went to an open house today, at a lovely-sounding property, with really great pictures. The pictures did not capture that the whole house was leaning slightly backwards on its foundation (granted, it was about 200 years old), nor that the entire house, but especially the barn, stank of cat pee. Too bad, because if you had the resources to restore the house, it would be a lovely project.

But, since I do still have the dream of buying a farm property, and it probably will be an older property, how does one get the smell of generations of cat pee out of a barn?

[Simkie]

Yick. Cat piss is the worst

What exactly have the cats peed on? If it’s wood, sealing everything with Kilz is one option. Replacing whatever stinks is another. Pressure washing might help a little but that stuff soaks in. If it’s a dirt floor, scraping it all out and bringing in clean fill is about the only choice.

[clanter]

a mineral called zeolite is used to eliminate odors and absorb moisture/urine, predominately associated with animal waste

Sweat PDZ or Standlee Horse Fresh, both are based upon zeolite

[SusanO]

Cat pee is bad. Tomcat spray is lethal. I had a traveling tomcat show up years ago and one night I left my truck windows down. He got in and sprayed thus naming himself Stinky. I had that truck for years and I could never get the smell out. I would think that it was gone then the weather would get humid - it would be back. You might be able to tone it down in the barn but the enclosed house might be a different story, depending what had been sprayed.

[4horses]

Get the cats neutered/spayed especially if feral. Then buy a kennel odor eliminator and spray everything down with a pressure washer. Allow to dry.

If the wood has absorbed the urine it will not come out. I do think that UV radiation and exposure to the elements will help the smell abate over time. Horses pee in the barn and the smell dissipates so I think it will get better once you no longer have cats in there.

That said do you really want an old house to restore? Sounds very expensive.

[sascha]

Odoban, full strength in a garden sprayer. As long as you hit every last area and completely soak it, it will kill the odour.

I stupidly chose the wrong carrier for my stand up and pee when nervous cat the other week. Carrier was not solid at peeing height but a good spray with Odoban saved my car from having to be incinerated.

[SonnysMom]

I had a semi-feral cat that I finally allowed out of the bedroom. I did not realize my other cats were not letting her go to the litter boxes in the mudroom. She used my 4 month old couches. Odoban did not work. Angry Orange worked really really well.
In the past I have sealed a wood floor under a carpet with oil based paint or oil based Kilz. Latex didn’t do the trick.