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If you’re a cat owner, you know that if the litter box isn’t clean, your furry friend will find somewhere else to poop. If you’ve forgotten to clean the litter box, you’re likely to find a pile of feces on your floor.
That’s not so bad if you have tile flooring, but it’s harder to remove from the carpet, and even worse is when that cat is a repeat offender. Luckily, we’ll show you have to remove the stains and odors from your carpet.
Odor-Blocking Products to Try
If your furry feline is using your carpet as a litter box frequently, you may need to use an enzyme cleaner.
Candles
Some candles are specifically designed to help block cat odors, but it’s best to ensure they don’t contain essential oils that are harmful to cats.
Enzyme Cleaners
Enzyme cleaners break down the sources of stains and odors. Many cat owners use them to rid their homes of urine stains and odors, but they also remove messy poop stains and smells.
If you're trying to find an enzyme cleaner that does it all, we highly recommend our favorite cleaner, the Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray. It permanently removes the very worst stains and smells you can imagine and makes clean up a breeze. There's even a 100% satisfaction guarantee! Click here to order a bottle today. At PangoVet, we’ve admired Hepper for many years, and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding products of this cool cat company!
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Hepper Advanced Bio-Enzyme Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator Spray
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Absorbing Gels
You can also use gels that absorb cat odors before they can waft throughout your home.
Scent Diffusers
Most everyone knows the value of a good scent diffuser. However, there are diffuser formulas that are designed to deter cats from using the bathroom anywhere but inside of the litter box.
In most instances, if your cat constantly uses the carpet instead of his litter box, there is a reason. Therefore, it’s a good idea to make an appointment with your vet to determine the cause of the problem and treat it.
10 Steps for Getting Cat Poop Stains Out of Your Carpet
There are a few steps you can take to get the poop stains out of the carpet. We’ll go through them below.
1. Safety First and Foremost
You should never clean up cat poop or try to remove the stains and smell without taking the proper safety precautions.
- Latex rubber gloves: Cat feces can make you sick, especially if your cat is already sick. Cat feces contain bacteria and parasites that can be transmitted to you. Latex rubber gloves will allow you to clean up the mess without worrying about it touching you.
- Paper towels: You’ll need paper towels to pick up the mess.
- A trashcan: Make sure you bring a trashcan with a liner inside to put the mess in after you pick it up. You don’t want to take the feces across the carpet and into the kitchen to throw it in the can.
- A premixed bucket of white vinegar and dishwashing liquid: You mix a large batch of cleaning solution, you won’t need to run back and forth to the sink.
- Baking soda
- Vacuum cleaner
- Old clothes: It’s not a good idea to take on this task in your work clothes or clothes you want to keep. Instead, wear older clothes in case you spill the mixture above on them.
Now that you’ve gathered all the materials you need to clean the cat poop and odors from your carpet, you can move on to the next step in the process.

2. Get the Mess Up Before It Begins to Dry
While you want to gather all your supplies and be completely safe when taking on this task, trying to get the bulk of the mess up before it air dries is essential. The longer the poop is allowed to sit on the carpet, the harder it’ll be to remove.
3. Clean a Small Area with the DIY Solution
Now that you’ve removed the bulk of the poop from the carpet, you’ll want to test a small area of the carpet with the DIY solution below.
- Basic dishwashing soap
- Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
This mixture will work on most carpets. However, you want to test it in a small area to ensure it doesn’t ruin or bleach your carpet. Never use bleach or bleach products to remove stains on your carpet since it can lighten the carpet’s color.
Also, regardless of what myths are circulating, bleach does not effectively remove the smell of cat poop from carpets.
4. Spray the DIY Solution Directly on the Stain
Once you’ve determined that the DIY solution doesn’t stain or bleach out your carpet, spray the solution directly on the stain you’re trying to remove.
Allow the solution to soak into the stain for a few seconds to loosen the dried feces.

5. Blot the Area Thoroughly
Once the spray has soaked into the stain for at least 5 minutes, blot the area gently and thoroughly to soak up the liquid. At this point, you should be able to see the poop coming out of the carpet.
6. Repeat Until the Stain Is Lifted
Keep adding the solution and blotting the feces until it’s lifted from the carpet. The best way to tell that the carpet is clean is when the paper towel you’re using has no residue after blotting.
7. Do a Water Rinse
Once you’re satisfied that there’s no dried poop left in the carpet, lightly rinse the area with clear tap water. Then, once you’ve blotted the area one more time with a paper towel, leave it alone and let it dry before moving on to the next step in the process.

8. Place Baking Soda on the Stained Area
Baking soda is an excellent neutralizer. Sprinkle it on the stained area and leave it alone for an hour for the solution to sink in.
9. Vacuum the Area
Once the baking soda has had time to sit, vacuum the area and the rest of the room.

10. Use an Odor Deodorizer
After the stain is gone, you can use a deodorizer to leave a fresh scent.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning cat poop out of the carpet is not the best part of being a cat owner. However, it’s bound to happen at some point. Following the tips above and using an excellent odor-blocking product should solve the problem. If not, it’s best to contact your vet for an appointment to find out if there’s an underlying problem with your feline.
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Featured Image Credit: Kristi Blokhin, Shutterstock