My Mom just got me this AWESOME AWESOME book - and while I have a cat....she does her potty OUTSIDE. (we have a deal) BUT the book says to neutralize the smell of cat urine? Clean out the litter box with vinegar.
Dump litter
Rinse
Fill litter pan with distilled vinegar and let it set (slosh or swish around) about 10 minutes should neutralize the urine smell
Then dump out the vinegar, and rinse THOROUGHLY - (because vinegar will ALSO keep feral cats from spraying on your flowers and porches)
Then dry thoroughly and sprinkle bottom with baking soda
Replace litter
The vinegar takes away the urine smell. One acid neutralizing another. Bleach is not an acid -
Also you can go to
www.heinz.com and get a coupon for .50 off a bottle of vinegar - try walmart and get a good deal on vinegar now!
As far as the dog?
Dryer sheets (even the cheap ones) you can tuck them in the corners of the couch to freshen your furniture when new and when they loose their smell? Use them to wipe up dog hair. Then toss.
You can keep baby wipes by the back door and when the little guys come in - use them to wipe up paws or wipe down wet or dirty fur, then toss. It's like an instant bath.
DO NOT USE GERMICIDAL WIPES - THEY ARE NOT FOR SKIN and CAN HARM DOGS/CATS THROUGH LICKING....
For cats? Baby powder is great - our cat actually likes it. We sprinkle a little on her and brush it in - keeps her fur fresh and talc is not poisonous.
If you want a QUICK way to freshen up your house? Put some essential oil on cotton balls ----essential oils can be gotten at the dollar stores pretty cheap or flea markets.
Oh and one thing in there I tried and it worked like a charm......I LOVE popcorn (completely non-pet related) but I burned it. YUK.....
This book said to put CIDER vinegar in a bowl and microwave it for 2 minutes to get rid of the smell completely.
IT WORKED FANTASTIC.......ABSOLUTELY NO SMELL AT ALL....I was amazed. I made my next batch of popcorn and it was great.....
I took the bowl of vinegar and poured some baking soda in the garbage disposal and then poured the hot vinegar on top of it to give the disposal a nice cleaning - ran some water and it was nice and clean. WIN /WIN.
And if you can afford it........they do make doggie cologne - 4 Paws....Pootie HATES it.....smells like (can't say what she says....but it rhymes with mutt)