Pet Travel: Kitty Isn’t Into Joyrides and Dealing with Pet Odor

I’m the first to admit and laugh at my mistakes, especially when they are totally ridiculous so feel free to giggle with this little act of stupidity. Not too long ago, I thought it would be a good idea to take my cat Sunny for a ride in the car. The Steam Team of Austin, Texas, is supporting my travel habit in exchange for this post and their car carpet cleaning tips and services reminded me of my little blunder.

Last month, there was a weekend when I was practically gone the entire two days, running around for work and leisure. I arrived home late on Sunday evening and decided I needed to run to the store to pick up a few things so I grabbed my cat thinking he missed me and would appreciate some quality time. Carrying him outside he slowly dug his claws into my skin and upon opening the car door, I literally scared the pee out of him and onto me. I suppose in his eyes, he was going to be gobbled up by the big, blue beast that sits in the garage.

In a quandary of what to do, I didn’t want to let go of him because we were outside and who knows if he’d run into the garage so I tossed him in the car, drove it into the garage to shut the door and let him in the apartment. Thankfully, he didn’t leave cat urine inside my car, so I thought.

A week later, the distinct stench of cat urine in my car was obvious. Yuck! I had heard using activated charcoal for odor removal is great so I asked a friend for some charcoal from their outside grill. Okay, okay. Duh! Now I know charcoal used to grill chicken isn’t the same as activated charcoal. I also used air freshener and hoped UV rays from the sun would burn it out but it seemed to intensify the odor. I should have found some professionals like The Steam Team to take care of it because they are the experts when it comes to carpet cleaning tips pet stains.

What I have I done to achieve that fresh car scent? After all this, the smelly culprit was the floor mat so I’ve removed it. And in case you’re wondering, Sunny is no longer invited on little joyrides. If you’re in Austin, and need someone to clean up after your Felix, Fluffy or Fido whether in your home or car, check out The Steam Team. If you’re unfortunately not in Austin but you’re in need of your carpets professionally freshening up, companies such as CleaningPRO Auckland are available to help.