While possibly not a health risk, using urine in lieu of Colgate is not something I'd endorse as a good grooming tip.

It lacks the minty freshness.

Here's what I think is an Overheard scandal: I think people are using it to market stuff. Like this:

I Think There's a Flaw Here Somewhere
By Jenny 


Teen: This car is stolen.
Man: What the fuck you talking about?
Teen: I got a StolenCarReport on my phone about this car being stolen. 
Man: Muthafucka, you about to get your phone stolen. 



--Montague & Hicks, Brooklyn Heights

How the fuck do you "overhear" that "StolenCarReport" has no spaces? And is capitalized?

I know, my skepticism about Overheard is probably annoying, but I fucking hate when people misuse common goods!

I have been looking around, thinking about getting another cat, which is sort of a pain in the ass because I live in an apartment.

Some of the rescue places want to do home visits. Does that seem a little bit like overkill to anyone else? Also, the entrance to my apartment, despite my best efforts, has a lingering cat pee odor. That particular spot smelled like cat pee from the moment I moved in (from the previous tenants cats) and my cat peeing just exacerbated the problem. I can't just rip up the carpet, because I do not own the apartment. It isn't in my living area, so I just put an air freshener out, but I really don't want potential new cat ALSO marking his/her territory there!

Sophia, have you tried that no-odor stuff I keep seeing advertised on TV? Supposedly, it removes all traces of pet urine. Of course, now I'm blanking on the name--does anyone else know what I'm talking about?

Have you tried any of those microbial anti-pet-smell sprays, Sophia? I've sometimes had surprisingly good results from them. Though sometimes nothing seems to help.

eta: "Out Spot" is what I have under the sink right now. It's pretty effective.

Sophia, we had to go through a home visit when we adopted Teddy. So, doesn't seem like overkill.

We had to deal with questions along the lines of making sure we knew the kind of responsibility we were getting into, could afford to support a cat in decent style, were looking for a pet as opposed to a working cat (e.g., a mouser). I suspect you'll get less of the first, more of whether your current cat and the new cat will get along.

I've tried something like what is advertised on TV, I think. I think the problem is that it has soaked down to the pad, so I really need to saturate the carpet AND pad. Also, in that area, there is no ventilation, so it just sort of gets stuck there, at the bottom of my stairs.

I suspect you'll get less of the first, more of whether your current cat

Current cat is gone because of my mauling. I think I may get questions about what I did to induce a cat to maul me!

I generally have just found my cats somewhere-- on the street or from a friend. So this adoption thing is new to me!

Yeah, once it gets into the carpet pad there isn't much you can do. One of the enzyme based things that are supposed to "eat" the organic matter might work, if you can really soak the spot. Unless that's what you've already tried.

Eta: Animal rescue people will priobably have dealt with animals that maul unprovoked - they should understand that you didn't do anything.