That darn cat!

[AndyPanda]

I had bought a used mandolin recently and the case reeked of men's cologne. I've been putting the case outside in the sun each morning and bringing it in later. The smell was just about completely faded - I figured one more day ought to do it. And the neighborhood feral cat must have come by and marked it - arrrgh!

Scrubbed it down with detergent and this time I hung it up on the clothesline (why didn't I think of that before?) It's gonna take lots more days in the sun to get rid of that stink. Maybe the birds will come and mark it this time?

[WoodyCTA102]

LOL. Learned early on not to leave my cases open.

[Nathan Kellstadt]

I would obtain some of this.



https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Mirac.../dp/B003I5VTRW

The stuff works great, seriously. You can also grab it at any major pet supply store.

I've recommended various strings, picks, etc. on here, but this is a first for recommending feline urine eliminators.

[Bertram Henze]

The case chooses the musician - this one seems to be not yours

[BrianWilliam]

Just burn the case

Seriously, unless you are going to strip it down to the wood, prime it, and replace the padding etc, it's a goner.

[Petrus]

At least you hope it was a cat.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Cat urine !! - Odd stuff. We have 2 cats,one who's pee smells like we all know & one whos pee smells of nothing at all !. It must be down to the individual breed.
A wash with warm soapy water is what i used a few weeks back when our 'smelly cat' had a bout of Cystitis & decided to try to take a squirt in my TKL rect. case which for once,i'd left lying open on the floor. It got rid of the smell & i sprayed the area with some Eau De Toilette & let it dry out. My Lebeda mandolin smells very nice at the moment,
Ivan

[CelticDude]

And I've been wanting our cats to go in my instrument cases. A good reminder to be careful what you wish for, or even how it's worded...

[soliver]

Vinegar will help too.

[AndyPanda]

In this case (ha - unintended pun) I had the case closed so the cat didn't spray the lining/padding. The cologne smell I was airing out was on the outside cover of the case (I suspect the previous owner carried a cologne bottle to a gig in the accessory pocket and it leaked). So the cat spray was just on one small area of the outside nylon (or gortex - not sure what it is).

Anyway - two days in the sun (hanging high in the air on a clothesline this time - where the cats can't get at it) and it's mostly gone.

[Bertram Henze]

Aha! Well, I think the outside of a case is supposed to counter whatever evils the world has to offer. So if your mandolin has, for instance, survived the journey through the digestive system of an alligator because it was inside a good case, then that case has fulfilled its function. The bigger the difference between outside and inside of a case, the better the case.

[bratsche]

I would obtain some of this.



https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Mirac.../dp/B003I5VTRW

Seconded! That's some great stuff right there. NFI, of course. (Spoken as a longtime large-capacity cat motel proprietress. )

bratsche

[T.D.Nydn]

I was at a party once,,when the hostess pulls out a new gibson hummingbird,,( leaving the case open in the middle of the floor) and proceeds to sit down and play it. All of a sudden,her little daughter walks out ,steps into the open case,and starts peeing in it,,right in front of everybody. .

[bratsche]

Future music critic, getting an early start....

bratsche

[AndyPanda]

I was at a party once,,when the hostess pulls out a new gibson hummingbird,,( leaving the case open in the middle of the floor) and proceeds to sit down and play it. All of a sudden,her little daughter walks out ,steps into the open case,and starts peeing in it,,right in front of everybody. .

I was with a bunch of people out swimming in a lake - we're all out in the water and a little boy told his mom he had to pee .. she said "just pee in the lake" and he gave her a "seriously?" look and then proceeded to get out of the water and stand at the shore and pee into the lake.

[LadysSolo]

As a many year multiple cat owner, I will concur on the Nature's Miracle (available at Pet Supplies Plus and I am sure others - NFI) as it is the only thing that works well (nothing is 100% but it is about 95%.) Never peed in on of my instrument cases, but on other things my cats and dogs (usually dogs) have had accidents.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Cat 'P' is one thing,but as a non driver,years ago,i used to get a lift to work with 3 of my workmates who drove on a car sharing basis. I remember getting into the car one Monday morning & it smelled putrid. The driver apologised & told me that his young daughter had been drinking a small bottle of milk in the car & had dropped it a week or so before it was his turn to drive again. He'd washed it out as well as he could but what remained had gone sour. The following day,after nearly gassing us all,one of the other drivers took over in his car.

There's one more story i could tell about driving past a pig farm on a very hot,sunny day with the car windows wide open - but i won't,
Ivan

[William Smith]

LOL. Learned early on not to leave my cases open.

Yes don't ever leave open about 3-4 years ago I was playing one of my old F-7 conversions and my little girl crawled in the case "a early derrington era master model case" and pushed the lid completely over, tore out the ribbons and bent it a little,it can be fixed but at least a cat didn't p--- in it! Nothing worse than the cat smell

[Paul Busman]

You might be able to cover up the smell with men's cologne

[AndyPanda]

You might be able to cover up the smell with men's cologne

Yeah ... who would have thought I would have fond memories of the way it smelled before

[bigskygirl]

You might be able to cover up the smell with men's cologne

Ha, that is so funny I had to log in to say so...good one!