When the Cat Wets Your Bed...You Make S'mores

My kids go to bed in their own beds really well.  But usually, by morning, one or all of them are in our bed.  I don't even notice them coming in anymore.  They're just there when I go to shift in the middle of the night.  If they wake up before me they just play around my bed until I'm coherent enough to call myself "awake".  Well, a few days ago I woke up to my 4-year-old son playing by the side of my bed, and I noticed that his pajama shirt was all wet down the front.....so I asked him what happened.  He proceeded to tell me how he had been holding one of our two five-month-old kittens on the bed, and that he had squeezed it so hard that it peed on him.  At first, I laughed!  Just the prospect of squeezing someone so hard you make them urinate makes you giggle a little bit.  And then it suddenly sank in that there had to be cat pee ON MY BED!  I popped up and inspected the sheets.  Yep...there was cat pee...on my blankets and in my mattress.  Ugh!!!  If any of you have cats, you know how their pee STINKS, and that stink can last for a long time!  It's horrible!

So I searched the internet for what to do for my poor mattress.  I found this idea, and decided to try it. (If you click the link, it will open in a new page. Or you can read my description of it below.)

For me, it was definitely a success!  So I thought I'd share:

How to Get Cat Urine Out of Your Mattress


Things you'll need:

• Paper Towels or Towel
• Wet/dry Vac (Optional...I didn't use one)
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Water
• Dish Soap
• 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

 Step 1: If the urine is fresh, blot up as much of it as you can!  Use a towel or paper towels and press and hold all over the spot until you get most of it out.  You can also use a wet/dry vac if you'd prefer, but I didn't.  If it's an old stain, or already dried, skip to the next step.

Step 2: Put a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water in your liquid measuring cup, and pour a small amount onto the area (She recommends approx. 50 ml--or about 1/4 cup).  Then continue blotting (as described above), or use a wet/dry vac.

Step 3: Sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the area.

Step 4: Mix 1/4 cup of the 3% hydrogen peroxide with 1 tsp of dish soap.  Drizzle that over the baking soda and work it in with your fingers or a scrub-brush.

Step 5: Allow this to sit for about 15 min.  Then blot the liquid out of the mattress again.  (She says, at this point, to NOT use a wet/dry vac...just blot.)

Step 6: Leave the mattress to dry thoroughly.  I left it with a fan blowing on it all day, and that worked fine.  You could also put it out in the sun to dry, use a hair-dryer, or a heater.

Step 7: Use your fingers or a brush to break-up the dry baking soda, and vacuum it up!

Ta-Da!!!  The smell was gone!  And my mattress even looked a little whiter in that area.  ;)

To get the smell out of the blankets and sheets (because just a regular wash didn't do it like I thought it would), I poured the vinegar/water mixture on the spot and sprinkled some baking soda on it.  I let that sit for between 15 & 30 min, and then washed it normally.  Once I did that, the smell was gone!  *Happy dance*

This happened again a few days later (minus the loving squeeze), and I used the same method.  I am loving this!  Although, I'm not-so-much loving the reason that I have to use it ...

After a long day of cleaning cat pee, you need an easy-to-make, sweet snack.  What could be better at the end of Summer than S'mores?  (Okay...so they're s'mores bars.  But that makes them even better!  Not as messy to eat!)  I found these on Pinterest, here.  I just tried making them for the first time, and they are DELICIOUS!  I can't stop eating them!  (This could be a problem...)

Here's the recipe:

Golden Graham S'mores Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (10.5 oz)* miniature marshmallows (abt. 5 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) milk chocolate chips
• 5 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 box (13 oz)** Golden Grahams cereal (abt. 8 cups)

*This is what the recipe called for, but my bag was only 10 oz.  I added a few large marshmallows I had on hand, because I LOVE to have my treats TOTALLY covered with chewy goodness.
**This is what the recipe called for, but my box was only 12 oz, and it was just fine.

1. Grease 9x13-inch pan.  Reserve 1 cup of the marshmallows.
2. In a large saucepan, melt the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and remaining marshmallows over low heat.  Have your 4-year-old stir it until it's completely melted. ;)
   
   
3. Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.
4. Add cereal to the saucepan.  Stir until completely coated with the melted chocolate mixture.  Stir in remaining 1 cup marshmallows. (Or, if you're like me, you'll forget this step...in which case you can sprinkle them on top later.)

   

   Yes, I believe in child labor. Jk.  But seriously, this is a great recipe for kids to help with!

5. Grease either the back of a spoon or your hands (or your kids hands) and press the mixture into the 9x13 pan.

   

   The kiddos love to help!

   

   I forgot to stir in the full marshmallows, so I sprinkled them on top.  That's my daughter trying to sneak a marshmallow...silly goose!

6. Cool at least 1 hour, or until firm (or dig in...I couldn't wait!)
7. Store loosely covered at room temperature (That is, if any survive to see the next day)
    

YUUUUUMMMMMMMM!!!  These are so good!  And my kids loved helping me make them.  It was a good "quality time" activity.

Pinterest WIN!!!

Go whip up a batch for yourself, and let me know how they turn out!  I'll read your comments while I slowly take small bite after small bite, and pretend that I'm not eating the whole pan!