My Father-in-law, Bob, passed away about six weeks ago, and the long road of going through all his things has begun. About eighteen months prior to his passing, my mother-in-law, Janice, passed away. Needless to say, these past couple of years have been a very trying time for my wife and her family. Janice was a pack rat. She saved everything. Which means there is just that much more stuff to go through.

We are going to be moving into their house, but there is one very big problem that exists. They have a cat.

Boots is twenty years old. His eyesight is going bad. He can hardly hear. He can't walk very good. He can't even sit down all the way because his hind legs are hurting him so bad, and to top it all, and this is the biggest of the problems, he has had problems with his kidneys, and forgets where his litter box is at. You guessed it. He goes where ever he can find a nice corner. This has been going on for quite some time.

I have been cleaning up after the cat, with my carpet cleaner, more times then I would like to remember, and they have had it professionally cleaned also, but....ooooh, that smell is still there.

Boots has always got the royal treatment. He could never do no wrong. He had his own blankets, and they covered him a certain way when he would sleep. He had so many toys that he never played with. He was treated like he was royality

Well the first thing that we did was go to their veterinarian, and ask him what he thought we should do with Boots, and he suggested to us, what he had suggested to Bob. Boots good days are gone. He is a hurting cat, and it would be the humane thing to do and have Boots put down. Which was the job I was given, because nobody else wanted to do it.

So Boots is gone, but ooooh, that smell is not. If we are going to sell this house or move into it, and pay it off fast with the help of United First Financial, that smell has got to go.

We started out by tearing all the carpeting up. Then we commenced on trying every cure for the smell that we could find.

We tried bleach and water, and after almost passing out from the smell of the bleach, we gave up on that idea. Besides we had a friend who is in construction tell us, that when the hot muggy summer days come, you will still smell the smell.

But we got a new idea from another friend who buys rental properties. He has come across this problem before, and he suggested to paint the sub flooring, or the affected areas, with a primer sealer called Kilz. You can find it in any paint store, or Home Depot, or Lowes. Don't use the latex, only use the oil based one. The Kilz will seal and lock the smell away. We were desperate and we tried it.

It worked! It really worked!

I used a real heavy matted roller and put on two real good coats. Make sure you have the windows opened and are using as much ventilation as you can, because the oder of the Kilz is very strong. I would even suggest wearing a painters mask. Let it dry for a couple of days. You will not believe the difference.

We tested it on all our family and friends noses. Nobody could smell anything of Boots anywhere. Even after the new carpet was laid. The oder was gone.

1. Paint roller (heavy matt)
2. Paint tray
3. Painter's Mask
   

The real test will come when we bring our cat over. He is a big male cat, and we are hoping that he will not find any fragrance of Boots left behind anywhere. He is a very good cat that has never been out of our house, except when he has to go to the vets. Which he really doesn't mind. If the Kilz can pass the test with him, it can pass anything.