Peeing in hay bungalow

[bengal77]

I apologize if I am posting this in the wrong forum. I wasn't sure where to put it.

I was cleaning Lily's cage today and noticed that she has peed in her hay bungalow. I wiped up the floor and left it in her cage (she got upset and started thumping when I tried to take it out). The urine has soaked through the woven hay and is rather damp in some spots towards the back. I don't want it to mildew and it can't be sanitary to lie on. Fortunately she only goes into it when she is scared (if the doorbell rings) which is rare and probably why it was peed on in the first place.

Should I clean it? If so, how do I do that? I could leave it outside in the sun to dry since I live in FL and we've had very mild weather lately (and the UV rays would kill any bacteria). If it's too late to salvage (the urine has probably been there for at least a day) I could toss it and give her a cardboard box. She likes to nibble on the rim of it, though, so I'd rather save it if possible.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I think that letting it dry in the sun for a little while is your best bet.
Could it be spot cleaned with some water (like, pour 2-3 cups of water through the spot), and then laid out in the sun?

If it is of square design, you could rotate it to put the pee spot on the "roof". That way, she'd be less inclined to re-mark over it again.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

Storm does this I have never had a problem with it mildewing and he chews it down to that spot. Then i throw it away.

But storm chews them up if he pees in more then one spot then I will through it away earlier then normal and go buy another one

 

[Amy27]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

I think that letting it dry in the sun for a little while is your best bet.
Could it be spot cleaned with some water (like, pour 2-3 cups of water through the spot), and then laid out in the sun?

If it is of square design, you could rotate it to put the pee spot on the "roof". That way, she'd be less inclined to re-mark over it again.

Ditto Autumn. That is what I would do.

 

[bengal77]

It's one of those round ones and it can't really be turned upside down. But she doesn't use it except for when she's scared of something like if the doorbell rings or the dogs start barking.

Should I use a 50/50 vinegar solution and rinse it with water? The urine seems to be concentrated to one spot so I could easily spot clean it and let it dry out in the sun all day.

As a side note - how do you detect mildew in hay/hay products? Does it start to smell? Turn a funny color? I will keep a close eye on it and replace it if it starts to mildew.

I could be over reacting a bit. Lily is going to have her spay surgery this Friday so I want to be very careful that she has a super clean cage. I know they'll probably give her antibiotics, but still... the thought of her on mildewy has as she's recovering from major surgery scares me. If needed to I could replace it with a clean cardboard box for the first few days of her post op.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

LOL...maybe over-reacting a bit . Just leave it out to sun.
I know the addition of vinegar would drive my Evie nuts, and she would just re-mark over and over again.

It'll be dry by Friday for sure. If it is something that she crawls inside of often, I would remove it from her area for the duration of recovery. Would be terrible to drag that little stitched up belly through something so picky as hay. I think the cardboard box would be best for post op.

Best of luck to our girl Lily ! Fingers crossed!

 

[bengal77]

I think that the pee had been there longer than I originally thought it was. I took it out this morning to wash it and discovered that it had started to mildew. It smelled awful and there were spots of fluffy white mold on the bottom. I ended up tossing it and gave her the cardboard box. I will probably buy her a new hay hidey place once she has healed from her surgery.

 

[nicolevins]

Hope the surgery goes well for Lily