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January 27, 1992
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I didn’t see our cat in the back of my big gun safe and locked her in. She was in there for over a full day while I searched frantically in the wrong places looking for her. Needless to say she was forced to relieve herself in the safe. The safe smells terrible. I haven’t found any traces of urine on any guns and it appears she relieved her self on a hospital bed pad I keep covering some short rifles on an upper shelf. I am not sure if the lingering order might be caustic to the metal finishes? I am in the process of wiping each rifle with a “Kroil” soaked rag and so far have found no traces of urine actually on a gun. Your insight on this issue will be appreciated. Thank you. 
RDB
August 27, 2014
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I’d empty the safe and put a couple containers of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda inside. Can’t hurt anything
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them”
President Harry S. Truman
November 7, 2015
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I would remove any fabric materials from the safe and if it appears clean place it in direct sunlight for at least a few hours to kill bacteria. A UV light might work as well.
Mike
December 31, 2012
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My cat gets into the safe and starts to sharpen her claws on the stocks. Just a short yell at her, and she gets out. No room for her to actually get inside. She has never scratched a stock. I guess they are too hard. Big Larry, cat lover.
September 19, 2014
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Sorry for the event. I have an old cat that is very affectionate and follows me everywhere. Gun room is her favorite room in the house as I keep it warmer and so on. She sleeps in the rocking chair when I let her stay in with the door ajar to make it to the litter box. Your experiences will perhaps keep me from accidentally locking her in MY safe! Can’t tell you how many times I have accidentally locked her in the room, though. Usually find out within a couple of hours and so far no issues. Arm and Hammer makes a product for removing/neutralizing urine odors and killing any microbes. Suggest trying that and blotting the area stained by urine before removing it from inside the safe. Keep the guns out until the product has dried entirely so humidity isn’t an issue. Suspect you will notice little if any odor after treating with the spray. Tim
May 23, 2009
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Yeah, Thank God my wife is allergic to Cats.
I’ve got a .22 short if you need one!
Maverick
WACA #8783 - Checkout my Reloading Tool Survey!
https://winchestercollector.org/forum/winchester-research-surveys/winchester-reloading-tool-survey/
May 2, 2009
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I see this stuff advertised on the TV all the time never tried it but would be worth a shot if you don’t have to gut out the safe.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
August 27, 2014
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Uncharted territory.
if you haven’t detected any actual urine (wet spots) in the safe wouldn’t use any liquid sprays that MAY contain chemicals that MAY cause problems with your guns in the future. Can’t see introducing any kind of liquid into a gun safe either. I’d use baking soda then air it out and proceed from there.
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them”
President Harry S. Truman
June 4, 2017
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I would be concerned if any gun metal touched any fabric surface that had been urine contaminated. The urine odor itself is ammonia gas which is corrosive and has to be eliminated along with the contaminated fabric or wood.
If you have a cat in the house that repeatedly urinates on carpeted floors it requires carpet and sometimes the sub-flooring replacement. Most gun safes use sheet rock for fire proofing, that and any steel would not be a issue. T/R
February 22, 2021
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Our cat lives outside and is quite happy about it. Never tries to get in the house. He’s 12 years old this year. Had another years ago that lived in the barn. he died at 17. Cats like to live outside.
December 31, 2012
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They say cats live longer when kept inside. My Mitzi girl was an indoor/outdoor cat, and lived to be 21 years old. Big Larry
January 27, 1992
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Thank you all for your helpful input. I have examined the interior of the safe by sight, feel and smell. It seems the cat only relieved herself on a hospital bed mat, that restricts moisture from passing through it. I had it covering some short rifles that are too short to stand up in the safe. Pretty lucky for me! I also used a “Black light” and found no signs of urine. After 20 hours of having a fan blow air into the safe almost all odor is gone. The only firearm damage is a few nicks to the right side of my aluminum receiver Model 61 that was pristine previously. Sadly it appears the Model 62 next to it was bumped and the take-down screw nicked the 61. Lesson learned. I will be much more careful to make sure the safe has no cats lurking in the corners before closing. Hard lesson learned! RDB
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