How do I get cat pee smell out of a memory foam cat bed?

Cat pee in a memory foam bed is one of the worst combinations a multi-cat home can produce. The smell doesn’t just sit on the surface; it soaks deep into those dense cells and stays there. I’ve watched plenty of owners throw a bed in the washing machine, pull it out smelling faintly of detergent, and then watch the urine odor return two days later. That’s not a cleaning failure. It’s a materials problem.

Memory foam is an open-cell material. When urine hits it, liquid wicks into the core and the bacteria that produce that sharp ammonia smell set up camp inside. A standard wash reaches the outer layer but leaves the center untouched. Add multiple cats marking or re-marking the same spot, and you’re dealing with layers of old and new odor. The good news: you can fix this without replacing the bed, as long as you treat it as a deep-extraction job rather than a surface cleanup.

Why memory foam holds odor so stubbornly

Think about what makes memory foam comfortable. It’s heat-sensitive and slow to rebound, which means it traps air, sweat, and liquid in microscopic pockets. Urine contains urea, uric acid, and pheromones. Uric acid forms crystals that don’t dissolve in regular detergent, and those crystals keep releasing odor every time humidity rises. That’s why a bed can smell fine on a dry afternoon and terrible on a rainy day.

I once helped a friend whose two cats had been competing over a single foam bed for months. She’d washed the cover weekly and the foam twice. The smell never fully left. When we finally soaked the foam in an enzymatic solution for several hours, the water turned yellow-brown. That color was months of trapped urine the washing machine never reached.

Heat makes this worse. Hot water can set the uric acid crystals and shrink or warp the foam. So the instinct to blast it with the hottest setting backfires. You want cool or lukewarm water and patience, not temperature.

Step-by-step: deep cleaning a memory foam cat bed

Here’s the process I recommend when the smell is established, not just a fresh accident.

1. Strip and separate. Remove the cover. If it’s machine washable, handle it separately from the foam. The foam core gets its own treatment.
2. Blot, don’t rub. For fresh spots, press a clean cloth down to pull moisture out. Rubbing pushes urine deeper.
3. Soak the foam in cool water. Submerge it in a tub or basin. You’ll see discoloration bleed out within minutes. Let it sit 15 to 20 minutes, then squeeze gently. Never wring or twist memory foam; it tears.
4. Apply an enzymatic cleaner. These products use bacteria or enzymes to break down uric acid crystals, which is the only way to actually neutralize the source. Pour it over the foam, work it in with your hands, and let it dwell for at least 15 minutes. For old stains, extend to an hour.
5. Rinse thoroughly. Press the foam under cool running water until it runs clear. Leftover cleaner residue attracts dirt and can irritate paws.
6. Press out water. Lay the foam between two thick towels and press down with your body weight. Repeat with dry towels until no more water transfers.
7. Air dry completely. This is non-negotiable. Prop the foam on its side in a well-ventilated room, ideally with a fan. Direct sunlight can degrade the foam, so keep it in the shade. Expect 24 to 48 hours. If it’s still damp in the middle, you’ll get mildew smell on top of urine smell.

One practical case: a reader with three cats told me she dried her foam bed on a radiator to speed things up. The outer layer felt dry in four hours, but the core stayed damp for two days. The bed grew a musty odor that was worse than the original problem. Air circulation beats heat every time.

What about the cover and the surrounding area?

The cover is easier, but it’s not innocent. Urine passes through it and leaves residue on the fabric fibers. Wash it in cool water with a gentle detergent, then add a half-cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Vinegar helps strip alkaline urine residue. Skip fabric softener; it coats fibers and traps odor.

Don’t forget the floor or crate tray under the bed. Urine often pools there. Wipe hard surfaces with a diluted enzymatic cleaner and let them air dry. If the bed sat on carpet, treat that area too, because the smell will keep rising and re-contaminating the clean foam.

In multi-cat homes, the source matters as much as the cleaning. If one cat is repeatedly peeing on the same bed, the issue isn’t the bed. It’s territory, stress, or a litter box problem. Cleaning without addressing that means you’ll be back here in a month.

Quick comparison: which approach actually works?

The enzymatic soak wins because it addresses the actual cause. Vinegar helps but doesn’t fully break down crystals. Machine washing alone is the most common mistake I see.

FAQ

Can I put a memory foam cat bed in the washing machine?

I’d avoid it. The agitator can shred the foam, and even a gentle cycle often leaves the core soaked. If you must, use a front-loader on a delicate cycle with cool water, then air dry for two full days. But hand-soaking gives you more control and less damage.

How do I know if the smell is really gone?

Your nose adapts, so don’t trust it right after cleaning. Wait 24 hours, then press your face into the center of the foam and breathe deeply. If you smell anything faintly ammonia-like, repeat the enzymatic soak. You can also check on a humid day, when old crystals release odor most strongly.

My cat keeps peeing on the bed even after cleaning. What now?

That’s a behavior signal, not a cleaning failure. Cats re-mark spots where they still detect pheromones, even if humans can’t smell them. Use an enzymatic cleaner every time, and consider whether the bed’s location, the number of litter boxes, or tension between cats is the real trigger. One box per cat plus one extra is the usual starting point.

The bottom line

Getting cat pee smell out of a memory foam cat bed comes down to three things: cool water, an enzymatic cleaner that breaks down uric acid, and thorough air drying. Skip the hot wash, skip the surface spray, and give the foam time to dry all the way through. Do that, and the bed can be saved.

If you’re dealing with a broader odor problem across your home, I’ve written a more complete guide on managing cat urine smells in multi-cat households, covering litter box setup, territory management, and prevention. That’s the next step once this bed is clean.

Last updated 2026-09-18

Written by our editorial team at WiseHomeGuides, home and pet specialists.

Written by Rémy Bully

WiseHomeGuides publishes practical guides, comparisons and independent tests for home, bedding, garden and pets.

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