Mysterious Marking

I am baffled by this. On Wed evening I was exhausted and had cancelled my evening plans so that I could come home and curl up in the big armchair in the dining room/summer sitting room. I didn't want to go straight to bed as I was concerned it was too early and I'd only waken at midnight and be unable to get anymore sleep. I fed the cats, made a hot drink and went into the dining room to put the radiator on. As I opened the door I was stunned by the vile, pervasive smell of cat urine that has been used to mark territory.

I cannot adequately put into words how upset I was. I have an abhorrence of noxious smells and do everything I can to eradicate unpleasant smells in my environment. Even at work my need for a fresh smelling environment is well known and even a source of wry amusement.

My tiredness evaporated in distress and I spent a good half hour feeling and sniffing everything in that room including carpet, rug, furniture, walls and curtains/blinds. I knew I wasn't looking for a wet mark as the cats were last in that room on the Sunday and I check the doors are locked each evening and hadn't smelt anything out of the ordinary the night before. I wondered if it was the zylkene that had made one of them do it but the drug promotes relaxation and tolerance. Had Red done it as his drug wore off?

My cats have never spray marked anything as they are housecats unused to having to do so, but we are on the ground level now and a number of cats, squirrels, birds and foxes pass by the patio doors. Magic had followed me in and seemed to be reacting around the patio doors but I just couldn't locate where it was coming from, though it did seem stronger around the patio doors. As I couldn't deep clean the whole dining room or find the offending spot I closed the door until I could do something effective and also because the smell was revolting. I reckoned the only thing I could try until I could get a UV blacklight was to wash down the outside of the patio doors in case the smell was from an animal having smelt my cats and trying to mark the territory externally. Again, I couldn't see anything but it was dark so I set to work with a bucket of soapy boiling water and lots of rinse with copious lavender and paid attention to the seams where the doors and frame met.

I ordered a blacklight from amazon but the confirmation showed it would take between 3 and 30 days as apparently it is coming from Singapore! I had to order a second one the following morning from a UK supplier for next day delivery as I was desperate to identify the spray mark so that I could work on getting rid of it. My plan was vanish for the enzymatic action on the offending spot, carpet cleaner with the oxi formula to get any residual smell out of the carpet and rug, curtains, voiles and all removable fabrics into a wash and then steam clean the life out of everything just for good measure. I know this seems like overkill but the smell was so bad.

This is where things get odd, distinctly so. I went in to check the room when I came home on Thurs evening and the smell was radically reduced, then the next morning before the blacklight arrived it was gone, totally. I am mystified. On Friday evening when it was dark I went over the whole room minutely with the blacklight, CSI-stylee, and found...nothing! In the absence of the smell or a stain I can only presume the smell had been outside but I am left with a lingering paranoia that I have become accustomed to the smell.