PSC Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Ok this is a weird one. I had a bad cat...a bad cat that pee'd in a pile of fired terra cotta ornaments. I rinsed the ornaments off but terra cotta is porous so it still smelled. I was going to do a bisque firing so i figured i would just burn it off. Well my terra cotta has done some weird things some look fine...others have what i would call salt scumming on it and others have a darker stain i would almost say is almost a glaze as it is slightly shiney in some places where darker. Someone tell me what chemically has happened to my terracotta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Well lets see luster fires have the worst smell in my memory-cat pee fired hot has the second worse smell I know of. I'll take toxic plastic fumes anyway over hot cats pee cooking in a kiln . I never had a cat pee on wares only the outter jacket once of an electric-I did not know this until I was firing. My guess and its just a guess is the (hopefully you bisqued to 08 or more?) salts are left behind and staining the wares .How about washing then bisquing again a tad hotter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Give the pieces a good rinse after the bisque but stay on track of whatyou're doing. Sorry for the previous typo's Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Mark: One of the benefits of being a home builder for 42 years is my clientele list: I have built for doctors, lawyers, judges, chemists, senators, mayors, police chiefs and vets Psst: ( the chemistry professor& wife at SIU does pottery: for those who wonder how I learned so much about chemistry- I asked). So I sent an email to Doc Dan list night to ask about cat urine: correct- high in soluble salts. Nerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 My grad school roommate use to bury her silver pieces in the cat box to enhance the patina. She got a purple patina. Never did use it for clay but is definitely has high salt content.The salts should come to the surface in a low bisque...like Egyptian paste.Rinse off as much as you can. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieter Mostert Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Speaking of urine and ceramics: http://www.amandacotton.co.uk/#/wee-bottle/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 The reason I guessed salts is I have cremated many a cat in my small gas kiln in large bisqued bowls . Whats left behind is copper/minerals and salt glaze deposits on the bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 I have two experiences with cats and kilns: 1. The first kiln I ever bought was a used Evenheat 18x18. Got it through the classified ads in the newspaper. When I went to the person's house and they opened the front door, the smell of cat urine smacked me in the face. The house reeked of it, and the bricks of the kiln had absorbed the odors. Every time the kiln got hot it would smell like cat pee. It took about a year for it to totally clear out. It was a great little kiln after that. A few months later I got a big Olympic oval that had been stored in the basement where the owner's had built a kennel for their little yippy dogs, and that kiln smelled like dog pee. 2. I went to repair a kiln that was in a room where the customer was keeping her brother's cat for a couple weeks while he was on vacation. The cat was not happy, and was peeing everywhere. I started up the kiln, and apparently the cat had been peeing into the kiln (the lid was open) because cat urine steam came out as the elements heated up and burned into my nostrils. I couldn't smell anything but cat pee for a few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted June 29, 2017 Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 Neil, How much of a surcharge is there for dealing with animal pee while working on someone kiln? I've never dealt with that and never smelled something like it either and my nose is still twitching at the thought. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSC Posted July 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 Thanks for the input. I think i am going to have to sand the salt scum off. The dark stain dose not rinse off, not sure what to do qbout those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What? Posted July 2, 2017 Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 Reading the cat pee stories cracked me up! A cat once peed on my exhaust of my motorcycle. I got to the stop sign and was like what the hell is that smell? Burning cat pee! I can't even fathom what a kiln soaked in cat urine would even smell like. I would say clean and rebisque again. You could possibly paint them or use china paints or decals and refire to mask the staining. Imagine if you got some really cool glaze effects using cat urine and it became all the rage in the ceramic world. Cat hoarders getting rich by sell urine to the pottery suppliers. Glaze nerd then synthesizes cat urine in his laboratory and saves the day and goes down in the history books again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSC Posted July 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2017 Burning cat pee smells a lot like leather to my nose...which makes sense once you know that urea is used usually to tan leather. I don't like the smell of leather nor burning cat pee. I might have a weird nose tho cause i think roses smell like stale beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted July 3, 2017 Report Share Posted July 3, 2017 What: The farm up the road has a few hundred head of cattle. My master plan was to put out multiple salt licks to increase soluble salt content: and go for cone 04. If that fails: salted butter and hamburger. Nerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted July 3, 2017 Report Share Posted July 3, 2017 Speaking of urine and ceramics: http://www.amandacotton.co.uk/#/wee-bottle/ Thanks for linking this. Interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlCravens Posted July 6, 2017 Report Share Posted July 6, 2017 Imagine if you got some really cool glaze effects using cat urine and it became all the rage in the ceramic world. Cat hoarders getting rich by sell urine to the pottery suppliers. Glaze nerd then synthesizes cat urine in his laboratory and saves the day and goes down in the history books again. Go one step further with bespoke pottery... "Have your cat pee on this and I'll fire it for you. It will be a memento of your cat that will last forever." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSC Posted July 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2017 Well, i have an ample supply of cat pee and the ability to make more with every bowl of water consumed...but i think i will leave the experimenting with this particular glaze ingredient to others. I think a tuft of hair or a whisker would make a nice momento anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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