Top 5 reasons why your cat's urine smells strong

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06/01/2021 owner reviews

Our cats' urine smells like ammonia. The ammonia in cat urine has a disgusting, unpleasant odor and lasts for quite a long time. As an indoor cat parent, you're probably worried about how strong the smell of her urine is. This is fine? Or should you be worried? Let's find out.

Composition of cat urine
What Can Cause Strong Urine Odor?
What to do to remove strong urine odor

Composition of cat urine

Cat urine is made up of various chemicals such as uric acid, creatinine, electrolytes, and urea. When urea is broken down, it produces amines, which further break down into mercaptans (also found in the feces of other animals and in skunk sprays). This is why your cat's urine smells bad. To make it easier to understand, ammonia is formed from the bacterial breakdown of urea, the main component of urine.

According to Pet Health Network, this is a normal cat urine odor for a spayed or neutered adult cat, and your cat's urine odor is likely not too strong. Normal urine will have a slightly pungent, sour odor that is fairly harmless and usually mild.

However, if you notice that your cat's urine has a very strong odor that has already stung the nose, there is a chance that your cat may be on to something that requires the attention of a veterinarian.

Why does my cat smell like urine?

Of course, cat urine is far from the most pleasant-smelling thing in the world, because even normally it should have a pronounced ammonia smell. However, a situation where a cat smells of urine and this smell almost never disappears is considered pathological.

When wondering why a cat smells of urine, you should know that there are a lot of negative external and internal factors that can provoke such symptoms. So, at the slightest manifestation of this kind, experts strongly recommend examining the animal in order to exclude or, on the contrary, confirm such factors as dehydration, improperly selected diet, changes in the reproductive system, all kinds of diseases of the genitourinary system, diabetes mellitus, the development of malignant tumors, as well as severe stress , experienced by the pet. It is these features that most often lead to the fact that a cat stinks of urine. What to do in such cases? Firstly, it is necessary to identify which of the above reasons is occurring, because without eliminating it, all further actions will be completely ineffective.

Thus, an increase in the smell of urine, caused by dehydration of the animal’s body, most often develops due to the fact that the pet’s diet includes only dry food. In this situation, the concentration of urea increases, which immediately affects the smell of the pet’s urine. In addition, those animals that consume too much animal protein are automatically at risk. And this is especially pronounced when feeding a cat poultry meat, because the protein from it is absorbed by the pet’s body almost completely, as a result of which the concentration of ammonia in the urine automatically increases, with all the ensuing consequences. If the animal receives a normal, balanced diet, but continues to emit an unpleasant odor, then its age should be taken into account.

The fact is that this kind of change is very often observed during the animal’s puberty, so you should not be surprised if the kitten smells of urine, even if it is not yet a year old. Similar manifestations can be observed when a cat begins to hunt for a female.

Perhaps this is the only case when there is not pathology, but a completely natural development process. In addition, to the intense smell of urine, a very specific aroma of the secretion of the animal’s gonads can be added, and in the vast majority of situations, similar symptoms are observed in cats due to their physiological characteristics. The problems for the owners may not end there, because cats often begin to mark the territory, despite the fact that in the future it will be very difficult to get rid of the smell of the tracks left by the animals. There is only one way out of this situation - castration, however, when resorting to such radical measures, it should be remembered that their consequences can be extremely negative (obesity, the formation of stones in the ducts and renal pelvis and, as a result, urolithiasis).

It is noteworthy that after castration, a cat may continue to smell like urine for some time, and this phenomenon is considered an absolute norm (most often this happens when a mature animal has undergone the castration procedure). If a change in the smell of urine to a more pungent and unpleasant one develops against the background of problems with urination (frequent urge to urinate and scanty volumes of urine, soreness, protein and bloody inclusions in the urine, urine retention, etc.), then it is recommended to immediately examine your pet by a veterinarian. in order to exclude the development of urolithiasis or a number of inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system (urethritis, cystitis, pyelonephritis, etc.). Tumor formations cannot be excluded, so it is better to examine your pet not only with contrast radiotherapy, which allows you to detect even the smallest uroliths, but also with ultrasound.

Fright, severe nervous or emotional shock, falling from a great height, falling under the wheels of a car, etc., etc. - all these life situations provoke enormous stress and the animal that has experienced it can also change its smell.

Fortunately, such changes in the vast majority of cases are temporary, and the only thing owners can do to correct the current situation as quickly as possible is to shower their pet with care, affection and love.

What Can Cause Strong Urine Odor?

Besides the smell of ammonia in urine, there are many other factors why your cat has foul-smelling urine.

Dehydration . Most cats do not like to drink water and this causes dehydration. If your cat doesn't drink enough water, her urine becomes more concentrated, and concentrated urine has a stronger ammonia smell.
Unmodified filler . If you don't change your cat litter, the ammonia becomes concentrated. The litter may look clean, but your cat's urine has seeped deep into the litter. This causes a strong urine odor from your litter box.
Diet . Your cat's diet may also be the cause of a strong ammonia odor in her urine. Most pet owners feed their cats foods containing chicken protein. These proteins produce urea (as mentioned above) and cause urine to smell strongly.
Stress . Keep in mind that stress can also cause your cat's urine to smell strong (albeit indirectly). Experiencing stress and anxiety will cause some behavioral changes, which include peeing all over the house and beyond. The strong-smelling cat urine lingers for a long time and can even be smelled from a couple of meters away!
Urinary tract infection . A more serious cause of strong urine odor is a urinary tract infection. With sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection, your cat's urine has a strong odor.

Reasons not related to the cat's health

In this case, it is easiest to eliminate the unpleasant phenomenon. The urine will stop staining the pet and the smell will disappear.

If a cat is healthy, but smells of urine, the reason for this is usually mistakes made by the owners.

Wrong litter box - if a cat has outgrown its litter box, then when it settles in it, it is often positioned so that the cat ends up on the floor. Because of this, when he goes to the toilet, his paws come into contact with a puddle, and the urine is absorbed into the fur, which begins to smell strongly. Due to their natural disgust, cats do not want to wash their paws, and therefore the smell becomes stronger each time. The solution to the problem is simple: to make the cat’s urine smell disappear, just wash your pet’s paws and buy a tray that fits the size.
Poor quality litter – if the litter in the tray slowly absorbs urine, it stains the cat’s paws and the cat develops a strong unpleasant odor. To eliminate it, the owner should definitely get rid of the bad litter, replacing it with a high-quality one, or use a tray with a mesh bottom for the pet. In this case, urine will not get on the paws.
Insufficient hygiene of the litter box - when the owner is inattentive to the cat's litter box and stops cleaning it on time, it is not at all surprising that the cat stinks of urine. Settling down in a dirty tray, the pet rummages through the litter, which no longer retains the smell of waste, which is why the animal becomes saturated with it. In this case, the only remedy that will help is regular cleaning of the cat litter box.
The toilet is in the wrong place - if a cat, in addition to the litter box, leaves puddles in the house and in other places, often using shoes for this, she steps on her own urine, which creates an odor from herself. In addition, we must take into account that in this case the cats’ urine also smells in the rooms where they are. After weaning your pet from improper toileting, urine is removed from things with a special composition.

The listed causes of cat urine odor can be eliminated quickly and effectively. The animal does not require treatment and there is no threat to its life.

What to do to remove strong urine odor

Don't worry. There are actually a few things you can do and give your cat about strong urine odor.

Make sure she drinks water . Provide your cat with fresh, clean water at all times. If she doesn't like to drink water from a bowl, let her drink running water. Your cat loves the feeling of water running on his tongue.
Change the litter every week . Because your cat's urine will seep deep into the litter box. Unaltered and dirty litter will become a breeding ground for bacteria and can lead to urinary tract infections.
Check her diet . Your cat's current diet may contain chicken-derived proteins. Feed your cat salmon-based food to avoid the strong smell of urine. A combination of different proteins in their diet will reduce the strong ammonia smell.
Identify stressors . Since stress can also cause urine to smell very strong, identify the factors that are causing your cat's stress and gradually eliminate them.
Consult your veterinarian . A visit to the veterinarian will provide the correct diagnosis and help rule out the real reason why your cat's urine smells very strongly. Urinary tract problems and infections can be life-threatening if not treated immediately.

Make sure you determine the reason why your cat's urine smells strongly and eliminate it. Nobody wants bad urine smell in their home! Solve this problem and keep your cat and other family members happy and healthy!

Article Author: Mika Virtudaso Mika is a regular content creator at poroda-koshek.com who lives with thirteen adorable bullies and a Shih Tzu Maltese mix named Gretel. She especially enjoys writing how-to articles because she feels it allows her to connect with other pet parents on a more personal level.

Odor due to natural, non-pathological reasons

This phenomenon is associated with the animal’s menu and periods of sexual activity. If the cat is not neutered, then during weddings the urine begins to smell stronger. He also begins to actively mark his territory. The smell permeates the animal itself, making it unpleasant to hold.

The second reason for the pungent odor that a cat’s urine gives off is feeding with a high content of fish and fish products. Because of them, the concentration of uric acid increases significantly, and even a small amount of urine remaining on the fur is enough to cause an unpleasant odor from the animal.

To eliminate the smell of urine in these two cases, it is necessary to reconsider the feeding of the pet, and also, if breeding is not planned, the cat should be castrated and sterilized.