# Stinky cat question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253 "2019-12-01T23:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/1 "2019-12-01T23:29:31Z")
I have a slight problem on my hands: Merlin’s pee stinks. “But wait,” you say, “what’s so noteworthy here? All cat pee stinks.” Well that’s the thing. I’ve had cats since I was seven. I know what normal kitty business smells like. And this is not normal kitty business. You know that unmistakable odor of crazy cat ladies, the smell you get from litterboxes that haven’t been cleaned for days? Merlin stinks up entire rooms just in one visit, immediately. It’s not so much a smell as a nasal assault. Just taking the lid off a box he’s visited makes me gag, and it doesn’t go away after scooping. Not even if I dump baking powder in there. It is _disgusting_. He has been like this since we got him, about a month ago, and it’s persisted through diet changes. In every other respect he is a normal, healthy, happy kitten. Should I be worried? About his health, I mean, not our property values. Is there some cat disease out there that has “extra-smelly urine” as its only symptom? Health consequences or not, do you think there’s anything I can do? I am kind of at my wit’s end here. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/2 "2019-12-02T00:43:16Z")
Are you sure he’s covering his mess after he uses? I took a stray in once. He would use the litter box but he wouldn’t cover his messes and boy did it stink. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/3 "2019-12-02T01:02:49Z")
Sounds like a question for the vet. Maybe there’s some kind of infection. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/4 "2019-12-02T01:12:11Z")
Does it smell like ammonia or like something else? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/5 "2019-12-02T01:15:16Z")
He might be spraying the area around his litter box. Which would explain why covering it up in baking soda doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/6 "2019-12-02T03:23:36Z")
Is he neutered? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/7 "2019-12-03T00:23:11Z")
He’s neutered, it smells like ammonia, and he’s getting it all in the box. I’m pretty sure he covers it up, but I’ll look closer next time. I trying to find out from his foster mom if she noticed anything weird from him or his siblings. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/8 "2019-12-03T00:30:53Z")
[What are you feeding it?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNXIZuIBJKs) ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/9 "2019-12-03T00:46:17Z")
Maybe it would help if he drank more, to make his urine more dilute? Due to my cat’s bad peeing behavior, I recently got one - [this model](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DLXF7XL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) from Amazon. I must say, I’m quite happy with it. It does encourage both my cats to drink and it is extremely easy to assemble and clean. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/10 "2019-12-03T09:25:53Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > He’s neutered, it smells like ammonia, and he’s getting it all in the box. I’m pretty sure he covers it up, but I’ll look closer next time. > > I trying to find out from his foster mom if she noticed anything weird from him or his siblings. How long has he been neutered? If it’s recent enough, perhaps the spraying behavior is continuing, and whatever substsance makes that spray so HIDEOUS is still present? Just guessing… but I second the advice to check with the vet as it might be a sign of a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/11 "2019-12-04T01:21:45Z")
I made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow, so hopefully things will be cleared up then. New info: oddly enough, his foster mom says she never noticed anything weird when she had him. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/12 "2019-12-04T02:02:20Z")
_Smelly cat…sme-helly cat…_:rolleyes: (I just had to sneak that one in there;)) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/13 "2019-12-04T03:18:58Z")
Have you changed litters? I don’t like the lightweight TidyCat I got a few days ago because it sticks to my cat’s tail and pee just puddles on top of it. But when I read negative reviews this weekend most people who hate it note a horrendous smell I have been spared so far. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/14 "2019-12-04T21:23:18Z")
So… the vet thinks the stink is leftover testosterone. I didn’t know that their T could linger five or six months after neutering, but that’s why he’s the vet and I’m not. He also said-- and this is his considered medical opinion-- that Merlin is very handsome. Just putting that out there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/15 "2019-12-04T21:29:58Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > He also said-- and this is his considered medical opinion-- that Merlin is very handsome. Just putting that out there. 😉 Isn’t there a rule about pictures? We’re still waiting… ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/16 "2019-12-04T21:47:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Isn’t there a rule about pictures? We’re still waiting… D’oh! My most abject apologies to all of you. [pix](https://photos.app.goo.gl/TLoyHt9rWHATVbGH7) [pix](https://photos.app.goo.gl/iKwqjr4eC5b2Pv1C9) [video](https://photos.app.goo.gl/2i4dAqSL8su5Xzwe8) [pix](https://photos.app.goo.gl/PpYxiUy9wcuy5e3e6) ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stinky-cat-question/844253/17 "2019-12-05T06:46:43Z")
Oooh… Pretty cats.