# My cat smells like cat pee



## Bethany

I kept smelling the scent of cat pee floating around my apartment. It was there for a moment, then it was gone.

After some investigation I discovered Misty was (at least part of) the source of the smell.

How on earth would an apparently healthy cat manage to smell like cat pee? And, how do I get it to go away? I tried baby wipes but didn't manage to accomplish much more than displeasing her Highness. Is this going to require a bath? She's going to LOVE that.

I love her to bits but she seems to have a lot of problems related to hygene: she's quite fluffy and she keeps getting poop it in (I think I'm going to have to ask for a more extensive sanitary trim next time) and now there's this. Sigh.


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## marie73

Do you have a covered litter box? I've heard if there's not enough room (too much litter or cat's too big), they have to crouch down and, well, you can guess the result. If it's not that, I'm sure you'll get your answer here from several people.


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## fbodgrl

Zoee had this problem quite a few years ago.

She is a short hair. She was over weight and was having difficulty reachiing where she needed to apparently. She had to get her whole butt shaved. She was also on anitibiotics because the area became irriatated frm not getting properly cleaned 

After that I periodically wiped her butt with baby wipes. She is now slim enough to keep herself nice and clean


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## Infinity

fbodgrl said:


> Zoee had this problem quite a few years ago.
> 
> *She is a short hair. She was over weight and was having difficulty reachiing where she needed to apparently. She had to get her whole butt shaved. She was also on anitibiotics because the area became irriatated frm not getting properly cleaned
> *
> After that I periodically wiped her butt with baby wipes. She is now slim enough to keep herself nice and clean


I have one with this problem. We have to clean her every couple of weeks. How did you manage the weight loss?


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## katwill10

I am going to say she is probably going to need a bath. I have a cat who needed an enema recently (he has megacolon), and when I was picking him up, he expressed his anal glands all over himself in his carrier, mostly on his tail. The vet tech took him back and tried to clean him up, but when I got him home he still stunk. I tried the cat wipes, too, but no go. So I put him in the tub, filled up a spare litterbox (that had never been used) with baby shampoo and warm water, and bathed his bottom half. I actually did it twice...after I dried him off, I realized he still smelled, so I put him back in the tub. The cat is really easy going, but he was NOT happy at this point. But he smelled very nice once he was dry. I am thinking if baby shampoo can get out the smell of expressed anal glands (he REALLY stunk), then it would probably work on pee. Just make sure to soak your kitty really well, and get some help!!!

Good luck,
Karie and crew


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## Bethany

Hmm. They don't have a covered litterbox. She's "a little round" to quote the vet tech but still easily able to groom herself back there and does it all the time (although not always to great effect: she periodically gets big clumps of poop stuck that requre extensive baby-wiping if I catch it before it dries and cutting it out if I don't).

It's really quite gross. Maybe I should take her to a groomer and/or back to the vet and ask about trimming more extensively around the inside of her back legs. Problem is I don't really want her to be naked there: just cutting the fur short would probably do.


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## fbodgrl

I switched her (as well as my others) to a wet food only diet. It truly worked wonders! She had been overwieght nearly her entire life. After the butt shaving incident it became even more apparent that I needed to try something other than the weight control type foods. I learned from this site the benefits of the wet food diet and switched. She was nearly 20 lbs and is now down in the area of 11 lbs


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## Infinity

See, all my cats have been on dry food since it was "recommended". My wife was a veterinary student, so she still believes this, but she's coming around.

How much smell increase is there from wet food? I mean in the litter box. I remember the cat I had growing up would run you from the house (canned food), but the ones I've owned could poop in your bed and urinate on your shirt and you wouldn't smell it (metaphorically speaking). I guess, are there Ph balance wet foods so my house doesn't stink?


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## fbodgrl

I think the smell depends on each cat and the food.

I have one cat who does not cover her poop....drives me crazy. If I am not home and she goes (doesn't cover it) I can smell the poop the second I walk in the door  Of course I am very sensitive to smell.

I don't think their smell increased at all when I made the change. Even if it would have been worth it for the weight loss and the cleaning issue.

A vet I used to see actually recommended putting her on dry kitten food. That was before I switched to the wet. I tried it stupidly and she gained even more weight of course.


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