Cat pee is never going to smell pleasant to human noses and most people will consider it a “strong smell.” Unneutered male cats have the most pungent urine odor, as they use their pee to mark their territories and warn other males to stay back.
Unneutered male cats' urine often contains strong smelling hormones which add to the stinky mix. Urine odor gets worse over time because it becomes concentrated as it sits. Luckily, there are common household items like vinegar and baking soda that can counteract the urine stench.
Older animals have kidneys that have lost some of their efficiency and as a consequence, older animals tend to have the worst smelling urine. Urine from male cats also tends to smell worse than female urine, due to the presence of certain steroids.
Urine marking occurs most commonly in male cats that have not been neutered. A cat that is urine marking typically stands upright with its tail erect, and sprays a small amount of liquid on walls and other vertical surfaces.
Urine from male cats also tends to smell worse than female urine due to the presence of hormones and pheromones. These aren't found in neutered males or female cats, but they serve to make non-neutered male cat urine reek for days.
This increases the risk of being hit by a car or getting into a fight. Neutering, when done early enough in life, virtually eliminates the odor of male cat urine and should prevent marking in male dogs.
When an intact male sprays urine, it will have the characteristic “tom cat” odor that is strong and pungent. Castration or neutering will change the odor, and may reduce the cat's motivation for spraying, but approximately 10% of neutered males and 5% of spayed females will continue to spray.
Unneutered male cats will wander from home and may not return. They may also spray inside the home and may be aggressive to their owners. Therefore it is desirable to neuter kittens early enough to ensure that the above problems are prevented. Most people do not want to live with an unneutered male cat.
Although female cats as well as neutered and spayed cats can urine mark, unneutered males have more reason to do so. One function of urine marking is to advertise reproductive availability, so unneutered males may urine mark to let females know they are available. There are multiple cats in the household.
Once a cat is neutered the testosterone levels decline significantly within 24 to 48 hours. Allowing for some variation in how quickly this occurs, and traces of tom cat urine that may be "clinging" to the cat's urinary tract, tom cat urine odor should be barely detectable or gone within a week after neutering.
Vinegar, while a bit smelly itself, works to remove the lasting odor of sprayed cat urine because vinegar is an acid that neutralizes the alkaline salts that form in dried urine stains. A solution of one part water and one part vinegar can be used to clean walls and floors.
Neutralize it!
Then you're going to want to douse the spot with an enzymatic cleaner or simply make your own cleaning solution by combining (white or apple cider) vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio. Because the vinegar is acidic, it will neutralize the bacteria in the cat pee, offsetting its odor.
You should start to look for signs of spraying when your kitten reaches maturity. For most cats, spraying tends to start when they are 6 to 7 months old, although male cats can reach maturity between 4 to 5 months.
The vast majority of cats do not spray. Males are more likely than females to spray, but if a cat is neutered before 6 months, he will almost never spray. If an intact male cat does begin to spray, neutering him will solve the problem in about 95 percent of the cases.
Neutering is the most effective way to curb spraying in a tomcat. In one study, 77 percent of cats stopped or significantly reduced spraying within six months of being neutered. Neutered cats can spray as well. Ten percent of male cats neutered before 10 months of age will still spray as adults.
Male cats or tomcats are driven by their hormones to pee everywhere to leave their scent, mark their territory, and attract females. Will my cat stop peeing everywhere after being neutered? The good news is, yes. The drop in hormones will also make tomcats less agitated, and more calm.
If you have an intact male or female cat, getting them spayed or neutered can also help reduce urine spraying.
There is an unmistaken odour that comes with having an intact or un-neutered male cat. This pungent, ammonia-like smell is him signalling to all the ladies that he is available and ready to go. It is coming from his skin, urine and any spraying that he may do as well.
Unless you plan to breed your cat responsibly and are prepared to keep him indoors, neutering will reduce the risk of unwanted behaviors, health problems, and feral cat populations.
The optimal age to spay/neuter a cat is before it reaches 5 months of age. For owned cats, the optimal age would be 4 to 5 months; for cats in shelters, the optimal age could be as early as 8 weeks.
The strong ammonia smell would suggest an increased load of urea in her urine, increased drinking and peeing could indicate some problem with the kidneys, or metabolism... I'd suggest a vet visit too. Take her to the vet. This description fits characteristics of Kidney Failure or even Kidney Disease.
Cat spraying is intentional and aggressive, meant to mark territories, and peeing is simply when cats relieve themselves. The main known cause of cat spraying is territory marking. Cats have scent glands in their anal area and the goal is to spread the pheromones that carry information to other cats.
After surgery, your cat smells different. Since scent is a critical feline sense, this change can trigger aggression. Keep the returning cat separately in its own room for at least half a day, so they can groom themselves and restore their natural scent.
1) Does a male cat's behavior change after neutering? Neutering can lead to many positive behavior changes for male cats, such as decreased aggression, reduced roaming, decreased urine spraying, and increased affection.