Advice needed! Fred smells cat pee.

Mom! I smell cat pee again! Nermal and I are innocent! We've been sleeping next to you for the past hour.
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I need some advice. First of all, I know my cats are completely innocent as I have investigated.
About once a day, the whole house suddenly smells like cat pee or spray for about 1/2 hour. There doesn't appear to be any cat urine on the front or back door of the house, or windows.
My neighbour, whose house is attached to mine, has 6 cats. I don't know if they are fixed or not (we rarely talk). I have come to the conclusion that one of her cats is spraying the adjoining wall close to my furnace's cold air return. We are not seperated by a brick wall, only a few layers of plaster, insulation and lathe. The smell travels around my vent system and infiltrates the house. This has been going on since christmas.
I'm quite certain it is coming from her house. I hate to say this, but the one time I was over at her house briefly, it did smell of cat spray inside.

What would you guys do? Myself and my tenant are going nuts with it. Even the cats can smell it (as shows the photo).

I'm considering writing her a note, or perhaps going over to talk to her (she rarely answers the door however). My problem is I don't know how to phrase the note. I don't want to infer that I think she is dirty. I have had to approach her in the past about another animal in the roofing matter, which was awkward enough.

Any ideas on how I should approach this odour dilemma?

Originally Posted by Fred&Nermal

Mom! I smell cat pee again! Nermal and I are innocent! We've been sleeping next to you for the past hour.
[/IMG]

I need some advice. First of all, I know my cats are completely innocent as I have investigated.
About once a day, the whole house suddenly smells like cat pee or spray for about 1/2 hour. There doesn't appear to be any cat urine on the front or back door of the house, or windows.
My neighbour, whose house is attached to mine, has 6 cats. I don't know if they are fixed or not (we rarely talk). I have come to the conclusion that one of her cats is spraying the adjoining wall close to my furnace's cold air return. We are not seperated by a brick wall, only a few layers of plaster, insulation and lathe. The smell travels around my vent system and infiltrates the house. This has been going on since christmas.

I'm quite certain it is coming from her house

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. I hate to say this, but the one time I was over at her house briefly, it did smell of cat spray inside.

What would you guys do? Myself and my tenant are going nuts with it. Even the cats can smell it (as shows the photo).

I'm considering writing her a note, or perhaps going over to talk to her (she rarely answers the door however). My problem is I don't know how to phrase the note. I don't want to infer that I think she is dirty. I have had to approach her in the past about another animal in the roofing matter, which was awkward enough.

Any ideas on how I should approach this odour dilemma?

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You can turn off other lights and use a black light to prove where the cat pee is because it shows up under black light bulb which you can find fairly inexpensive that fit standard sockets.

This does sound like a troubling situation. It could make your kitties start spraying if they keep smelling that or at the very least really confuse them.

You probably have to find a way to just talk to her, maybe suggested some things to help make the her cats stop. Are they spayed and neutered? Tell her the truth, everyone can smell it.
Drastic measure would be to call the health department.

Persi has the best idea for finding the urine. In the area you suspect, what might a spraying cat be attracted to? If you cannot determine that and/or eliminate it, maybe you could put up a barrier to keep a spraying cat further away, something ventilated, a type of cage -- some stakes and chicken wire maybe. I'm sorry the awful stench is invading your home. I hope you figure out a solution.

Speaking from experience, a roaming intact cat sitting in a window sill night after night and spraying can cause a lot of problems with indoor spayed/neutered cats. I had a live trap on order to catch the roamer and have him neutered and he disappeared (after weeks of spraying). I will do that if it happens again. TNR, even if he belongs to a neighbor. I didn't know it at the time but I couldn't have driven to the farm store five minutes aways and bought a trap. Live and learn.

Originally Posted by Phat Locani

Persi has the best idea for finding the urine. In the area you suspect, what might a spraying cat be attracted to? If you cannot determine that and/or eliminate it, maybe you could put up a barrier to keep a spraying cat further away, something ventilated, a type of cage -- some stakes and chicken wire maybe. I'm sorry the awful stench is invading your home. I hope you figure out a solution.

Speaking from experience, a roaming intact cat sitting in a window sill night after night and spraying can cause a lot of problems with indoor spayed/neutered cats. I had a live trap on order to catch the roamer and have him neutered and he disappeared (after weeks of spraying). I will do that if it happens again. TNR, even if he belongs to a neighbor. I didn't know it at the time but I couldn't have driven to the farm store five minutes aways and bought a trap. Live and learn.

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Unfortunately, I am very sure that the cat is inside my neighbour's house, which is on the other side of the wall (as the two homes are attached, but seperate). I can't go into her house with a trap, without being charged with trespassing and break&enter!!

The same goes for the urine detection with a black light. I think the urine/spray stays on my neighbours side, it is just the odour that travels over to us.

Somehow, I have to try to get her to answer her door to talk about this or write her a note. She's very shy, etc. and if I don't approach this with finesse, she could just get pissed off and not do anything.

Is it possible that she has a litterbox next to the area you're talking about? Perhaps you could ask, and if so, tell her that you can smell it everytime one of her cats gets in.

Or maybe you could buy her a bottle of Simple Solution, and say that it smells like either her cats or your cats are spraying/has sprayed that area, and that you will spray your side with the odor eliminator, and would she please do the same as the wall is adjoining? Then it wouldn't be all on her. Other than than, I just don't know. I'll keep thinking...

Is there no outside air unit that could be getting sprayed? Or an air vent that is open to under the house that someone's cat could be spraying? Or even a window or door with a small leak (our older doors need the weatherstripping replaced, and I could smell the tom cat spray coming through the back door). Maybe you could blacklight these areas (if it gets dark enough at your house) before asking your neighbor. Do you share a commom attic, or basement?

If you have central air floor vents, have you checked to make sure your cats haven't peed in a floor vent? Then it's possible that the only time you would have smelled it would be when the air was on, though it does sound like a tomcat making his daily rounds... Hmmmm....

Originally Posted by Fred&Nermal

Unfortunately, I am very sure that the cat is inside my neighbour's house, which is on the other side of the wall (as the two homes are attached, but seperate). I can't go into her house with a trap, without being charged with trespassing and break&enter!!

The same goes for the urine detection with a black light. I think the urine/spray stays on my neighbours side, it is just the odour that travels over to us.

Somehow, I have to try to get her to answer her door to talk about this or write her a note. She's very shy, etc. and if I don't approach this with finesse, she could just get pissed off and not do anything.

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Sorry, I read it to be cats on the outside. B&E is surely out! Coming from inside her home and through your vents is a much bigger problem and gets you back to contact with her. A well-written note might work the best. It could also be circulating through the vents when/if she uses the bathroom vent. I once had to leave a previous townhome overnight because back-to-back with me had been painted and they left the bathroom vents running. It was pulling all the fumes into my place.

Good luck finding a solution.

What is the space under the houses like. Is there a common crawl space? Possible peeing down there?

I'm sorry but every time I read the subject of this thread I can't stop giggling to myself.

Funny situation? No.
Funny title? Yes.

I would inform the landlord about the situation just make sure your place is emaculate so that it can't be blamed on your cats.

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

What is the space under the houses like. Is there a common crawl space? Possible peeing down there?

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Wow! This thread came back! Unfortunately, the cat pee smell does to occaissionally, but not daily. Now maybe two to three times a week.

Your crawl space suggestion is a possibility!!!! I have a dirt filled area under my kitchen. It is a very old home and the cellar is only under the living and dining room. When they built the house, they never cleared out the the basement where the kitchen is. It is very possible that her basement has been cleared and somehow this could be the source or at least one of them. Great point.
At least it's something I could bring up with her.
We also share a chimney. Mine has been sealed off long ago and my furnace has a modern exit pipe which comes out the front of the house. Her furnace still uses the chimney for it's exhaust. Your basement comment made me think that maybe she has moved the litter boxes closer to the furnace and the cat pee is wafting up when the furnace clicks on. Hmmm.

Really, to get to the bottom of this I should really just go knock on the door or leave a note, but I'm wary of starting a fued. I've already had to go over there regarding a squirrel issue in the eaves earlier this year.

This thread revival has given me motivation to go over and chat tonight....maybe. I'll keep you posted on the results.

One thing I know for sure, is that I won't be recommending that she join TCS any time soon as she may read this post! How embarassing.

Thanks for your ideas.

sending {{{prayers and vibes}}} that communications with your neighbor go well. A touchy situation for sure I really like Catsallover's suggestion about buying a bottle of scent eliminator, and spray your side and ask her to spray hers. And tell her that she's a saint for homing 6 cats with her. When I read about so many people who take in that extra cat, and then I consider all those 5,000 sq.ft. houses with only one or no pet, I really wish that all the animal rescuers could win a lottery and have a big home too!

It's happening again, if you can believe it. It seemed to get better for a bit, now it's back. I spoke with my neighbour and she didn't have any answers. I still think it may be drifting throught the walls, but what can I do?

I don't need any advice on this anymore, I think I just have to live with it. It's quite upsetting. It's got to the point that I have to burn potpurri oil almost every night and open the windows.

Sorry, I just had to vent.

I am so sorry! I wonder if Nature's Miracle makes a plug in...

Originally Posted by catsallover

I am so sorry! I wonder if Nature's Miracle makes a plug in...

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That is such a good idea! I may have to investigate that one.

Well, I found this:
http://valtecindustries.com/Merchant..._Code=Aerosols

that is made by the (now-didn't I hear that they sold NM?) Nature's Miracle people. The price is for 12- 8 oz cans. I don't know about the actual timer/sprayer, though...

And I found a site that has the individual cans, but only in citrus: www.VetMedDeals.com

Originally Posted by Persi & Alley

You can turn off other lights and use a black light to prove where the cat pee is because it shows up under black light bulb which you can find fairly inexpensive that fit standard sockets.

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Oh, that is a great suggestion! And you could also go around the outside of the house and check. Maybe if your neighbor sees you, she might ask what you are doing and you can explain.
Then if you don't find any signs that your kids are "guilty" (which you won't) you could ask her if she is smelling the urine/spray odor. That may open up a dialogue for the two of you. Also, explaiin that your tenant is complaining!
Good luck and let us know!