strong ammonia smell in urine

I wonder if anyone knows what would cause an unusually strong ammonia smell in a cat's urine. I have 16 cats and have cleaned many litters for many years and have never smelled anything anywhere near this strong. When I clean his litter my eyes sting and water. i have asked the vet about it but he doesn't seem concerned. I think that there has to be some kind of problem but have looked through all my cat health books and can find nothing with this symptom. The cat is 8 years old and has never had any health problems until recently. The urine smell I first noticed about a year ago. It is my son's cat and he took him in and the vet ran tests but nothing showed up. Now more recently (last 2 months) the cat has had major mouth problems, very sore and is losing weight. He is getting cortisone injections now but this makes me really uncomfortable. I don't think cortisone is good for him either. Does anyone have a clue about why such a strong smell and is this related to his mouth problems? Thanks

Katha2,

Is your cat neutered? If not, that could be the problem. Male cats who are not neutered give off a very strong odor. Usually a strong odor of urine is a sign of not getting enough water, making the urine concentrated. It is also a sign, that the cat box needs cleaning. If the vet gave your cat a clean bill of health and he is unneutered, it might be wise to have him neutered. One of my friends had a whole (unneutered) male in her home that gave off a strong urine scent.

If anyone else has any suggestions, please help me out here.

Thanks for the response. Yes, he is neutered. We are putting extra water in his food to make sure he is getting enough liquids. And the box is clean--you can tell immediately when he uses it and I can't stand the smell!!!! Anybody else have any suggestions? Thanks

From what you wrote, it sounds like the vet thinks he has stomatitis. You didn't say, so I am just guessing. How long has he been on the cortisone?
Strong urine smell is linked to A ehydration but can be caused by cystitis, Inflamatory bowel disease, fevers or kidney disease. Diabetic cats can also have a stron urine smell. If all the workups were done ahwile ago, it may be time for some new tests. It may be that something is progressing.

it is stomatitis and I called the vet back and we are going to run more tests. I just feel like his mouth problems and urine smell are related. Thanks for your help