Mysterious cat urine odor?

Does anyone have experience with cat urine smells in an old townhouse? Every few days the smell of cat urine fills the house and it is so strong it is hard to breath. We do not have a cat. We had a mold inspector come and test for black mold, but that was negative. The neighboring townhouse does have several cats, but they have denied smelling anything. We are carefully caulking all cracks in our shared party wall, but the odor persists. Does anyone have any experience with a similar smell, or any idea of what it could be besides the neighbor’s cats? The smell is present on three floors, and seems connected to the old fireplaces.

Franz

in General Discussion 4 years and 6 months ago

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dorkofwindsor | 4 years and 5 months ago

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My first thought is raccoon(s?) in the chimney

andriywww1990 | 4 years and 5 months ago

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we had a cat going in front of our house some years back. on and off. it moved into the house. it was so infrequent that i took no action but had it continued i would have put moth balls or cat repellent in front of the house. it stop when the people next door, who had cats, moved. i do not think it was there cat, i think it was a male drawn to their cats.

cate | 4 years and 5 months ago

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That is really weird. I’m so sorry. That sounds really hard to live with. The only other thing I can think of that smells like cat urine is maybe rat urine. Have the cats been there all this time? If so, seems puzzling it would happen starting only a few months ago. As for mold, in my experience it smells like mushrooms. We occasionally would smell a skunk that seemed to move through the whole house very quickly and I am embarrassed to tell you it took me years to figure out it was simply someone on the street smoking weed.

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Every time i use the paint brush cleaner, not .mineral spirits but the brush cleaner, my better half thinks a cat went in the back yard. Smells just like it – just a lot more expensive.

Arkady | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Some building materials have a cat-pee-like odor. Maybe the neighbors did some project using a particle board that has that.

greenworks | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Cat pee is pretty distinct as odors go, so I can’t think of much else it could be.

Smells, like sound, move in mysterious ways, so the fact that it’s not constant isn’t surprising. The fact that it comes and goes could have to do with so many factors, some in their control, such as how often they clean etc, combined with things such as weather conditions and HVAC systems.

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Maybe they moved their litter boxes, who knows but it’s no mystery then that it comes from next door. Unfortunately it’s probably on you to find the air leaks and seal them up. It’s not illegal to have many cats and dirty litter boxes or maybe no litter box at all?

JohnHancock | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Maybe they moved their litter boxes, who knows but it’s no mystery then that it comes from next door. Unfortunately it’s probably on you to find the air leaks and seal them up. It’s not illegal to have many cats and dirty litter boxes or maybe no litter box at all?

allyslope | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Franz what a mystery. When does it happen is after rain or snow, windy day? Which room or all rooms? Has there been any work on your street, sidewalk or neighbors did any construction?

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 4 years and 6 months ago

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It won’t help with the smell, but note that Finance Dept. records list all 19th century buildings as being built in 1901 (unless the owner corrects this at the yearly review questionnaire). So your house is probably older than you think.

Franz | 4 years and 6 months ago

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We have lived in the house for two years, and the smell began less than 6 months ago. It isn’t consistent and does not always smell. It comes in waves – suddenly the room is saturated in the smell of cat urine and it is hard to breathe. The floor and fireplace tile do not smell, but smell will emanate from tiny cracks, or seemingly through the plaster wall when the smell comes. The neighbor cats is the easiest explanation, but I was hoping someone might have another idea of what it could be. Hopefully something we can control and fix. The house was built in 1901 and is mostly original, with the original air exchange system

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago

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If you find that what jh is saying might be true, they make enzymes that will eat away at this. In tiles and such.

nathanjoe755 | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Nature’s Miracle works well. There are also odor-killing primers out there but I don’t know how well it works or if you are in the position to or want to use it on the brick. If it were me I would buy a gallon of Nature’s Miracle or some other enzymatic odor killer and saturate the brick and see if that helps.

greenworks | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Agree with JH on how the smell could be coming over.

Also, I’ll be more blunt and just say pet owners can lose a sense of smell when it comes to their pets. I say this as an owner of two dogs btw. And not to start anything here since people I admire and respect on this forum have cats, but if the neighbors have “several” cats they may be more prone to the “loss of smell.” I do not count the people on this forum in with this crowd, just to make it clear!

JohnHancock | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Or before you occupied the house the previous people had cats and it’s baked into the floor or wall in certain spots

JohnHancock | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Odors travel between houses through joists, other holes like missing mortar or bricks, maybe cracked flues etc. The neighbor may not smell it since they live in the smell and don’t notice or they don’t want to deal w it