Strong amonia smell on my cat???

Question

my cat has just turned 6,for about the past few weeks or so he has been having a very strong cat amonia on him as if he has been peeing on himseld of spraying on himself.he still uses the litter box though.i noticed when he sleeps sometimes he scrunches up his legs as if he was trying to keep from going to the bathroom on himself.can anybody tell me what might cause this???no smart comments please.thanks

yea as some of you were saying. he was eating a few diffrent kinds of food when i first brought him up here to my new home.i know a few of the kinds was on the recall list but everyone including the sites i visited of the cat food he was eating said the food was ok to eat.but soon after he got sick,got less active and thats when the foul odor came.he sleeps alot and when he is awake he drinks alot more water than usual.hes a very fluffy cat so i can never tell if hes leaking or if hes just plain out going on himself.so i was just wondering if there was anything i can do until i get him to the vet. thanks

Answer 1

It's a sign of diabetes or renal failure.
Please have him checked and some blood work done.
If his breath is foul (smell in his mouth), like acetone/ammonia,...it's further confirmation.

Answer 2

I can't add much at this point, but knowing that your cat is a male, I have some advice for you for his future care.

From my blog:
CATS AND URINARY ISSUES
This is not my area of expertise, but this has been my experience: As a kitten, Poppy developed both a weight problem and a UTI. My vet told me to start feeding her special food which he happily sold me *gulp*. Poppy refused to eat it. Back then I was less aware of how to get cats to eat new foods, so I just said the hell with it and bought Purina's urinary health food, mixed with weight management. She ate that from then until she was 2 years old. She never had another UTI, so that tells me that the overpriced CRAP the vets sell you are typically unnecessary. The grocery store crap is just as good.

For various reasons, I soon thereafter began researching cat nutrition. I learned about the benefits of wet food, and found that in many cases, that's all that's required to prevent future UTI's. Even the crappy brands like Friskies would be better than dry food!

I don't claim to be a vet, vet tech, vet student or anything like that. But I know how to research and examine results. I've read a bit on this topic which is how I've reached the conclusions I have.

At the very least, were I to have another cat with urinary problems, I'd sooner try them on a GOOD QUALITY canned food before shelling out the dough for a "prescription" dry food (or even their canned varieties). That's because I believe that good nutrition and species appropriate food is much more likely to keep a cat healthy than something designed to change their chemical composition.

Answer 3

Sometimes in male cats they can have a blockage. Has he been neutered? I think that I would probably take him to the vet if he seems to be drinking a lot of water and seems to be straining when he goes. This is serious. You might want to change his food.

Answer 4

You need to get your cat to the vet immediately. I just finished paying about $1200 in emergency vet bills because my cat nearly died from this. He apparently got blocked, peed on himself repeatedly and was in too much pain to clean himself, got maggots (he was out doors and I was gone for a few days, pet sitter saw him briefly as she was leaving food); and horribly dehydrated. We're still trying to calm his bladder down and he's on amytryptaline to help with the spasms and straining. He's finally healing his wounds from the maggots. I was stunned at how quickly this thing turned!

Answer 5

It might be the opposite of FLUTD, Feline Urinary Tract Disease. That is when there is an obstuction in the tract. but you're cat might have gotten that, made his/her tract bigger, than let out theobstruction. Email me at [e-mail] for any questions and/or to tell me if this helped:)

Answer 6

your cat could have severe kidney problems take it to a vet and have it's kidney function checked. A simple blood test will confirm the kidney function.

Answer 7

poor baby. he might be having a bladder problem. I would take your baby to the vet to get checked. The sooner the better. Good luck.

Answer 8

Maybe hes like my cats and rolling around in his litter box.

Answer 9

He might have a urinary tract infection, in which case he needs to see a vet.

Answer 10

spray from other cats