My tank smells like cat pee?

[TatiannaC]

2 hours ago, empresto said:

So, just because I'm really interested to figure out exactly what causes this occasional cat pee smell in various aspects of reefing (mixed salt water that has sat for a while, the tank occasionally, other things), I have to be annoying and ask,"If it really is the ammonia in cat pee that gives cat pee its smell, why don't all types of pee smell like cat pee?"  I am 100% sure there is ammonia in any mammalian pee, so why is cat pee so distinctive?  There must be some other compound in cat pee that gives it that smell other than ammonia, and I am also 100% sure there is no ammonia in the stagnant mixed salt water I've gotten this smell from in the past (I test water that smells funny before I use it for water changes or throw it out).  Would be cool if there was a chemist or someone on here who had an idea what might be a smell-a-like compound.

That actually makes a bunch of sense. Perhaps it is certain compound combining with the ammonia that gives it such a distinctive smell. Also, that smell was fixed by the 90% water change that I did at the end of my cycle; in case you wondered.

[Rob22]

10 hours ago, empresto said:

So, just because I'm really interested to figure out exactly what causes this occasional cat pee smell in various aspects of reefing (mixed salt water that has sat for a while, the tank occasionally, other things), I have to be annoying and ask,"If it really is the ammonia in cat pee that gives cat pee its smell, why don't all types of pee smell like cat pee?"  I am 100% sure there is ammonia in any mammalian pee, so why is cat pee so distinctive?  There must be some other compound in cat pee that gives it that smell other than ammonia, and I am also 100% sure there is no ammonia in the stagnant mixed salt water I've gotten this smell from in the past (I test water that smells funny before I use it for water changes or throw it out).  Would be cool if there was a chemist or someone on here who had an idea what might be a smell-a-like compound.

I had a cat that almost died due to struvite crystals clogging its urethra multiple times so I was told this by the vet. There are a couple of reasons. Cat urine has a higher ammonia content than other animals urine. Diet plays a role as well as the fact that cats don’t drink much and a lot of them are technically in a constant state of dehydration. If your cats urine smells strongly of ammonia then your cat isn’t taking in enough water which is unbelievably common. Also, if a cat is properly hydrated their fresh urine will not have a strong ammonia odor. It will however develop the ammonia odor as the urine starts to decompose and breaks down to its components. Just like salt doesn’t evaporate from your tank, the ammonia doesn’t evaporate from the urine as fast as the water does leaving ammonia and other compounds. The strong ammonia odor is mostly associated with cats due to the fact that there aren’t many other animals that you allow to pee in a box in your house. 

[Clown79]

On 2/24/2019 at 11:14 PM, empresto said:

So, just because I'm really interested to figure out exactly what causes this occasional cat pee smell in various aspects of reefing (mixed salt water that has sat for a while, the tank occasionally, other things), I have to be annoying and ask,"If it really is the ammonia in cat pee that gives cat pee its smell, why don't all types of pee smell like cat pee?"  I am 100% sure there is ammonia in any mammalian pee, so why is cat pee so distinctive?  There must be some other compound in cat pee that gives it that smell other than ammonia, and I am also 100% sure there is no ammonia in the stagnant mixed salt water I've gotten this smell from in the past (I test water that smells funny before I use it for water changes or throw it out).  Would be cool if there was a chemist or someone on here who had an idea what might be a smell-a-like compound.

Cats have a higher level of ammonia present in their pee, it also depends on their diet, if they have crystal's in their bladder, also it's hard to say regarding smell, cats pee in a litter box so it's a pretty distinctive smell sitting in there...especially if the cat doesn't cover it.

 

I guess we'd have to test various species using a litter box to see the results.😁

[wetsocks]

Cat piss smells bad because they are a dessert animal.

 

Very little water is used during urination for survival purposes.

Humans by comparison have urine that is very diluted with water.

[empresto]

This is all fascinating information!  Thanks for all the responses to my question! 🙂  

 

Can't say I really want to be involved in the suggested litter box experiment; sounds disgusting! 😉