Posted: Feb. 27, 2009, 3 a.m. EST
Q: My 1½ year-old female indoor cat has strong-smelling urine and recently it has been smelling even stronger. We have another female cat; she is 9. Both cats eat only wet food, but only one has the strong-smelling urine. Perhaps this is not the right kind of food for her to eat.
A: I don’t believe that the food you are feeding is the cause of the foul urine odor, since your other cat’s urine does not have a strong smell. Foul-smelling urine can be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI). Most cats with a UTI have other signs, such as an increased frequency of urination, straining to urinate, urinating in inappropriate places and sometimes seeing blood in the urine, but not always. You should bring your cat into your veterinarian and have a urinalysis and urine culture performed. If these tests come back negative, then you have nothing to worry about. If an infection is present, treatment with antibiotics is usually successful at eradicating it.