Why cat urine smells so bad: Scientists reveal what causes the unique stench - ... trends now
No matter how cute they might be, there is no denying that cats' urine really stinks - particularly when sprayed.
Scientists have never been exactly sure why sprayed urine smells worse than what's left in the litter tray, but now some believe they have found the answer.
Researchers from Iwate University, Japan discovered that cats' urine contains high levels of a protein called cauxin.
They suggest that this chemical increases the urines 'wettability', meaning it sticks to surfaces and dries quickly - releasing lots of smelly volatile compounds.
If you're sick of your house stinking, thankfully scientists say there's a simple way to eliminate cat odour.
Scientists have revealed that cats' urine smells worse when it is sprayed due to a protein called cauxin which makes the urine stick to surfaces
Cats, like many other animals, communicate with each other through scent and will spray their urine on vertical surfaces like walls and trees.
But for the humans that have to deal with their cat's scent messages, the results are an extremely pungent odour.
Until recently, some scientists thought that cats' urine smelled worse when it was sprayed because it contained additional chemicals from anal sac secretions.
To put this theory to the test, scientists took samples of sprayed urine, normal urine, and urine collected directly from cats' bladders using urethral catheters.
When these samples were chemically analysed the urine from each cat had a high degree of similarity, regardless of where they came from.
The behaviour of cats who smelled the samples also suggests that samples from one animal smell the same whether they are sprayed or not.
This indicates that sprayed urine and urine in the litter tray are actually the same at the chemical level, even though they smell very different to a human observer.
However, during their testing, the researchers noticed that cat urine samples 'easily adhered' to the inside of the plastic
