Why does my shower smell of cat wee??

We no longer share our living space with a kitty, and have never done so in this home. This will be our 3rd June (our third winter) in this home.  All of a sudden the drain in our shower stall is reeking of cat wee each evening, getting stronger until the morning, no matter what I do.

I've checked that no feral cats are spraying outside, and spread cat deterrent around the building. I've scrubbed the shower, cleaned the drain, poured disinfectants and anti-fungals/anti-bacterials down the drain. Nothing works. 

I can't begin to tell you how overpowering this stench is. It's eye-watering, and definitely coming from the drain. Please, help me overcome it.

White King - half a bottle, or thereabouts - down the drain, and let it sit for a good few hours before washing down.  I know you've done it... this is for over-kill.

Any exhaust vents in the room?  Especially in the ceiling?   Yes, I know the smell is coming from the drain, but we have to exhaust (sorry) all the options.  I was going to say pussibilities, but that'd be too much.

Also, any chance of creating a cross-draught, just so that there's fresh air moving through the room?

A few further thoughts... are you absolutely sure the pong is coming from the drain?  Have you blocked it off with towels or newspapers or something and not had the smell there?

Is anyone using silicone caulking compound nearby?  This can give off a very strong acetic acid (vinegar gone wrong) smell as it cures.

If this is a recent development, you need to ask yourself what has changed that could be producing this overpowering stench.  It may not be attributable to cats at all.  Could it be traced to sewage back-up, decaying vegetation or animal matter, some material used in construction/maintenance of the shower area that has become exposed to the air, etc.?  If you have near neighbors, are any of them experiencing something similar?

No exhaust fan. 

The way the stall is built, the cubicle is almost it's own little microcosm, with no cross-draught etc. Closed the bathroom window and the door, the smell got stronger and it was all inside the shower stall coming from the drain, almost none outside the stall.

Poured 5litres bleach down there twice. And toilet cleaner with disinfectant(2litres).  And bicarb with water, then plain vinegar. Eucalyptus oil. De-moulded/de-scummed the shower glass and tiles, three times. Can't remember what else I've tried.

It's been three weeks? Unlikely caulk from somewhere else is landing up seeping through our drain...

Is this a dedicated pipe or is the piping connected to other plumbing fixtures in the house, a toilet or slop sink for example that could be leaching fumes due to a clog in the system? Is the drain pipe discharging above ground only or is there some contact with the ground enabling the pipe to absorb odors in that fashion? Could the composition/condition of the pipe itself be contributing to the problem?

Good questions. Rented apartment, so can't answer completely, but we do know the shower itself doesn't discharge above ground. None of the other drains smell, nor are any running slow. So there don't appear to be clogs or obstructions.

As mentioned before, there is an overflow point through the external bathroom wall but nothing in its vicinity smells of cats, and I've blocked animal access to the area (without impeding its function). The smell isn't coming from there.

Joanne:

We just pulled up our shower floor and found that water was getting around the top of the floor and into the pan and then sitting there and not reaching the drain. There also was a crack in the floor tiles that let in water to the pan that sat there. There was about an inch of water continuously under the floor tile and not draining out, and at times the bacteria smelled like urine.

The solution involved removing the floor to repitch the pan to encourage water to get to the right place; caulking the tile where the wall met the floor so that water did not get in; and then rebuilding the floor tiles.

Even if you have a plastic floor (continuous with no seams), these can deflect a bit when you stand in them, creating a gap between the drain and the floor, or between the wall and the floor, allowing water to settle in the pan beneath the floor.

This sounds like a problem you should really really refer to your landlord.

Useful suggestion: thanks! Biggest problem is there no agent (we deal direct with the landlord, sadly) and he's in the UK. Insists on doing all repairs himself (which is why so much of this place is barely legal).

We'll let him know.

Tell the landlord that what you have is a health hazard and that you would really, really, hate to have to notify the local authorities...

well, it turns out that Joan and you may have had an inkling of something as the cause but the landlord can't do a thing about it.

Had a very informative chat with a former tenant of the front appt. She used to have the same problem - coinciding with certain high tides. She complained to City Council; was informed that the street's common drain has a basic processing substation at the beach end of our street (on the Broadwater). Late at night it empties, directly into the Broadwater. When high tide is a certain height, it washes back up the street... {shudder}

Solution: a bottle or two of CLR down the sink for a few days to push everything far away.

Also, I'm never swimming in the Broadwater again.

Glad you found the answer to your question and a possible solution to the problem. Let us know if the CLR works.

It sounds to me as if what your landlord is doing with that place is NOT quite legal and certainly not sanitary. I can't believe that he's operating within the local building codes if that is happening. Weren't you talking about moving again? Seems like a very good idea.

Moving will cost more than we can afford just now. Stuck here for a bit.

Reno's were done before we moved in, and had to be passed by a building inspector. Also, the lease has to meet certain State conditions although it only just squeaks by. Luckily, the longer he knows us, the less inclined he is to argue but this is an investment property for him after all, and he owns several. Eh.

The pong, though, that's another matter and is stormwater/sewer-drain driven. Halfway down the street. And Council won't do a thing about it. Too many houses affected, but not the millionaires' houses.

Tempting to bring in the media... I can't imagine having to live with that.