Cat Pee

How many gallons of urine does a cat urinate in a lifetime? I wonder if anyone knows the answer to that question? I could do a study, perhaps weighing the amount of a pee ball in the litter box and could calculate the liquid amount by subtracting the total solids in each pee ball - ooh oh, I could scoop it out, weigh it, then bake the pee ball in one of those ovens in the chemistry lab at Ferrum and figure the difference in weight and determine the average amount of pee per pee ball and then determine the average amount a cat pees in a day and the average life span of a cat and WHAhLA! We can then convert grams to pounds, and then pounds to gallons.
WHY am I wondering this? Because cat urine has affected all of our lives, perhaps mine more than others... have you ever been driving to work and occasionally catch a wiff of cat pee? I have.
February 2004, Axton, VA
One morning I was in a rush to get to work. Being new and living 45minutes away, every second counts when trying to get to work on time. Dressed ready to inspect restaurants, coffee cup in hand, I grabed my purse and was out the door. Starting the car I inhale, pause, taste the air, then exhale. Is that cat pee I smell? Backing out of the drive way, Boo and Maynard barking furiously as I leave them, I smell it again. Oh god - did someone pee in the back seat? I sniff the air fiercely, big, heavy, long inhale, ssssnnnniiffff, and exhale, ahhhhh. The smell dissapears.
On my way down the road, winding through the forest and past the wildlife management area, the smell erupts again. Then dissapears just as fast. Again as I drive past the elementary school. I sniff over to the passenger seat - nothin'. Weird, where the hell is it coming from?
I arrive at work, whip into a parking space and am about to get out when, WHAM - uh, oh god - there it is again... Where the hell is it? I sniff the seats - my seat - No, the back seat - No.
Huh, I shrug and head in through the employee entrance. I slip into the kitchen to drop my lunch into the frige, spin on my heel and there it is again, but ever so faint. Oh dear.
Walking past the other's offices I try not to say hi unless they look at me - this is typical behavior in the morning for us all.
I sit down at my desk and take stock of what the morning will bring. I'm going out with John to do restaurants - where are we going? Hmm, I think he said a school cafeteria. Uh, am I smelling that piss again?
A co-worker comes into my office and sits down to talk, yet she doesn't stay long.
John pops in to make sure I am going out with him today, yep. Hey buddy, I wonder if he smells cat pee.
John leaves and the smell returns. I start sniffing again but still can't find it. So I bite the bullet and go into Amy's office, "Um, yeah, this might sound like a weird question, but uh, do you smell cat pee?"
She sits back in her chair, leaning away from me and looks at me odd, nods her head and says, "yeah. I do. I thought it was just really bad B.O. though."
Oh god - it IS me, I smell like freakin' cat piss!
Embarrassed, I trot back to my office and start smelling myself, sniff sniff sniff sniff sniff, arm - no, other arm - no, chest - no, shirt - YES! Oh god, it's my clothes!
Then I see it - my purse is hanging on a drawer knob. I snatch it up and plaster my face to the side and inhale, ssnnuufffffff - UGGH, gag, oh lord! F#!%ing CAT!
One cat - only one cat isn't neutered... yet. Sabastian.
The darn cat had backed his little butt up to my purse that was sitting on the kitchen counter and sprayed it - I mean soaked it. Then I snatched it up, throw it over my shoulder and rubbed that pee all over the side of my shirt.
So now I'm stranded at work, smelling like cat piss and am supposed to be going out telling other people that they need to clean their restaurant up!? While I smell like pee?
Yeah - so I can fully vouch for the power of Febreze - the stuff works. I re-saturated my shirt with the spray and left with John.
I returned to a scented candle burning in my office cubicle - as I had stunk up an entire end of the building!
How's that for an embarrasing day at work?
Oh, and by the way - Sabastian got neutered that Friday.