I'm not sure about the ingredients specific to tom-cats but usually the predominant smell from urine starts as its breaking down (which is why fresh urine doesn't smell too much) and it comes from bacterial action breaking down urea to produce ammonia, and breaking down proteins to produce thiols (a group which include some pretty repugnant smells like skunk spray and rotting flesh).

The reason bicarb works is that it oxidises the thiols to produce sulfonic acid (other oxidising agents like hydrogen perxide will work too, but is not as mild as bicarb and is more likely to bleach your fabric!)

 

Not directly related to cat-pee odour but just recently on a fast run up and down a couple of mountains my daughter decided to serve up the contents of her stomach. Stank like mad. Day after it happened I picked up some (so-called) odour removal stuff and applied it - totally useless - car still stank. Bought some bicarbonate of soda (now 2 stinking days after the incident) and put it over the affected area - half of the back seat - left it there for an hour and then hoovered it off. No more smell. After that, bought some Nildram textile cleaner for cars and cleaned up the stain. Job done.

Bicarbonate of soda is definitely worth trying first.

 

Did some more reading on baking soda:

I only use it in my pond for pH buffering, but it seems it has a lot more uses. Good thing I have a 25 kg bag in my garage

I'm not sure about the components of cat urine either, but I do know that ammonia smells exactly the same as cat urine to me.

ajm, one thing I wonder: cat faeces has a definite ammonia smell, just like fresh cat urine. That would suggest NH3/NH4 is already produced during digestion ?

 

I would guess this is because bacterial action has already started by the time it comes out the other end!

As far as I know, the only animals to directly produce ammonia (ammonium hydroxide) by digestion are fish. Mammals produce urea in urine or, in the case of birds, uric acid.

 

QUOTE - getting rid of cat pee?

Try citonella and bicarb of soda, put them in a bag and shake it together. Sprinkle it over the area, like shake and vac, then rub in gently with a damp cloth... let it dry completely, then hoover out... job done! works for sick too!!!