Cat urine. Ammonia poisoning.

[Carla1109]

Okay so I’ll try make this as short as possible but I’m worried about the health of my oldest friend and her children..
Her home stinks of cat urine, she has a male cat and he has sprayed and will wee everywhere and anywhere.
Her son (1yr) has been ill for nearly 2 months, theyve now been told he has a lung infection in both lungs.
My friend also had a chest infection a few weeks back and her husband suffers from Asthma and has had many attacks recently.
As everyone knows cat urine has ammonia in. I think they might have ammonia poisoning. When I say her home stinks of urine I don’t mean it lightly, I don’t go there because of this.
Anyway I’m really worried that their Ill health has been because of the high amounts of ammonia at the home.
I’ve tried saying to her as nicely as possible about this and have mentioned it again tonight, I just don’t think she’s really listening and I don’t want to keep going on at her about it incase she takes it the wrong way.. I sent her screenshots of ammonia poisoning but I just don’t think she thinks it’s that and it’s just that he’s poorly and not because of the cat..
I don’t know what to do, she’s a been my best friend for nearly 20 years and I don’t want to offend her but I also don’t want her or the children to get any more poorly 😞
I was going to talk to her Mum about it because maybe it’ll sink in more if it comes from someone else but I don’t want her to think I’ve gone behind her back which I’m not, I’m just genuinely concerned and worried 😟
Someone help? What do I do?

[WelshMoth]

This is a tough one OP. Do you know what surgery they're registered with? Can you have a quiet word with the Health Visitor and suggest they contact her? You sound very caring and I know you don't want her to get into trouble, but this sounds grim,

Failing that, Id even contact her GP and stress your concerns.

[Carla1109]

Yeah I do but like you said I dont really want to get her into trouble or anything 🙈
What are your thoughts on me speaking to her Mum? And maybe if that doesn't work then go through her gp x

[ScreamingValenta]

I can't advise on what to do re. the DCs' health but as regards the cat, has he been castrated? That normally stops spraying behaviour. If not, could you encourage her to get this done - if she's struggling to afford it I believe help is available from the PDSA. A castration not only discourages spraying but also makes the urine less pungent. Sorry only to advise on a small aspect of the problem, OP and hope you get advice about the wider and more urgent issue.

[Carla1109]

Hi, yeah she's been mentioning getting it done for a while now but hasn't done it. I'm so worried about falling out with her over this because that's the very last thing I want🙈 but she really needs to fix the problem before the children get anymore ill 😔

[ScreamingValenta]

Take a hand if you can, OP, and get a neutering appointment booked at the vet ASAP. Once this has been done, she will need to thoroughly clean the house with a urine eliminator product. If you're concerned about offending her, you could mention that it will make the cat more affectionate and less likely to stray and get lost; as well as ensuring he doesn't father literally hundreds of unwanted kittens. Castrating him will stop the urine issue and at least make sure her DCs health doesn't get any worse.