Shoes Smell Like Cat Urine

Boiling your clothes kills all bacteria. It worked for centuries before soap was made.

Just don't do anything stupid the day before the race. You don't want to ruin your shoes outright. If they're wearable, I would say just deal with it.

I own several brands of running "shoes" shall we just call them sneakers?

New Balance, Nike, Brooks, Asics, etc. all have some absorption material built into the heel. ALL my sneakers (oops, running shoes) begin to smell from the outside of the heel and not from sweat or moisture formed on the inside sole portion. If I use the same shoe everyday, it seems the pressure or force from walking or running creates friction which in turn creates heat. This heat causes a reaction with the chemical compound used in the manufacture of the heel.

The absolutely worst thing you can do is to apply more heat, hot water, dryer, gentle cycle wash etc. to the shoe. Try buying 2 to 3 pairs of your favorite running shoe and alternate pairs. Give the shoes a rest and you will find that the cat urine smell will dissipate albeit not entirely. As I have mentioned. How can ALL my shoes smell from the absolute OUTSIDE/BOTTOM heel and ONLY the heel?

I would be curious what a full investigation into this common phenomena would reveal. News at 11?

this happened to me recently. no cure. i even used the spray that kills the cat piss smell and the next time i ran it was back as bad as ever.

i just bought a new pair of kicks and am happier with the new ones.

This happens to me too. I have also noticed it got

worse after I moved to Texas. The combination of humidity

and heavy sweating does this to the shoes.

I just store my shoes outside.

Dude I saw South Park, you can get high on that!

outside?! i left mine outside after a series of disgustingly humid florida runs and i'm pretty sure that's what caused my stink. i'll never leave mine outside again.

yeah when your runners get wet and you keep wearing them bacteria grows on the inside and a normal wash will not get rid of it you need to go to a sports store or a drug store and buy a disinfectant for shoes and spray your shoes then wash then in a machine inside a pillow case 30degree Cel temp let them dry natural near a heater leave them for 3-4 days

What ever happened to Jennifer?

As long as it's my own cat I dont mind

Having been a devoted wearer of only New Balance shoes for nearly 20 years I can tell you the problem isn't a result of cats peeling in the shoes as some have said. I first noticed and reported the issue to New Balance way back in 2007 but looking at some of the earlier comments here, the issue goes back to 2005 for some as well. I too was quite puzzled back then what was causing my 1122 running shoes to produce a cat-urine like odor seeing that I don't own any pets and keep my shoes indoors.

The problem was never addressed, although I will say New Balance has some of the best customer service around. The problem is, they are the front line and have to field all of the complaints from people like us, but do so in a very professional manner. This problem then continued on with the 1123 model as well, and I have also noticed the issue in the 856 cross trainer. There are other models affected that I have read online, but don't personally wear.

The problem is the adhesives/glues that New Balance was/is using in their shoes. This material would break down when coming into contact with water, and then allowing water to get into the shoe and thus causing mildew, which is what is producing the cat urine-like odor. While New Balance continues to excel in customer service, they also continue to take a downward spiral in overall quality. Personally I think it is because of lesser grade material cutting production costs in my opinion, but it is clear that they have acknowledged the problem and take care of those who finally figure out to contact customer service, rather than toss the shoes away. This is a very large issue, and doing a recall of all models affected would cost the company several millions of dollars, which is why they gladly will take care of the customers who make the effort to contact THEM directly.

Some comments from other people online say to put your shoes in the washing machine...that is a MAJOR mistake and highly NOT recommended. These people seem to think it is something else causing the odor, but they clearly don't realize it is a water/moisture issue breaking down the glues, and in a washing machine, you are basically submerging them in....water which will cause the issue to intensify.

If you are experiencing cat urine-like odors, it's not something you have done, it is the materials in the shoe breaking down after coming into contact with moisture (sweat/water). Contact New Balance customer service, and they will take care of you. I have noticed that replacement of the same model shoe has not fixed the problem. The 1122 which had the issue was replaced with the 1123 which also had the issue. That model was replaced in late 2011 with the 1540 and so far I have not noticed the issue in that model shoe, although have noticed another issue unrelated in the two pairs of it I have owned.

My best advice, after contacting New Balance, at first try the same model shoe that you have noticed the problem in, and if the problem continues, then try a different model altogether. New Balance is beginning to re-number and redesign many of their shoes, and hopefully this issue will be a thing of the past soon, after 5 years, one would think it would have been resolved, but so far it hasn't completely.

I still support New Balance to this day, while this issue is extremely irritating, I have confidence it will be corrected soon, but overall they are my shoe of choice, and their customer service personal can't be beat.

Great anatomy lesson, never has anyone been more wrong about anything, it is the shoe not anatomy, New Balance 99 series stinks of urine when they get wet, Go USA craftmanship,

I don't know how many times I've posted this here. Wash your shoes. I mean, if you can run in the rain, why can't you WASH a pair of shoes? You can. I've been doing it for 20 years with no problems. Here's how.

Remove inserts. Put shoes inside a delicates bag to keep the laces from wrapping around the center post. If you cannot follow this simple instruction, then remove the laces and hand wash them.

Use COLD water only. Wash with nothing else in the washer but the shoes and the inserts. ADD A HALF CUP OF WHITE VINEGAR. Add some laundry detergent. Wash. Remove and air dry. DO NOT PUT IN THE DRYER!

Easy peasy... never had a problem in 20 years doing this except when the laces came undone and wrapped around the post. that's why you put each shoe in a delicates bag.

Leave them out in the sun- kills the bacteria... and they won't be stinking the house out

^^^^^^^^^^ spot on. when I drank more water the ammonia smell went away.

I bet she's hot as a firecracker! I'd love to see a picture

Impreesive jennifer! Thanks- that's a cool read!

J.R. wrote:

I bet she's hot as a firecracker! I'd love to see a picture

I bet she's a doctor.

My shoes do not smell on the inside as one would think. Mine, 5 pair, stink on the outside. When the bottom of the shoe gets wet it stinks and I can\'t get rid of the smell. Any suggestions for that?