A very strong ammonia smell to an animal's urine could indicate which condition?

A very strong ammonia smell to an animal's urine is indicative of a bacterial infection in the urinary tract. This kind of infection often leads to the breakdown of urea into ammonia more extensively than normal. In a typical absence of infection, urine will have some urea, which is then converted to ammonia in smaller quantities. However, when bacteria are present, they can produce enzymes such as urease, facilitating this conversion to a significant degree, thus increasing the ammonia levels.

The presence of a strong ammonia smell can serve as a warning sign of underlying health issues that may need immediate veterinary attention. While dehydration, a high protein diet, and kidney stones can also contribute to altered urine characteristics, they do not specifically correlate with the strong ammonia odor in the same direct way that a bacterial infection does.