Yes, some fig trees do smell like cat pee because of the oil in the leaves. Some more than others. I had to move one out of an occupied room to another until it the Spring comes, then I will bring it outside.

Interesting. I've grown dozens of fig varieties and never had a smell issue, but anything is possible.

I can confirm that some varieties do have that cat urine smell when growing. My closed in porch smells like that every spring until I can place them outside permanently.

Yep. Last month was the first time I started some plants indoors to give them a head start for the Spring. As they grew, the more the room started to stink. There was actually a whole topic regarding this on another forum I belong to called OurFigs.com. Here it is: https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/486476-smelliest-fig-tree

They say to some people it smells like cat pee, and to others they smell like coconuts. heheh

I've often noticed a fig tree, not because I've seen it but because I've smelled it, then looked around and spotted it. The commonest variety here is Brown Turkey. The foliage has a very distinctive smell, not unpleasant to my nose, and for me evocative of warm weather and Mediterranean holidays. To me the smell is of fig tree, not of anything else.

Some have an odor while others very little, each season in our attached garage when i go near them i get a figgy odor when they start to leaf out . When they are outdoors in yard in full leaf if right up close i get a more faint smell because well there outside in a breeze here near the windy city.

Martin

I find the smell of fig trees pleasant, nothing like cat pee.

Even the dried fig leaves to me smell nice.

Hello Martin, nice to see your comment.

In your zone when do you start shutting your fig trees or do you ?

Cat pee or not, I am ready for Spring. My trees that I have stored in the garage are starting to wake up.

Some smell like cat pee, some are more pleasant. I like the smell of the varieties I have, but I would suggest overwintering the plant somewhere colder if it is coming out of dormancy when you expect temps as low as -14C. I just took my fig trees out of cold storage as we don't have any temps below freezing on the horizon.