Dell Laptops, Now With Less Cat-Pee Scent

Dell swears it has resolved one of the weirder IT problems of late: Its laptops smelled like cat urine. Specifically, people who bought the Latitude E6430u have been complaining on user forums for months about the problem—and often blaming their cats, reports the BBC. The company first suggested wiping down the laptop with a cloth, and then advised squirts of compressed air, notes the Consumerist. But the odor always persisted.

Now Dell says it has figured out that an unspecified "manufacturing process" caused the problem and has since been fixed. "This smell is absolutely not urine or any other type of biological material," says a spokesperson, adding that the company plans to remedy the problem for already affected customers. Sample complaint from Dell's own support forum: "The machine is great, but it smells as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box. It is truly awful!" A forum on Reddit has been publicizing the issue as well. (More Dell stories.)