Tips on Buying Cars: 2008 Camry interior odor smell, neighborhood cats, 2008 camry

Question
I bought my 2008 Camry in late March and have had it for 6 months. About a month ago the interior started to get a bad smell that comes and goes. I always park in the driveway. It smells like urine and kids are always complaining that it smell like someone "pee'd" in the car. Seats and carpet were not wet and do not smell. Do you have any idea what could be causing it? I seem to notice it when A/C is on, but I think it's also smelled when it's been turned off. It comes and goes. It's been doing this for about 1 month now.

Answer
Since you always park in the driveway (which implies it never gets parked in a closed garage), my best guess is that a small animal is climbing up into the engine area to get warmth from a recently-running engine.  (Neighborhood cats are very prone to do this, by the way.)  For whatever reason (fright, marking an area with their scent, etc...), they may have urinated in and around the air intake for the A/C and ventilation system.  This is located under the hood, at the base of the windshield.  It would explain why there's no odor in the carpet or fabric, but is strongest when you turn on the A/C.  Have your dealer's service department check out these areas to see if there's anything they might be able to do to reduce or eliminate the smell.