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Cats are naturally clean - Photo by ex.libris (Flickr) |
Cat body odor is quite rarely talked about in my experience so I talk about it here. Most commonly people discuss the odor of cat urine because of
inappropriate elimination. I am not, incidentally, writing about the general smell of cats in a cattery but the smell of individual cats. There is little about a cat's body odor in a general sense in the well known and respected:
Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook, Fully Revised and Updated
.
I was prompted to write about cat body odor after reading an excellent article by
Elisa Black-Taylor on cat sniffing! Yes, do you sniff your cat? If you feel frightened to bury your head into your cat's fur I would suggest that you are the wrong person to keep a cat and/or your relationship with your cat is not good enough.
The Standard Smell
I love to kiss my cats and when you do that you can smell them. My cats are both regular well cared for domestic cats. Their cat body odor could be described as very pleasant. Elisa calls it a nutty smell. I call it "clean-nutty" or "sweet-nutty".
I think, therefore, that we can describe the standard body odor of a standard well cared for domestic cat: clean-nutty. The smell of the cat tells us quite a lot about the lifestyle of the cat. It can also provided us with information about the cat's life history, believe it or not.
This is where cat sniffing becomes very interesting. Elisa is a seasoned cat sniffer and her comments are fascinating.
Cat Food
She says that some of the variations in a cat's odor comes from
the food the cat eats. Urban feral cats eat waste human food. Countryside feral cats eat wild animals. This can translate into a cat body odor in the same way that if person eats spicy food you can smell it on the skin of the person. That is the theory in any case.
Illness
I find that stray
cats who genuinely live outside do smell different. Despite the fact that they clean themselves as regularly as a domestic cat they invariably become dirtier and this results in a mangy type smell. Outdoor cats are more likely to become ill, be unable to groom themselves and become dirty. Some illnesses have an impact on cat body odor too, which is a diagnostic aid to a veterinarian.
Bad breath will cause the air around a cat to smell but obviously this is not to be confused with body odor. This is a fairly common cause of foul smelling cats. Bad breath can be caused by mouth disease or
kidney failure (uremic breath).
And neither is the smell of the substance emitted by the
anal sacs that is musky smelling. The smell of anal sacs can be an indication of an infected anal sac or abscess. See also:
Diet Pills For Cats?
A cat having difficulty in grooming him or herself may acquire feces and urine on the long fur around the rear end. This will obviously cause bad body odor. The cause is most likely obesity and/or arthritis
and old age. Poor grooming may result in a matted, dirty coat, which will naturally smell dirty rather than the clean-nutty smell described.
Two other illnesses that have a negative impact on cat body odor are,
ear mites and ear infections and autoimmune diseases that attack the cat's skin.
Skin disease, such as a bacterial skin infection, can also change the odor. (See
Natural Cure For Cat Ear Infections). Seborrhea is a skin condition that can cause an oily scaly skin and which has "an unpleasant odor..."
1. Stud tail is similar to acne being caused by an over secretion of the sebaceous glands. The hair at the base of the tail at the top becomes matter and greasy and smells rancid
1.
Skin Complaint
A visitor commented about a musky unpleasant smell coming off his cat's coat (as the smell was transferred to the person's hand when petting). Please see the comment below. I suggested feline seborrhea. This can be a secondary or primary complaint. The treatment is an antiseborrheic shampoo and omega-3 fatty acid supplements. This cause of cat odor is just another option to be checked out by a vet.
Abandonment
It appears that people sometimes lie about the reasons for abandoning their cats to
shelters. Elisa fosters shelter cats and she can tell if the former owner is lying by sniffing the cat! For example a person might bring in a cat that they say was a stray that they just picked up. The cat might smell of a stray cat or the cat might smell sweet-nutty or of cigarettes as Elisa said.
In conclusion, cat body odor informs us about a cat's life in much the same way that, for example, a man's hands might inform us about a man's working life - labourer or desk worker.
The smell is dictated by the cat's cleanliness, diet, illness and in some cases sex/neutering (Intact, unneutered, tom cats can have a smell that is described as "pungent") . Cats have a finely tuned and sensitive sense of smell. They recognise us by our smell. They recognise each other by their smell. I can give a good example of how important body odor is to cats. I used to keep a brother and sister. They knew each other intimately. The sister fell into some paint. I had to bathe her all over. This temporarily took away her body odor. Her brother hissed at her as if she was a stranger!
Note:
1. Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook page 156.
From Cat Body Odor to Home Page
Comments
http://pictures-of-cats.org/anal-sac-problems-in-cats-a-painful-kitty-condition.html
And perhaps take her to the vet. Thanks for commenting and sharing.
If he still has a smell and if he looks ill or is behaving differently to normal then consider taking him to the vet. Thanks for commenting.
If it is not stress it will be skin irritation due to such things as an allergy. Really I'd recommend a visit to the vet to discuss these issues urgently. Thanks for commenting.
Weve taken our cat to the vet several times and they can not figure out why his fur smells so bad.
It is a very strong musky fecal like smell that can be smelled from as little as 3 feet away. Petting him will pass the smell to your hand.
No medical conditions have been found as of yet although I dont think our vet is going out of their way to diagnose. They just say hes bigger and may have a hard time cleaning himself.
Ive watched him, he cleans himself just fine. Have you ever given a cat a bath? Because I give him monthly baths and let me tell ya... When hes wet, the smell becomes 10 times as strong.
He is 7 years old and this started when he was 5. He developed a large mat in his fur on his lower back and it could not be groomed out. Our vet ended up putting him under and then shaving him.
We have done this again aa once his fur gets too long, he gains a mat in that spot. I now regularly trim his back with kitty clippers (he actually likes this) and it has kept the mat away.
Short fur or not... I cant get rid of the smell, even a bath lathered in soap (im careful not tobget his ears wet) does nothing to eliminate the smell.
Weve put ear drops in his ears. Ive wiped his head with kitty wipes.
Nothing helps.
The only thing Ive read hear is the bad breath issue although this smell is way too strong to be from him passing his bad breath I would think.
I feel like this is some sort of skin disease. It seems its all over him and it cant be washed out
Id appreciate any help at all this has been straining our relationship with our cat and id like to be able to pet him without having to wash hands after.
Thank you!
Has your vet eliminated feline seborrhea. This can take an oily form that has an unpleasant odor. The coat may feel greasy. The skin along the back is rich in sebaceous glands which may account for the matting on the lower back.
Seborrhea can be a primary condition or caused by another illness of some sort. Can you respond by telling me if your vet has ticked off this possibility?
I dont know if the vet has checked this off butbIm guessing not since they offered no specifics.
I think we are going to take him to a new vet and specifically ask about this.
Can you tell me....
Is feline seborrhea capable of producing the smell of the strength that I described?
And any idea what treatments are available? Is it curable or something to maintain?
Thank you very much again. This makes a ton of sense
Were setting up a new vet appt to see if they can diagnose this and a cause.
Ill keep you up to date on how the treatmemts work out.
Thanks!