I don't think cats smell - do you?

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

Not a TAAT - (but triggered by another thread.)
I don't believe I'm nose blind. I have just deeply sniffed all four of the Grumpy cats 😹 and I don't believe they smell of anything.

Please note I'm not daft -

• Yes, cat pee and crap smells,
• Yes, a litter tray does smell just after a cat has just been in, (but then again, so do human toilets)
• And yes, if a cat is peeing where it shouldn't in the house then that is likely to smell really bad.

But whereas I can almost always tell if a dog lives in a house (due to doggy body odour permeating soft fabrics etc.), I can't smell cats in other people's houses.
So I maintain that a healthy cat, in itself, does not smell
Am I right?

My cat smells gorgeous and I love to bury my face in his fur and have a really big sniff. He's quite old now and I want to bottle his smell for after he's gone. I've never met a dog I'd want to do that to even a freshly cleaned and groomed one.

My cat smells like nothing, it's like inhaling a warm cloud. My parents cat was a long hair and for some reason he never washed his tail - it smelt like old books!

However cats litter trays and food do smell, but kept to a minimum with cleaning.

Dogs smell much worse, especially certain breeds, they smell like rancid oil. I hate it when you pet a dog and your hand is all greasy.

If you don't have pets yourself then you can 100% smell a house which does have cats. Dogs do smell stronger but to me, cats smell gross (sorry!)

My cat smells outdoor fresh or woolly if he hasn’t been out. Lovely

Yes - should have added to my list in the OP that cat food can smell pretty rank.

My cat smells as does my dog. The cat isnt healthy, it has continence issues.

I personally find the dog smell is more pleasant than the cat smell.

Another aspect is there is a wide range in ability to smell.

So 'I can't smell the cat' does not actually mean the cat doesn't smell.

Completely agree with this. You can smell a cat house immediately. You can also smell someone who lives in a cat house. Having a cat makes you immune to the smell. Previous cat owner here, only started to notice when I became cat free

No need to apologise - I'm genuinely curious to hear opinions.

So what do cats smell of to you?

So what do cats smell of to you?

well, they smell like cat
sorry, can't really describe it.

🤣

Our cat smelt "warm" with cheesy wotsit paws (those were rank) ...but every now and then she smelt of old lady hand cream 🤔

I can’t smell cats in people’s houses. I have one cat. I can always smell dog and I hate the smell of dog. Maybe I nose blind to cats though 🤷🏻‍♀️

Cats have a good sense of smell.
Most healthy cats don’t stink.
You would smell if your cat did stink.
Your cat would smell if you stank.

I remember an old joke about someone accused of smelling and the punchline was that I do indeed smell (verb) but the person accusing 'stinks'. Does anyone remember it?

Cats have an odour. And some are definitely stinky (generally having to do with what they are eating/heath issues).

But by fear the stinkiest things about cats are their wet food and litter trays.

You can think whatever you want, but you’re wrong. They stink.

They do smell - all animals smell - and personally I do think it's pretty daft when pet owners say otherwise.

I have three cats and a dog, and also run my own pet-sitting/dog walking business. You absolutely can smell that there are cats in houses, just as you can smell dogs.

That doesn't mean the smell is offensive (though it definitely can be at times!) but it's definitely there.

My cat smells like dust, they are an outside cat now though. I can't usually smell cats if there's no indoor litter tray but I am probably nose blind. I used to smell cat in my own house even without a litter tray when I had boy cats so I assume others smell cat when they come to mine now. Dogs stink though even when they are kept very clean, I can smell a dog even at the other end of a train carriage!

Cats themselves don’t smell, litter trays 100% do

My aunty is a cat lady and tbh I can smell the cats 2 of them when I walk in I don't go much as I don't want cat hair on me and the smell of the little tray is rank . My neighbor has a dog and when I go round that's the first thing I can smell is the dog little one but I can still smell it .
My sister as a hamster and I can smell that it stinks of piss .
I like animals but I'm not a pet person I think that because I don't have any I can smell them in peoples homes no matter how clean you are .

You've gone nose blind to it. Honestly they do smell.

I'm really not a cat person, I find living with one fairly unpleasant, but am currently putting up with it for DPs sake (after 15 years of her putting up with not having one despite a lifetime of cats)

For me it's not the cat that smells, its everything that goes along with the cat. The whole litter tray situation bothers me hugely, I find cat shit stinks the house out for hours afterwards, even if cleaned straight away. Luckily for me our cat will only shit inside in the direst of emergencies, much prefers to be in the garden, and I'd much rather get up at 4am to let her out if needed.

It's the cat food that really gets me though, it's stinks, and she's a little and often eater, so there's always half a bowl sitting in the kitchen, it does my nut in.

Same!!! I absolutely love sniffing my cat's paws 🥰

They probably do have "a smell" which is more obvious to weirdos people who don't have cats, but not as strong as dogs, not hard to clean and not unpleasant.

Except piss. Dear bloody god that's bad!