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?

I used to have a cat and she didn’t smell. Not had one for years sadly but many of my friends and family have between 1 and 3 moggies and none of them smell. Their breath can be none too pleasant but not their bodies. I have a very keen sense of smell and have really come across a dog I don’t find off-puttingly pongy. The only vaguely fragrant one are my friends whippet, and another friends Sheltie. The rest I know are adorable but stinky.

Yeah I think they smell just fine

Only unneutered males smell

Only unneutered males smell

Some might but it isn’t inevitable.

Cats don’t smell because they have evolved not to. They are meticulous about grooming for two reasons: being smelly will alert predators to their presence and, conversely, it will alert their own prey to their presence.

Neither scenario conducive to a long and happy life.

I've got 2 healthy dogs and 2 healthy cats. The dogs can smell if they get wet. The cats don't smell. No litter trays in our house the cats use a large mound in our garden with sand, sawdust and soil. DH rakes over it and adds fresh sand every few months.