Stinky Cat

[Mother Love]

We have a male cat. He's an indoor/outdoor cat. When he comes in from
outside, he stinks! There has been another stray coming around and
fighting with my cats and I think my cat is marking his territory. (?)

Is there anything that I can spray or sprinkle on him that will make him
smell better? He makes the whole house smell! I want something natural
and something that I can use from my own kitchen or bathroom.

I was going to try baking soda but since cat's lick themselves all the time
I wasn't sure if it would hurt him. I have essential oils what about them?

 

[SmokeyBear]

NO! No essential oils; please do not use them as they are poison to animals.

You can try what people use to de-stink animals who had a rendevouz with a skunk: tomato juice. Take a towel wet with tomato juice and give the cat a dry bath (unless you can actually give the kitty a wet bath and then you can use water and tomato juice). Parsely is another safe item that you can try; rub parsely all over the kitty. Parsely gets rid of difficult and strong odors very well.

They also make moist towelettes for dry bathing cats and dogs and you can get these at most pet stores like Petco and Petland and PetSmart, etc.

I know this may or not be something you can do, but....I would try to keep your cats in your house and make them housecats; cats can get horrible injuries from fighting with other cats and they can be life threatening. Not to mention the other animals like racoons that endanger them, and asswipes with guns, and all the cars that hit them accidently, and the people who poison and hurt cats out there, etc. Housecats have longer life spans.

Good luck!

 

[Dennis Olson]

Mythbusters proved that tomato juice is worthless against stink. You can go to Petsmart or Petco and get some of their anti-stinky-kitty stuff. Lots to choose from.

 

[diamonds]

I have heard than a paste of baking soda left on for 10 minutes followed by a vinegar rinse will get rid of the majority of the smell. This method can be used whenever needed. No chemicals or problems for the animal.

 

[Trek]

a paste of baking soda left on for 10 minutes followed by a vinegar rinse

I'm sorry, but I can just picture the poor kitty wildly running through the house with "volcanic action" bubbling up off his fur!

Baking soda and vinegar are great for getting rid of odors (and clearing kitchen sink drains), but hopefully Petco will have a less eruptive solution.

 

[SAR01]

I beg to differ with Tomato juice.. it DOES work.. had a dog get sprayed full on.. and went and got 3 cans of TJ, (it was summer) so we just poured it over her, let it sit as we worked it in the fur.. 10 minutes then rinsed, shampooed and rinsed again. the trick is to let it sit on the fur.

if the kitty stinks.. there is either something wrong with it, or the stench is from something they have on them.. maybe a male cat sprayed them? maybe their glands are clogged? maybe an infection in his ears. a healthy cat will not stink....look for what is causing the smell.

we had a male and before it got neutered it came home and reeked... the scrotum had been sliced and a testicle was exposed. (poor thing) but the reek was sickening. (this was before I learned about cats.) the ones I have are all contained in enclosed areas and all
fixed" and I practice preventive meds. ear cleaning, worming, etc.

good luck

 

[TerriHaute]

Here's the recipe that is supposed to work for skunk spray - it should do the trick for your cat:

1 quart of FRESH hydrogen peroxide (available at your local drugstore or grocery store in the health care aisle)

1/4 cup baking soda

1 teaspoon liquid soap

Do NOT attempt to save any of this mixture that you do not use immediately. Because of the combination, it will build up tremendous pressure in any closed container, with risk of explosion.


Good luck,
Terri in Indiana

 

[diamonds]

I'm sorry, but I can just picture the poor kitty wildly running through the house with "volcanic action" bubbling up off his fur!

Baking soda and vinegar are great for getting rid of odors (and clearing kitchen sink drains), but hopefully Petco will have a less eruptive solution.

Use them seperate . First baking soda. Rinse with water and a final rinse with vinegar. I forgot the step in between the two. The mental picture was beyond funny

 

[Mother Love]

Thanks for all the tips.

I'm going to try some of the homemade ones and when I get a chance to go
to a large grocery store I'm going to look for the wipes.

Thanks!

 

[Melodi]

You can also bath the cat. Best way for a cat that is not used to it is to use the "kitty off button" at the back of the neck. This is not a good way to hold an adult cat for any length of time, but will work in an emergency. Try to support his back legs while you do this.

Fill up bath tub or kitchen sick. Spray attachments are best for a cat who is not used to the process, as they are going to hate you and try to run away anyhow. So make it as quick as possible. Dunk kitty in warmish (but not really hot) water and keep holding on to the neck spot. This is easier with two people.

Suds kitty down with cat shampoo (use Johnson and Johnson's baby shampoo in a pinch) lather quickly then rinse, using spray hose if you have one.

Have a big dry towl to wrap kitty in until he runs away. Never do this in a room where the cat can get outside afterwards. Now, let kitty run under the bed and sulk. He will love you again, it just make take few hours until he is hungry.

Keep him inside until he is completely dry, preferably all the time if this is a big problem. Also, if cat is not "fixed" call the vet and get him neutered. Tom cats tend to smell, they just do. And, if he keep fighting anyway, keep him inside or face big vet bills. Cats can and do really hurt each other. We just had to ban my cat Thor from going outside at all, as he tried to kill my elderly alpha barn cat male. And, if my husband had not been in earshot, would likely have done so.

Hope this helps,

Melodi/DisasterCat

PS - the other suggestings are good too. Use the wipes if you just can not face the bath. Or take kitty to the vet for a bath if things really terrible, then keep him indoors and/or build him a run.

 

[Willow]

The odor is a symptom of something. Masking the odor isn't going to cure the probl;em. I guess the question to ask first is what does he smell like? Cat urine/spray? Infection? Something else?

Since you said he is fighting with other cats a couple of things come to mind. Is this cat neutered? Neutering an older cat doesn't always eliminate all bad tom cat behaviors but it does help in the long run. He will either stop spraying or spray less...months down the road. He will also reduce the number of fights he gets into although it isn't likely to stop the fights. The stinky result of most cat fights are absesses and they really smell bad because of the infection. Fewer fights will reduce the chance and frequency of abesses.

While I can imagine that having a smelly cat running around can be frustrating, the best way to fix the problem is find the cause and fix that. Masking the odor may be an ongoing project with not so great results.

Willow

 

[yellowsprings]

Here's the recipe that is supposed to work for skunk spray - it should do the trick for your cat:

1 quart of FRESH hydrogen peroxide (available at your local drugstore or grocery store in the health care aisle)

1/4 cup baking soda

1 teaspoon liquid soap

Do NOT attempt to save any of this mixture that you do not use immediately. Because of the combination, it will build up tremendous pressure in any closed container, with risk of explosion.


Good luck,
Terri in Indiana

I have used this recipe and it really does work! My dog was sprayed in the face and neck last fall. We could only use this recipe on the neck area. I researched online and found the douche (yes douche) would work and is mild. I purchased the liquid douche and the douche wipes. I used the wipes on his face around his eyes and nose. It really did work! Even though most of the smell was gone, I wiped his face a few times a day for two days.

It was all DH and I could do to contain our laughter while wiping the dogs face with douche!

 

[Mother Love]

No, my kitty isn't getting into fights. There is a stray cat that visits our house and
get's into fights with some of my other outside cat's. Not this one. He has no
injuries.

He got hit by a car last year and broke his hip and we keep him in the house and
we got very attached to him and while they were fixing his hip we got him
neutered or whatever it is that you do to male cat's.

I really can't stop him from going outside. I open the door to go out and he runs
out, it's in his nature to go out and hunt or plaly but he always wants to come
back in.

Since this happened I have been letting him stay in longer and longer. Yesterday
he did not stink, but then I havn't seen the other kitty either.

I haven't seen it come around so much since I shot at it with an air gun. I did not
hit it, I was just trying to scare it. I love kittys, well maybe not that one.

 

[Willow]

No, my kitty isn't getting into fights. There is a stray cat that visits our house and
get's into fights with some of my other outside cat's. Not this one. He has no
injuries.

Can you describe the odor? Urine, rotten smell, fecal material, etc? It could be that he is rolling in something...although cats usually don't do this like dogs do. If there is another cat roaming that cat may come after your cat and your cat may, in fear, urinate on himself. I guess if you could some how identify the odor we could figure out what the problem is.

Infection smells should be there continuously as long as the infection remains. Urine smells would disappear after the cat came in the house and cleaned himself. Does he spend a lot of time cleaning after one of his stinky adventures outside?

Willow