How sensitive is a cat’s nose toward dish soap ?

[thefishyone]

So I just washed out Terra’s water dish (Hey, it’s been a little while) with dish soap and water. I thought I did a good job of thoroughly washing out the soap, but when I offered it to Her Royal Imperial Kittyness, she took a whiff and literally turned her nose up at it. I usually wash her didh out with just water, but I wanted to make it nice and spiffy for my kitty. Are cats particularly sensitive to the smell of liquid dish soap, or is she just being a goofy kitty?

 

[fionasmom]

They may be, especially citrus scented soaps. Everything I use is unscented for the animals and there has not been a problem with dishes. Could this be for another reason....sure. I would rewash the dish and get some unscented soap and see what happens. Was any other food waste in the dish water at the same time that might have left a smell?

 

[thefishyone]

The dish soap I used was unscented, and I did wash it again. This time, she ignored it and didn’t go for a drink.

After washing it again, I stuck my nose in it to smell it, and I couldn’t smell anything. It could also be that she wasn’t actually thirsty to begin with and was just inspecting it to ensure it met her standards (Terra will often do this, even with my food. I call her the Official People Food Inspector of my apartment because of this). Terra is a very finicky cat, and will not eat or drink anything, including people food, that doesn’t meet her standards of taste and smell, particularly smell.