Cat smells when happy

IndyJones

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Does anyone else have a cat who smells bad when happy? Indy will sometimes empty her anal glands if I'm cuddling her which she loves. It smells horrible and is very hard to get the smell off her and myself.

She has been to the vet for her annual check up and shots, I mentioned it there but the vet said there was nothing wrong with her glands.

I have never had a cat who did this before. How common are skunk cats?
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I have never noticed Feeby actually expressing them BUT she will shake her tail/booty when she is happy or excited about something and I have always been afraid this would end up with her spraying (however, it never has, thankfully). So, now that you mention what your cat is doing, it could be what Feeby is doing during those happy moments, as her booty smells pretty bad sometimes. I thought it was because she wasn't cleaning herself well enough (and, that could still be part of the issue). At any rate, I use unscented, hypoallergenic wipes to clean her behind a few times a week (her 'booty duty' routine), and that removes the smell and 'gunk'. Btw, she didn't do this when she was younger - just in the past few years (she is 15+ yo), and also now that you bring this up, she had a bout or two a couple of years ago when the vet expressed her anal glands for her as they were 'clogging up'. Hmmm...
 
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IndyJones

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Indy absolutely loves to be cuddled and drools and purrs like a Cadillac and even goes limp when picked up like a ragdoll (she doesn't look like one though) I'm not sure if she just gets so relaxed that she loses control of her glands or if she gets so happy she sprays.

I just know it smells terrible. She is a fairly clean cat for the most part not a neat freak like my other cat but still clean enough. She does not like it when I clean her butt after she skunks though. I use toilet paper and warm water since I can just flush it down the toilet. Septic systems don't like wipes or anything other than toilet paper so not sure that's an option.
 

FeebysOwner

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I use toilet paper and warm water since I can just flush it down the toilet. Septic systems don't like wipes or anything other than toilet paper so not sure that's an option.
Maybe something like this that is flushable - they might be softer than even toilet paper - and, perhaps clean the smell away better???
 
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RangersMom

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Does anyone else have a cat who smells bad when happy? Indy will sometimes empty her anal glands if I'm cuddling her which she loves. It smells horrible and is very hard to get the smell off her and myself.

She has been to the vet for her annual check up and shots, I mentioned it there but the vet said there was nothing wrong with her glands.

I have never had a cat who did this before. How common are skunk cats?
Ugh! I have a cat who will release his anal glands when hes extremely happy. Hes purring and doing the elevator butt, and we're petting and loving on him, and he will release them (sometimes). I agree, its SO gross. But it shouldnt happen often. Once they release their glands, they should be empty and take a while to build up again. We never get our cats glands expressed at the vet, they usually express them themselves when pooping. But maybe talk to your vet again or groomer about expressing their glands?
 

Hellenww

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My Monkey girl always had what I thought of as toxic gas when she was in the purr zone. She kept herself clean so I never so a dirty bottom but I wonder if she was releasing her anal glands now. I also figured she was so relaxed she just let it go.
 
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