Cats breath has a floral smell

[heatherwillard0614]

Hi all. I adopted my baby girl Gabby from the local shelter last August. She has always been a super clean kitty. She was recently spayed 2 weeks ago and obviously with a cone on she couldn't clean herself. my cat does clean herself obsessively (not to the point of causing bald spots or anything bad like that, just a lotttt) Since having her cone on and not being able to lick herself she has been licking blankets and the inside of her cone and even tries to lick us. She licked my nose and I smelled the smell of her. I never knew where the smell was coming from as we have a clean home for the most part. Anyway her breath has a very slight floral smell. Which is the normal smell of her. Has anyone ever had a cat with good smelling breath like flowers? It is not sweet or anything just kind of flowery. I am just wondering if this is cause for concern. Has anyone ever experienced this and do you know if it is caused by illness?

The smell is ever so slight coming from her mouth but I guess with how much she cleans herself is why I smell it pretty decently on her body.

Thank you so much

 

[Caspers Human]

Does it smell like scented cat litter?

What if she's using the litter box where the scent from the cat litter gets on her then she licks it off when she cleans herself?

As a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet that, if you change to fragrance-free cat litter, she will be less obsessive about cleaning.

 

[heatherwillard0614]

The litter I use is unscented and I've never noticed a smell from it as some "unscented" liters actually have a smell.. she licks stuffies to fall asleep too lol and if she doesn't have her stuffy she licks a soft blanket it's literally like she is ocd with licking in general not just on her body...

 

[Caspers Human]

Our cats don't seem to give a darn toot what the cat litter smells like. At least, they've never said anything.

BTW: I'm sure you already know this but, just for our viewing audience's benefit, there's a difference between "unscented" and "fragrance-free."

"Unscented" means that the product doesn't have any perfumes in it but there may be certain fragrances that are meant to mask other odors. Consider underarm deodorant. If you notice, it actually has a smell. It's meant to mask your body odor and some of the ingredients of the product, itself. It just doesn't have any perfume even if it does have scent additives used for other purposes.

"Fragrance-Free" means nothing. No scents, perfumes or masking agents are used. The smell from the product is the way the stuff normally smells. Fragrance-free laundry detergent is an example. The reason for it is because some people are sensitive to or just, plain, don't like the perfumes or scent masking agents from their detergent getting on their clothes, causing people to feel uncomfortable or, in some cases, having skin rashes or allergic reactions.

I'm in the fragrance-free camp because the dyes and scents in certain products make my skin break out and get itchy. I just naturally avoid any soaps, detergents and shampoos with scents in them.

 

[Margret]

If she's recently spayed, that licking behavior could have been the beginning of maternal urges (I'm thinking of the stuffies). I wonder whether you're catching the odor of fabric softener from the blankets she also licks.

Margret

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I feel so stupid the smell is exactly the smell of our laundry... I have always switched out her blankets once a week just because she licks them lol. I'm going to wash her blankets and stuff in fragrance free from here on out. She has licked everything since we got her in august but been licking blankets and her stuffy more now since she cant get to herself.. it is seriously like she is ocd about licking lol but it has never caused bald spots she has never chewed at herself and literally licks something right up until she goes to sleep. I was wondering if she was taken from her momma too soon and that could have caused this strange behavior? When we got her the slelter didnt have much info on her and they said she was 2 and that she was spayed which she was not... I also understand that it isn't the shelters fault it is what they were told when she was dropped off there.
Thank you so much I definitely feel a little stupid but definitely feel good that it is an easy fix lol

CASPERS HUMAN I honestly did not realize the difference thank you. I went and looked as soon as I read your post and hers is in fact fragrance free. I guess I got lucky picking her litter out.. Thank you so much for explaining that.

So indeed her litter is fragrance free... she is very finicky about her litter and food.
She will only eat 1 type of dry food will not eat wet food or any treats at all we have tried everything.. about to try freeze dried chicken next because she does get a little bit of chicken breast as a treat once in a while.

Again thank you guys so much much appreciation!!!

 

[Margret]

heatherwillard0614 , if you can't find fragrance free fabric softener, try putting some vinegar in the rinse cycle with her blankets instead. It isn't supposed to make the blankets smell like vinegar after they're dry, though I can't vouch for that since I was born with almost no sense of smell, but it's worth a try.

Margret

 

[heatherwillard0614]

I found fragrance free fabric softener, The brand is seventh generation.
Thank you so much!!! I can't thank you enough.

 

[Margret]

Oh, good. I'm glad to hear it.

Margret