Conference misery::feline_v1

    Karen--
    
    How little is Bandit?  If he's *real* small, could be he just doesn't
    have the hang of it down yet.
    
    Jane

    Karen,
    
    You've got it all wrong.  I think you'll agree that YOU are the
    one who smells, and HE is the one who stinks!
    
    Marion  :^D
    

    Karen,
    
    My cat, Carrington, was a smelly kitten too. He always had ca-ca
    (?) stuck to his little hindquarters. He is a long haired Himalayan
    so things could get pretty nasty. Anyway, it turned out he had slight
    diarrhea brought on by change in diet ( I started him on new food
    when I got him). 
    
    Two things helped. One, I got a prescription for anti-diarrhea
    medicine, and the second thing was bathing him from the "waist"
    down as often as necessary until the medicine took hold (about three
    days). Good luck!
    
    Chris R.

    Would a change to a more absorbent litter help?  Where are the
    long-haired cat breeders out there, they must know something about
    this problem.  (Have we talked about litter in this file?  I find
    the el cheapo brands, like Safeway, actually work best.  "What's
    that, Mom?  Perfumed litter?  Aaak!  You expect us to use that stuff?")
    

    Karen,
    
    When one of ours gets messy two things help.  If the mess is semi-solid
    or dry, gently comb out as much as possible; when the cat is let
    loose it usually cleans the rest.  If it is urine wet or smelly,
    we powder the behind with baby powder and use a soft brush to get
    rid of the excess.  Really disgusting kitties get their butts washed
    and dried.
    
    Re: litter
    
    We found the cheap brands turn to cement and don't absorb all that
    well.
    
    Frank  

    Stinkbottom!!  UGH!!  I swear that Honey majored in stinkbottom
    at Cat College.  Whenever he has "soiled bloomers", which is always
    at 4:00 a.m., he jumps onto the bed and screams his head off to
    wake me up (of course the smell would be enough to wake me from
    a coma!).
    
    Maybe you are using too much litter??  If you just put an inch or
    so, he might not have it so close to his bottom when he digs his
    hole (speaking of which...why on Earth do they spend 5 minutes digging
    half way to China and then dump on top of the mountain they made??
    Jeezzzz).  You also might try those Fresh Feliners, which absorb
    the wetness much quicker than the litter does.
    
    Good luck!
    Mary
    
    P.S.  You might talk to your vet about when to neuter Bandit.  If
    his urine is that strong, it might be a sign of early onset puberty!

    Re .11:  Ahem, some of us still sit down to pee!!!!  (sorry...couldn't
    resist!!)
    
    Mary

    Are you sure it's the smell of urine in his fur?  I had hoped for
    a discussion on other possible sources.
    
    I have a new cat Alex who has a very distinctive, unpleasant smell
    which has permeated the house.  He has a sick little kitty, first with
    severe FUS (requiring a 10-day stay at Tufts), followed by severe rhino
    (requiring lots of TLC at home), so I've been waiting for him to get
    well, hoping the smell would go away.  Although he's quite healthy now,
    he still smells!  I've had many cats in the past, and this is a very
    unique smell.  It might be urine, because his urine also smells
    different, so I'm now waiting for him to come home from the hospital
    to see if neutering helps.
    
    Any other ideas on bad-smelling cats?  Can they have B.O?  We'll
    give him a bath and see what happens, but I have been getting concerned
    about what a consistent, unpleasant odor might mean.

    Re: .13
    
    Doris,
    Two things come to mind.  Impacted anal glands, when they are
    expressed, stink to the high heavens.  If Alex has impacted anal
    glands they will cause pain and he should be licking the area. 
    When he sits he may be squeezing out the foul smelling goop.  The
    second thing that came to mind was dirty ears.  Hounds with long
    droopy ears are prone to this and I imagine a cat with deep crud
    couls have an unpleasant odor.  I know you get real garbage with
    ear mites but I assume Alex has been checked for those.  Although
    sometimes cats bring home fun things from animal hospitals.
    
    Hope it helps.
    Frank

    Other causes of bad odor can be:
    bad kidneys
    bad teeth
    diabetes.
    
    Bad kidneys cause a sour odor which is kind of like old urine
    Bad teeth-smelling close to his mouth will usually get this one
    Diabetes-a fruity odor
    

    Re: .13
    
    What does the vet think?  Is there anything that will help you id
    the odor, like it comes from a particular part of the body, or just
    at certain times?
    

    Sorry for the long delay in responding, but I haven't been able
    to get into NOTES til today.
    
    Alex's smell is slowly dissipating.  It must have been a combination of
    his unfixed male odor combined with his bouts with unhealthiness.  He's
    now been neutered and is healthy, so maybe that will solve the odor
    problem.  An assistant at the vet's indicated it could take up to a
    month for a tomcat's urine odor to go away.  Although Alex isn't a big
    or old tomcat, his urine has changed in odor since his operation.
    Thanks for all the suggestions. 

    wow, i was just thinkin about wirting a file with this same subject.
    smelly kitties.  but found this one and to my surprize, someone
    out there had the same problem as verne does.  my verne seems to
    stink behind the ears too.  i don't believe that it is a urine problem
    being next to his ears, but he loves to give me kisses too and just
    the smell of him makes me a little reluctant to lay next to him
    and fall asleep like we used to.  i noticed the problem a few weeks
    ago and can't think of anyway to solve it.  i know my kitties don't
    like water so a bath seemed kinda impossible.  and, perfumes, well
    someone said it earlier, shirley might like it, (I kinda doubt it)
    but verne, hes much too macho.  help, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    he sleeps right next to my nose,
    
    cja
    

    Re: .18
    
    An ear infection, perhaps?  Could it be an abscessed infection you're
    smelling?  I think these in the ear can be quite serious
    if not attended to promptly.
    

    then i guess i get i should make an appointment to see the vet?
    

    Re: .20
    
    When in doubt.  If you really think this smell is originating from
    the ears I would have it checked out.
    

    re .18: cja
    
    Hi.  Did you ever find out what the problem was?   I know I'm a
    bit late answering this, I'm trying to catch up, but I hope you
    solved your problem by now!
    
    This may be totally off base, but since you mentioned behind the ears
    it reminded me of a severe problem my sweet kitty Precious had (may she
    rest in peace).  She was my kitty when I was growing up. 
    
    Anyway, we noticed a very strong and obnoxious odor on her neck
    behind one ear that turned out to be an open wound from, would you
    believe, a warble fly?  They usually attack cattle, and I think
    lay an egg that turns into a maggot that will bore into the animal's
    body, and eventually could kill it.   Luckily, we had discovered
    the problem soon enough (it was a bit hard to miss, she smelled
    atrocious!) and treated it successfully.  A weird problem indeed,
    and I have never heard of a similar affliction with a household
    pet.  By the way, has anyone else heard of this?
    
    Well, I certainly hope your kitty is better, and if you haven't
    taken him to see a vet, and the odor still exists, please do so
    soon!
    
    Let us know!
    
    Amy