Written by Deborah Brannon on in , Scientific Studies
Our cats may have tiny, adorable noses, but don’t be fooled. Their sense of smell is mighty. Seriously, their little heads are packed full of structures and organs that support their incredible olfactory senses! Plus they get an extra scent organ in their mouths. Where we humans must get by with a mere five million or so olfactory receptors for navigating life’s good smells and bad, our cats are on that next level: flaunting their 45 to 80 million receptors and smelling the roses from, like, two blocks away. (Maybe. Don’t quote me on the two blocks bit.)
When cats love a smell, they love a smell and may spend a while excited and roll around in it. Or napping with it. Or chewing on it. (If permitted access, my giant orange tabby Tiger Jack will lick and chew the armpits out of my husband’s shirts. Yes, I know, that’s gross to us, but cat love means funk love. More on that later!) Smells they dislike, on the other hand? There’s going to be some sneering and shunning the inconsiderate area.
Okay, but what smells fall into each category? Each cat is unique, we all know that, so their personal reactions may vary – but here are some smells likely to fall under the average cat’s YES GOOD and BOO HISS lists.
5 SMELLS CATS DISLIKE
Citrus – I bet you knew this would be top of the list! Cats really don’t like citrus, whether oranges, lemon, grapefruit, etc. When you’re trying to train your cat away from a certain spot in your house, citrus is often the recommended deterrent.
Mint – This one’s a toss-up, but cats who really dislike mint are demonstrating good sense: from peppermint to the wintergreen herb, these mints contain salicylate, a substance toxic to cats.
Cayenne Pepper Capsaicin doesn’t just chase me away – it repels cats as well! Don’t use this one as a cat deterrent, even though you’ll find recommendations out there about using it to protect your garden. Capsaicin is enough of an irritant to the mouth – if the pepper gets on a cat’s paws, which they then use to groom around their eyes, it can really hurt – making you a jerk of the highest order.
Cleaning Agents – Companies love selling us cleaning agents with various flowery or other strong smells – and these smells can be an assault on our cat’s senses. Exercise restraint with the “flowery meadow” or “lemon mists” scented detergents or sprays until you see how your kitty reacts to them.
Their Own Cat Box – As we all know, cats are so fastidious that they bury their waste. (Good kitties!) And in their homes, the only place to do this is in a relatively small box. Given their incredible sense of smell and the property of lingering odors, you must practice good cleaning habits with the cat box or watch your cat decide to avoid it and do their business elsewhere.
4 SMELLS CATS LIKE
Catnip – I know, obvious alert again! It is a truth largely accepted that cats love catnip, and there are about 359,000 videos on YouTube you can watch proving this. It all comes down to an oil called nepetalactone and what that does to your cat’s brain.
Valerian – Valerian root can have a similar effect on your cats as catnip – excitement, and stimulation. Just be careful about their exposure to it and don’t let them have access to valerian unsupervised.
Green Olives – Weird, right? But true! Some cats cannot get enough of the smell of green olives – my beloved cat Kaylee would rub herself all over a green olive if I gave her one, and then she’d attach herself to my hand until she rubbed all the olive oils off. It’s a thing!
Your Funk – Okay, I’m not trying to be gross and I am only referring to a cat’s person’s funk. Cats certainly don’t love human funk in general – not every funk need apply – but they do love the funk of their particular people. They’re bonded to you; they’re scent-focused. It makes sense that they’d be attracted to your scent – which just happens to be strongest in places like your shoes or the armpits of your shirts. Hence why my silver tabby Daenerys tries to shove her face into my sneakers. Funky love.
Scents are a driving force in cats’ lives and make up a large part of how they understand and navigate the world. They even use scents to communicate, whether getting a feel for the neighborhood from where other cats have sprayed or identifying other cats (and what may be different about them) by their signature scent. As friends to our own cats, it’s the least we can do to learn the likes and dislikes of each kitty we care for. So – what smells make your cats go YES GOOD or BOO HISS?
7 Comments
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shirley
January 31, 2020 at 12:02 pm ·Reply
my cat is peeing on my couch. I have tried sprays to repel cats. but I read that some of the same things that repels cats are things that attract cats. is it possible that the smells cats like are the ones they WONT pee on because they don’t like to pee where they are attracted to? maybe they want to keep them clean??? if I spray something she likes will she just keep that area to sleep and snuggle and not pee on it? I am at my wits end. I have tried everything
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Ponygirl
May 5, 2020 at 8:33 pm ·Reply
From my experience w/my fur buddy…she does not like the feel of bubble wrap under her paws, so if I need her to stay clear of an area I place pieces of wrap down on the surface and she avoids it, eventually not bothering it. Hope it helps.
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Karen
May 5, 2020 at 1:38 am ·Reply
I must have a weird cat, his name is Fizz. I have to put my bag of pepp-o-mint Lifesavers in a airtight container high up or he will knock it around till it spills out and then he will roll around in then and go to sleep. If I try to take them away he swats at my hand (no claws out) as if he is playing. He see does the same with cinnamon and chia tea. I read in a vet magazine that cats can eat mint but some cats can throw up when they eat it.
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Ponygirl
May 5, 2020 at 8:40 pm ·Reply
My fur buddy does not like the feel of bubble wrap under her paws so I place pieces down where I need her to stay away. She eventually leaves it alone. Hope this helps.
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Maui
October 1, 2020 at 8:07 am ·Reply
I was wondering do cats like the smell of ginger?
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Brett
October 22, 2020 at 7:32 am ·Reply
I just gave my cat some to smell and he was not a fan.
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West
November 6, 2020 at 8:20 pm ·Reply
My cat LOOOVES mint. Every time I put Burt’s Bees chapstick on my lips she goes crazy, getting close to my face and trying to lick my lips. I guess every cat is different.
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