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This is why cats smell so good

3.6.2025

Translation: Elicia Payne

When cats have bad breath, it can stop you in your tracks. Yet, even though they lick their fur, they don’t smell bad. Why is that?

No matter how much I slather myself with [candy shower gel](/search?q=candy%20shower gel), I can never match the candy floss scent of my cats. And they don’t even shower. Their only form of body care may be quite tedious at (three and a half hours daily!) but it consists of fishy saliva (website in German).

To me, their coat smells like fresh bread rolls. And I’m not the only one who thinks this. In forums online, people have compared the smell to sweets, baked goods or fresh laundry. I know this might sound crazy to non-cat people. But even they’d probably agree that cats don’t stink. So, how is this possible?

Saliva isn’t the same as breath

There’s a clear distinction between saliva and breath. A cat’s breath can smell bad, especially if they have plaque, an illness such as diabetes or if they’ve just eaten. Saliva, on the other hand, is almost odourless. What’s more, it cleans the coat and virtually neutralises dirt and odours because the enzymes in it have an antibacterial effect.

Super sebum

How come cats don’t have a neutral smell then? Our four-legged friends have numerous sebaceous glands. For example, on their face, tail or paws. Cat expert Birga Dexel explains to German animal news site «Landtiere»:

«The outmost layer of their skin is covered with an oily sebaceous gland secretion, which the cat spreads over its coat when grooming. What we humans can smell with our not-so-good noses is a combination of these feline glandular oils and the result of feline grooming.»

Did you know that cats mainly sweat through their paws? (website in German). Something that also positively influences their body odour is a balanced diet.

It must be love

Finally, there’s a psychological explanation for the phenomenon. People who like their cat associate positive feelings with it. This is why a cat lover usually can’t get enough of their cat’s smell. It’s similar with babies. Parents often hardly ever stop raving about how lovely their baby smells. On that note, I’m taking a good sniff of my feline!

And if you want a constant cat scent wafting through your place, it’s now available in the form of candle:

Chatty Candles Your house smells like cats.

Scented candles

CHF24.90

Chatty Candles Your house smells like cats.

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Darina Schweizer

Senior Editor

Darina.Schweizer@digitecgalaxus.ch

I love anything with four legs or roots - especially my shelter cats Jasper and Joy and my collection of succulents. My favourite things to do are stalking around with police dogs and cat coiffeurs on reportages or letting sensitive stories flourish in garden brockis and Japanese gardens.

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