Cat smells funny

My younger kitty smells funny--like mint. Actually, the smell reminds me of herbal flea collars (my parents used them on the pets 20 years ago, before we knew they were bad). I've never used a flea collar on my cats, so I can't imagine how he could have gotten the smell on him. It isn't fading either. Should I try to bathe him to see if that helps? If so, should I use Dawn or a cat shampoo? I do put Advantage on him occasionally, but his last dose was 8 weeks ago, and the smell is definitely still present (I'm not sure it's the smell of Advantage either, as it's very minty). The smell is concentrated around his neck.

That's really weird!

I only have one crazy idea; is he an indoor-outdoor who has access to mint to rub in (or do you have a mint plant in your house)?

Nope, I don't have any living plants right now, and I've never had a mint plant around him. I do have catnip toys, but he doesn't seem to care for them (except immediately after Odo has drooled on them).

Do you eat lifesavers or any other minty candy? This sounds silly, but one may have dropped and the cat could have nabbed it. Had this happen to me. My cat Ginger smelled all minty, could not figure it out till I found a lifesaver she had stashed in the corner under my bed and liked to roll around on. Goofy critters.

My boyfriend has occasionally dropped a piece of gum, but I find and remove them before the cats can find them. The only other exposure to mint would be in the sink, but I've never caught him rubbing his neck against the sink (though he occasionally will stand in it hoping to drink the water or to watch the water go down the drain). The smell has been present for a while, but I was hoping it was a passing thing and tried not to think about it much. Since it's not going away, I'm now considering giving him a bath (the first full bath I will have ever given him).

Perhaps your kitty has been "tasting" your toothbrushes at night when you are asleep and it is toothpaste you smell.

A year or so ago I got up in the middle of the night and found Lilly on the bathroom counter licking/chewing on my electric toothbrush.

Check your toothpaste tubes!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good shampoo?

Toothpaste, I bet that's it. Does your kitten by any chance like to lie in the bathroom sink?

I don't think you need to bathe the cat. Just use a wet washcloth or a cat wipe on the area that smells.

I've never seen him lay in the sink, though he will stand in it occasionally to drink from the faucet or to watch the water go down the drain. I'm thinking the smell may actually be the catnip--I watched him rub on one of the catnip toys today. He doesn't normally like them unless Odo has just finished covering them in drool.

I'm still tempted to bathe him. He's never had a full bath before, and his back (near his tail) is getting dandruff-y--he's gained a bit too quickly and is having a bit of trouble doing a thorough cleaning job. I'll try the washcloth, but I'm thinking it may require soap to get the smell out.

If he's not having any reaction to the minty smell, I'd just leave him be. But if you really want to bathe him, you can use Dawn Dishwashing liquid or (Earthbath shampoo is good) followed by a rinse of a couple gallons of water mixed with 1/2 cup white vinegar. That will remove any smell (almost) and the vinegar also helps to restore pH.

If he's longhair comb him out BEFORE you wet him down or it will be almost impossible to cat out any tangles after wet.

If you want to bathe him, I've used Dawn on my three with great success. The first time, I got them wet, then lathered them down with the soap, then rinsed it all off...this was not very much fun and it took too long. So the second time, I put a few drops of the soap into my kitchen sink and filled it wil a couple of inches of water as if I were doing dishes. I put a couple of inches of clean water in the other sink for rinsing. Then all I had to do was dunk 'em in one sink to get them a little sudsy, then move them to the other sink to rinse. It was alot faster and easier this way, and the soap was diluted more so it was gentler and easier to rinse out of their fur. Remember not to get soap or water in his ears or on his face. I just used a clean, wet washcloth to wipe the 3M's faces a little as I was rinsing them. Hope that helps!