Weird smell from cat's bum?

laughinglasagna

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I apologize if this has been answered, I am new and tried to find my exact issue. :)

My female cat is about 2 years and spayed. Recently, I noticed a weird smell coming from her back area. It almost smells like...oil or gasoline? Not that strong, mind you, but somewhere along those lines. 

It's a faint smell, but when I brush her back there (she's very furry), I smell it more. She is not one that likes her butt messed with, so I cannot get a great look but from what I could see, it looks normal. No major redness or swelling, just a bum from what I can tell. I am able to check her sister's (it helps give me an idea of what is "normal") and from what I can tell, nothing is really different. It does seem more...uglier, if that makes sense, but it does not look terrible. However, again, she is not one that likes her butt messed with so I cannot get a great look. 

(Please forgive my wording. I am trying my best to ask this question without sounding like an idiot!)

I also noticed that her fur back there tends to get wet often. Now, this could be from her sitting in her water (don't ask, she always does no matter where I move it when she is eating!) or maybe she IS getting urine back there because her fur is growing out. I am not sure. It just didn't smell like urine or poo...more of a chemical-like smell. 

Whoo, thanks for any help or advice given. I will take her to the vet if needed, but before I dish out the extreme amount for a visit, I wanted to make sure it was not just something "normal" that maybe I didn't pay attention to before.

Thanks!!
 

stephenq

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I apologize if this has been answered, I am new and tried to find my exact issue. :)

My female cat is about 2 years and spayed. Recently, I noticed a weird smell coming from her back area. It almost smells like...oil or gasoline? Not that strong, mind you, but somewhere along those lines. 

It's a faint smell, but when I brush her back there (she's very furry), I smell it more. She is not one that likes her butt messed with, so I cannot get a great look but from what I could see, it looks normal. No major redness or swelling, just a bum from what I can tell. I am able to check her sister's (it helps give me an idea of what is "normal") and from what I can tell, nothing is really different. It does seem more...uglier, if that makes sense, but it does not look terrible. However, again, she is not one that likes her butt messed with so I cannot get a great look. 

(Please forgive my wording. I am trying my best to ask this question without sounding like an idiot!)

I also noticed that her fur back there tends to get wet often. Now, this could be from her sitting in her water (don't ask, she always does no matter where I move it when she is eating!) or maybe she IS getting urine back there because her fur is growing out. I am not sure. It just didn't smell like urine or poo...more of a chemical-like smell. 

Whoo, thanks for any help or advice given. I will take her to the vet if needed, but before I dish out the extreme amount for a visit, I wanted to make sure it was not just something "normal" that maybe I didn't pay attention to before.

Thanks!!
Is she a long hair cat?

The smell you describe sounds a bit like urine.

Does she have any discharge that your aware of?

She sits in her water?  Are you sure?

How long ago was she spayed?

Is her behavior normal?
 
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laughinglasagna

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Is she a long hair cat?

The smell you describe sounds a bit like urine.

Does she have any discharge that your aware of?

She sits in her water?  Are you sure?

How long ago was she spayed?

Is her behavior normal?
She is medium to long-haired, especially in the bum. We do try to keep it trimmed back there, but it's a bit harder with her. She allows us to brush it, but that is about it. 

I do not see any discharge, at least that I can see. It looks "normal". 

Yes, she does tend to sit in her water when she eats at times. Even when I move the dish, she still tends to sit in it. It's not all the time, but that was just an idea that could explain the dampness on her bum at times. 

She was spayed at the Humane Society. I adopted her and her sister when they were 6 months. Her behavior is normal, although she is a bit more vocal. Not like she is in pain or anything, just like she wants to be next to you all the time. This behavior is how her sister was ever since we adopted. Now, it seems like the roles reversed. Other than that, I do not notice any odd behavior or painful behavior. 

Also, I do use Tidy Cats litter but sometimes I use an off-brand if it is on sale, so it could possibly be the litter smell mixed with urine? 
 

stephenq

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She is medium to long-haired, especially in the bum. We do try to keep it trimmed back there, but it's a bit harder with her. She allows us to brush it, but that is about it. 

I do not see any discharge, at least that I can see. It looks "normal". 

Yes, she does tend to sit in her water when she eats at times. Even when I move the dish, she still tends to sit in it. It's not all the time, but that was just an idea that could explain the dampness on her bum at times. 

She was spayed at the Humane Society. I adopted her and her sister when they were 6 months. Her behavior is normal, although she is a bit more vocal. Not like she is in pain or anything, just like she wants to be next to you all the time. This behavior is how her sister was ever since we adopted. Now, it seems like the roles reversed. Other than that, I do not notice any odd behavior or painful behavior. 

Also, I do use Tidy Cats litter but sometimes I use an off-brand if it is on sale, so it could possibly be the litter smell mixed with urine? 
It sounds like she is smelly because she may have urine mixed with her fur.  Can you trim her there and use baby wipes to clean her up?
 

jdollprincess

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It sounds like you may be smelling her anal glands. Have you noticed her scooting her butt across the floor?
 
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laughinglasagna

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It sounds like she is smelly because she may have urine mixed with her fur.  Can you trim her there and use baby wipes to clean her up?
Stupid question, lol, but I use Advantage II on both - would it be okay to use baby wipes to clean back there? There would be no chance of "rubbing" the medication off, would there?
It sounds like you may be smelling her anal glands. Have you noticed her scooting her butt across the floor?
No, she has never scooted her butt across the floor. I definitely would notice, as I have a paranoia of worms. lol. I am just confused because she is acting normal and active, but when I smell that smell, it caught me off guard. But it is not strong to the point where I always smell it, just when I am brushing her or very close to her. It's not an awful smell, just....odd. Like a slight sulfur-type smell or something. 
 

stephenq

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Stupid question, lol, but I use Advantage II on both - would it be okay to use baby wipes to clean back there? There would be no chance of "rubbing" the medication off, would there?

No, she has never scooted her butt across the floor. I definitely would notice, as I have a paranoia of worms. lol. I am just confused because she is acting normal and active, but when I smell that smell, it caught me off guard. But it is not strong to the point where I always smell it, just when I am brushing her or very close to her. It's not an awful smell, just....odd. Like a slight sulfur-type smell or something. 
Scooting is a sign of impacted anal glands and even though she isn't scooting, what you describe makes me think that her anal glands need to be expressed. Anal glands, when you are able to smell them, are quite unpleasant and the biggest cause of bad smells down in that area.  Does she have soft stool?

i would consider having a vet feel her glands to see if they are full.
 

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I agree. I think it's time to see a vet. A vet should be able to tell you if this is an anal glands issue or something urine-related. Either way, the vet can also help with solving the problem. Do let us know what the vet says - I'm curious!
 
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laughinglasagna

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I forgot to give an update!

After this post, I switched back to Tidy Cats litter and the smell seemed to disappear. I thought to myself that my family was right, she must have gotten the cheap and stinky litter smell on her. However, it came back with a vengeance last week. She is still acting normal, but the smell was AWFUL! It still goes away here and there, but it IS still there.

We have an appointment on Monday so I will give that update next week to let you know if it is her anal glands or if her butt is just stinky, lol! 
 
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laughinglasagna

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UPDATE!

Turns out that her anal glands were indeed full. I am glad I trusted my gut to take her to the vet, as I knew that smell wasn't urine!

Now, the vet told me there isn't really anything that I can do to stop it from happening and it wasn't something that I have done in terms of feeding. He told me it is rare for cats to get full, but it happens. Some cats are more prone to it than others. However, he did tell me that I could feed her a light, higher fiber food to help harden her stools. He said there were plenty of brands out there, but I am having a hard time finding a good one that isn't overly expensive. He said that the Purina Naturals is okay (that is what she is currently on), but that I could switch to a higher fiber food if wanted.

Hills is just too expensive, so do you know of anything else I can feed/do? Or just let her do as she does and take her in if need be. 

Thanks!  
 

momto3cats

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Cats typically don't do very well on high fiber foods. They really aren't designed to handle a lot of fiber. Does she have soft stools? Maybe a different brand of food would work better for her. My choice would be to feed more meat, in the form of canned food, or at least a dry food with a higher meat content, as in my experience more meat/less plant matter tends to firm up cats' stools. Purina Naturals uses both corn gluten meal and soybean meal to increase the protein percentage, which tells me there isn't a whole lot of actual meat in there. It also seems to be a bit high in fiber already, at 5%. Most dry foods have 3-4%. You might actually find that a lower fiber content helps. 
 
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