Cat territorial issue? Not urine? Maybe anal glands? Help!

Good morning, afternoon or evening.

My issue if anyone could help me. I did some research of where this cat smell my cat is producing. I'll begin by saying that this cat smell first started when I loved from my parents house to my friend's apartment for a while. He had more room to walk around and because my parents house is a bit clustered. The smell is not coming from urinating because I don't feel any wet areas and he uses his litter box just fine. I'm living back at my parents but the smell is still happening it usually coming from the blankets I gave him to keep warm. It's almost smells like pepper spray or when someone who has smelly arm pits that has a smokey peppery smell to it I wanna say it's probably a combination of him ejeculating on his blankets while also releasing an anal glands smell?? I could be wrong maybe he gets too hot with the blankets and gets a bit sweaty?? I don't really know what what can I do to prevent this and does anyone have the same issue and has it stopped? And what has anyone done to stop or prevent it from happening?

Thank you!

I'm assuming he is not neutered......that is my first suggestion to you if he is old enough!!

You say you don't believe it is urine because there are no wet spots---have you checked vertical surfaces?  Like the sides of cabinets, corners of walls, fronts of furniture and cabinets?  Have you ever seen him spray something?  It is usually a standing position, tail up and tail does a crazy fast twitching, and they literally spray straight out the back!  My oldest cat sprayed me once outside walking across the yard--walked right up to me, put his butt towards my leg, and let it fly!  Oh, the stench!  It ran straight down my pants leg dripping.

I would doubt he is ejaculating on his blankets.  That would not produce that smell you are describing.  You describe an intact cat's spray odor, and the fact you have moved only makes me think that more--he is marking his new territory each time. 

Are there other cats around, outside the home, that could be encouraging him to feel the need to mark his territory as well?  To say it is "his" and only "his"???

Also, when you first noticed it....was he at about puberty age?  Haha I don't know how else to put that.  But was he 7-8 months old or close to??  All our male kittens started spraying about that age.

Thank you! No he has not been neutered. I read about that spraying vertical but since I'm back at my parents we let him out in our back yard and the smell continued there we do have feral cats around the neighborhood and my mother caught them eating food and water from his bowl. I think she said at one point t she heard them fighting. I have not caught him in action when he does this spray. At night I bring him in and he stays on my room and I believe he was 8-9 months when this started forgot to mention that. [emoji]128517[/emoji]

I think you found your answer.  He is old enough now, and fully developed, to spray with odor--and the other cats, even just smelling them without even seeing them, will make him want to mark his territory!  If you can get him neutered, this will stop and the odor will be gone.

The smell of an intact tom's spray is an unforgettable smell!!  That is exactly what that is!  He reached puberty, and he's letting them all know it!  They will also mark anything they want everyone else within miles to know is theirs!  He may have sprayed near his bed/blanket!  Sorry, I know that horrible smell.  Also, in the yard, if he has sprayed something, the other cats will spray over it, trying to mark it as theirs instead of his too, so you have multiple issues with "mine! mine! mine!" all at the same time.  My front bushes in the flowerbed stunk so bad it was awful one summer!  Finally captured all those boys and snip! snip!  haha!

Thanks you again. I guess I'll will get him neutered and about those feral cats well I guess I'll just stop leaving the bowls with food and water.

Can you move the feral's food out of sight or away from the house?  That's what I had to do here.  I had too many upsets in my household because the indoor cats kept seeing/smelling them!  I won't stop feeding my ferals...they have come to rely on it too much now.

I hate to say it, but neutering is your only cure for the stinky issue.  It stopped ours within a few days.  It takes a few days after neutering for the smell to get out of their urine, but now my two boys' pee has no odor to it at all.

Well the neighbors around us feed the ferals as well they don't stop by here too often I feel when other food has run out they come here and my cat Keoki would growl at the fence.. I don't always spot the ferals but they mostly gather near the school or in the sewers at night. Idk where to place food for them other then my back yard.