Do Cats Make Your House Smell – Dealing With Pet Odor!

Whenever you want to open your house to guests, you don’t want your house to have any odor, especially from your pet. Even so, you worry that your house smells like something that you are used to, so you ask yourself this: do cats make your house smell?

Cats have the potential to make your house smell. However, cats have little to no odor due to frequent self-cleaning. Cat urine and poop can leave a long-lasting odor if it is not confined to a litter box.

Any animal you get will give your house even a light smell, including cats. Your cat itself will have some odor, but it won’t be anything too terrible. Only a non-cat owner may be able to smell it. What you need to worry about are the smell of the litter box and cat urine. Keep on reading to learn more! 

Do Cats Give Off An Odor

 Yes, cats do give off an odor, but it is not a pungent smell.

Cats are animals and will give off an odor, but you usually need to smell it close to your cat.

Cats bathe themselves regularly, but they are not using floral shampoo or body wash as humans do. Therefore, there is a potential that your cat may smell like whatever he ate last.

Your cat may smell like fish, tuna, or even chicken. 

I call this the “cat food” smell. Unless it is packed with one kind of fish, cat food has a particular smell that doesn’t smell like anything else, even dog food. 

Since your cat is cleaning himself with the same tongue and mouth that he ate breakfast with, that smell can cling to their fur for a time.

Usually, however, the smell doesn’t linger, but it could still make for an unpleasant odor! 

Do Cats Smell Bad

Your cat may not smell bad, but your cat’s urine can smell the worst.

If your cat is walking by you and your friends, you may not notice any smell coming off your cat. If he just ate, his breath may smell like tuna. Otherwise, your cat may not smell like much of anything.

Cat pee, however, is another story. Even if your cat is fixed, your cat’s urine will still smell rather pungently. To people not used to the smell, it can be even stronger. 

There is little you can do to stop the smell of cat pee from happening, but you will want to make sure you combat the smell.

Do not let your cat pee outside of the litter box. If it happens accidentally, make sure to clean it up immediately because the smell can hang around. 

Do Male Cats Make Your House Smell

Male cats will often smell more than a female cat; the worst smell may come from an unfixed male cat.

We already mentioned that cat pee could smell bad. The worst-smelling cat pee comes from unfixed cats. Male cats have incredibly awful smelling urine, which can cling in your house. 

Other than the smell of urine, you probably won’t notice a significant difference in the small of a male cat than a female cat. Male cats have more hormones that may secrete a more potent smell, but even that will not be that noticeable. 

Any smell that you notice is probably because male cats may not be as on top of cleaning themselves as female cats.

Will Getting A Cat Make My Apartment Smell

Yes, a cat will make your apartment smell.

The problem with apartments is that they are generally smaller than a full-size house. This means that all smells are amplified because the space is not as large. 

Your cat also has fewer rooms to go to, so the smell will be more concentrated. Plus, there are fewer places to tuck away a litter box, which means that it will be easier to smell. 

If you are trying to get a cat without your landlord knowing, that won’t be easy. 

Your apartment will smell like a cat regardless of what you try to do to prevent it. The smell might not be overpowering, but if you have a landlord trained to smell pets that are not allowed, then you and your cat will quickly be in trouble. 

How Do I Make My Cat Smell Better

You have a few options to make your cat smell better. Here are a few choices:

• Bathe your cat: Bathing your cat can make him smell better, but you should not make this a regular habit. You could dry out your cat’s skin.
• Use a fur freshener: This can be called several things, but basically, you can purchase a spray that you can spray on your cat. Think of it as a body spray for cats! 
• Change your cat’s food: Some cat food smells worse than others, and this can make your cat smell worse too. Try a different brand or flavor of cat food if your cat isn’t too picky.
• Change the litter: Your cat’s litter can trap odor. If the litter is stuck to his feed, then it could make your cat smell too. Litter is often about trial and error to see what works best. 

You can always do things to help your cat smell better, but there is little you can do to make your cat have no odor at all. 

How Do I Keep My House From Smelling Like Cat

No one wants their house to smell like cats, so here are some options you have to make your house smell better.

• Use an air freshener. You can use a concentrated room spray in a bottle or a plug-in air freshener. 
• Change your litter box litter more often than you might think is necessary.
• Open windows to circulate fresh air.
• Wash floors often.
• Vacuum more than you think you need to. This will mean that cat hair and dandruff do not have time to build up in your apartment or house. 
• Use a fragranced cleaner in your home. Scented products can mask the smell of numerous odors in your house and may even be designed to neutralize them. 
• Light your favorite candle.

If you think that your house smells like a cat, you have options to keep your house feeling fresh and clean.