I smelled my beloved cat all over, and the different "scents" from each body part were too interesting!

A while ago, I posted a random question on social media about the smell of cats, and it received a surprisingly large response.

Cat's body and limbs ➜ Since they groom themselves, I understand why they smell good.

Cat's crown ➜ They can't groom it, yet it smells good. Why...?

— Yua | Writer 🖊 (@yunc24291) April 8, 2026

It’s heart-warming to see that people both in and outside of Japan are so curious about how cats smell.

It’s one of the seven mysteries of the cat that even their crown, which they can’t lick, smells good, but the fact that the scent differs by body part is also the fascinating nature of cats. I wonder, where exactly is the best-smelling spot? I was so curious that I decided to sniff various parts of my own cats. (Much to their annoyance.)

I sniffed my cats all over!

I have two cats at home. The first one I asked to sniff was my tabby, Kotaro. Before I started, I asked, "May I please sniff your whole body?" and he looked at me like, "Are you... sane?" Well, that's fair.

First, I sniffed his ears. It’s a part that’s hard for him to reach, so it’s amazing that they were odorless. I thought his head would be the same, but for some reason, it smelled a bit dusty... Did he crawl into a gap behind the TV while I wasn't looking? Imagining such things while sniffing him was, to put it mildly, way too much fun.

His cheeks, which he uses to mark things by rubbing against them, are where pheromones are released. I thought they would have a strong scent, but to my nose, they were odorless. Cats really do have a much better sense of smell than humans, don't they?

Perhaps because they are easy to groom, his upper body was odorless. His fluffy belly was also odorless. However, his lower back smelled floral for some reason. We don't have air fresheners in the room and we humans don't use perfume, so I'm envious that Kotaro often smells like perfume for no apparent reason.

I discovered the only part of a cat's body that has a strong odor!

The tip of the tail I sniffed next also smelled dusty, for some reason... He was definitely playing in some gap somewhere before I woke up, wasn't he? I'll have to check the crevices in the room later. As I continued my sniffing investigation with these thoughts in mind... I found it! The only part of a cat's body that has a strong scent!! It’s the base of the tail, near the bottom.

It seems Kotaro had just finished using the litter box. I'm sorry for being so insensitive as to sniff him... and I'm sorry for making his bathroom habits the subject of an article. I vowed to myself that I would treat him to some extra-special snacks today.

Many cats have paw pads that smell sweet like popcorn, but in Kotaro's case, both of his front paws smelled a bit dusty. ...Okay, it's confirmed; he was definitely playing in some gap somewhere.

I figured his hind paws would also smell dusty. When I sniffed them with that expectation, I was proven wrong. For some reason, his left hind paw smelled floral, just like his lower back. His right hind paw had a faint scent like grape gummy candy.

If the dusty smell is evidence of playing, I wonder where he picked up the grape and floral scents. I'm so jealous of Kotaro's body odor, which has both delicious and pleasant scents.

The "Dad scent" emanating from his crown

The next cat I sniffed was my brown tabby, Leon. Leon usually has more of a distinct scent than Kotaro. I was looking forward to seeing what he smelled like today.

Like Kotaro, his ears and cheeks were odorless. I assumed his crown would be odorless too. When I sniffed it with that expectation, I caught a whiff of something nostalgic... Where have I smelled this before...? As I searched my memories, the one that hit home was "my dad's scent."

His upper body was odorless. His soft belly smelled like sunshine. It’s amazing how we can instantly recognize the "smell of sunshine" even though there’s no specific definition for it.

For some reason, his lower body smelled like the factory where I used to work. You really are like a collection of nostalgic memories, aren't you?

The tip of his tail had a scent that was hard to compare to anything, but it was just refreshingly clean. It felt like pure invigoration!

The unexpected scent of his paw pads

Next, I went for the delicate area: the base of the tail. I mustered my courage to sniff, and just like Kotaro, Leon had a strong scent at the base of his tail! While Kotaro smelled like poop, Leon's scent is better described as "fart-like."

I want to apologize to Leon for leaking such sensitive information to a third party like this.

The paw pads, which tend to differ in scent, were indeed quite unique. His left front paw smelled woody. I assume this is likely due to the wood-based cat litter.

So I thought his other paw pads would be woody too. It's amazing how cats always defy my expectations. His right front and left hind paws were, for some reason, odorless. "Not woody?!" I thought to myself, and when I finally sniffed the pad of his left hind paw, it smelled faintly of natto...

Wait... had he just stepped in something in the litter box? Needless to say, I felt uneasy, wiped my nose, and cleaned Leon's paw pads with a wet wipe.

Cats generally smell good, but the tip of the tail near the bottom can sometimes carry a dangerous scent depending on the time and occasion. That is the useless knowledge I gained from this verification.

That said, comparing the scents of different parts of my cats was personally very fun. Even though they looked annoyed and gave me cold stares while I sniffed them all over (lol).

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