Friday, January 8, 2016

Inspector Stout

DSC_0463

Once Wylla started doing so much better, we noticed a change in her behavior -- she began smelling everything. EVERYTHING. When we return from an outing, we are always greeted by Inspector Stout.  She starts sniffing our shoes, my purse, and any bags we brought in. Once we sit down, she hops on our laps and inspects our clothes, hair, hands... everything. And it's not just a little sniff, it's a very long, slow examination process.

She does the same to anyone houseguests we have, and at a recent dinner party, spent the whole evening working the room and thoroughly investigating each of our guests, one by one.

She smells Charlene, too, especially her head and feet.

Smelling seems to bring her so much joy, and with every scent she takes in, she pauses and processes it, as if it's the very first time she has ever smelled a smell. This has been going on for months now, and you would think that for a cat who's spent so much time out and about in the world, nothing would seem new.

I'm not sure if there is connection between Megaesophagus and her sense of smell, or if maybe it's just pure coincidence that Inspector Stout started her investigating shortly after  she began feeling better, but I need to ask our vet about it during our next visit.

I know we have a few vets and vet techs in the crowd -- any theories on this one?













16 comments:

  1. looking for potential snacks?? interesting :)

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  2. Very interesting. I don't remember learning/hearing anything about this in tech school. I'll ask a friend of mine who's a tech if she's heard of any connection. What an amusing behavior. It could be disconcerting to people who aren't used to cats. I'm laughing at the mental pictures of Wylla being Very Thorough as she sniffs you all over when you return from an outing, investigating every little nook and cranny, making sure not to miss a thing. What a silly! I'm sure she had a blast with the UPS boxes. What a feast of smells and scents!

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    1. My tech friend said the issue could be related, but she thinks cats have a super sense of smell and some are more interested in investigating than others. I'm interested in what your vet will have to say.

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  3. I think acid reflux can cause changes in taste and smell in humans, so I wonder if maybe she truly couldn't smell things before and now that she can, she's making up for lost time?

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  4. I would think she now has the energy to sniff the world where before her energy was used up with keeping her food down. In any case, so very happy to hear Inspector Stout is on the job. Ask her if Charlene's floofy toes smell like Fritos. My Maine Coon boy's do!

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    1. The corn chip smell comes from the type of bacteria that's between a cat's toes. Both of my cats have 'snack chip feet', too.

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  5. Good job, Inspector Snout, I mean, Stout!

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  6. Is that her campaign picture? She looks like she would like our votes in November.

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  7. My cat is a "Smeller" too. He loves it when I hold him in my arms and take him around the house letting him sniff the higher-up items than he can't normally reach.

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  8. Sounds more like Inspector Snout than Inspector Stout.

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  9. Where gave you been? I must smell you, it's the law. I go through the same inspection when I come back home but not as long. Especially when I come back from friends with pets.

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  10. Is Wylla a flehmener? (Or flehmeness?) That weird thing that cats do after they smell something, and then hold their mouth open a little. Guess that it's something to do with transferring pheromones to a little sensory organ in their mouth.. almost like "tasting" the smell. My cats do it, and it always looks like they're sneering. :)

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  11. I know w ppl, myself included, auto immune diseases or inflammatory problems cause one to lose the sense of smell. Maybe her healing created the reverse. Gail

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  12. When I come home, my girl cat does just the one little sneef, then immediately goes in for headrubs. The boy cat, however: huge smeller! Every time he will spend a minute or two smelling my hand; up and down, in and around, a little lick here and there (smelling-related licks, not affectionate ones). My jeans are also interesting, shoes too. I work as a cat sitter so you can imagine all the interestings smells on me!

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  13. I bet she felt so puny that she just couldn't spare the energy...but I am curious what the veterinary community says as well!

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