# This is weird- cat likes the smell of bleach?



## Destinie (Nov 23, 2011)

Hi all, long time no chat! I've been busy and Tex has been growing! He's almost a year and he's such a big boy.

My main question here: I was cleaning tonight and Tex seemed to like to roll around on the carpet near where I was cleaning. I was using a [very weak] bleach solution on the walls (by a tiled floor). Each time I do this, he seems to love to roll around near by and he even tries to get near the walls! I have to shoo him away or lock him in another room.

He seems to love the smell of Bleach and it concerns me! It's never negatively affected him but I don't understand why he seems to love the smell. Is this normal?!


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

Three of my 6 cats go wild over anything I've
cleaned with bleach cleansers; it attracts them like catnip does for some reason. 

Several people mentioned the same reaction to bleach smells on this post:
http://www.catforum.com/forum/37-behavior/153826-extreme-marking-after-other-cat-sprays-i-clean.html


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I'd say you don't want your cat getting crazy with bleach, but my cats have a similar reaction, with the general rolling and rubbing their face around the bleach location.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Yep, I've had cats who react to bleach like it was catnip. Never could figure out why!


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## Kitty-The-Cat (Apr 8, 2012)

This is extremely common, if not ubiquitous.

Whenever I wash my sneakers I don't put them in the dryer, but instead put them in a sunny spot on the floor to dry. Whenever I do that my cat spends long periods of time lying on top of the sneakers, obviously because she likes the smell. And it's not just bleach, it's any detergent.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

Sammy can smell it from a mile off when I'm cleaning the bathroom. I always make sure I rinse the areas but once I'm done, he will roll around on the floor like crazy.


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## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

Jack comes running whenever I use bleach on anything. Then he rolls all over the spot as if I had just given him catnip. I just try not to do an entire floor with bleach because I am afraid of him overdosing on it.


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

only one of my cats does it. the female. the males don't care anything about it one way or the other.

it's the exact opposite ph of ammonia, which is in guess what. i don't suggest that you mix cat pee and bleach because it foams up and releases a very caustic gas, but i wonder if that has anything to do with it. :?:


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## sandyrivers (Apr 9, 2012)

Hi,

I can't say that I ever had this at my place...I use vinegar and water to clean floors, surfaces and what not's...

I'm not sure this is very healthy for the cats though...

Anyone with info about the possible adverse effects of bleach on cats???

sandyrivers


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## koneko_otaku (Jul 22, 2010)

cinderflower said:


> only one of my cats does it. the female. the males don't care anything about it one way or the other.
> 
> it's the exact opposite ph of ammonia, which is in guess what. i don't suggest that you mix cat pee and bleach because it foams up and releases a very caustic gas, but i wonder if that has anything to do with it. :?:


Correct, mixing anything with chloride which includes bleach with ammonia can produce deadly gas.

Mixing Bleach and Ammonia - Chemical Reactions from Mixing Bleach and Ammonia - Why You Shouldn't Mix Bleach and Ammonia

I had the accident once when I tried to bleach out cat urine. It was downright unpleasant and it was for less than a second exposure to the gas when I fled. A few seconds of toxic gas could incapacitate some people.


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## BryanOwnee (Feb 21, 2011)

... it's better that catnip


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

i used to clean the litter box with bleach once a week. that wasn't how i found out about not mixing bleach with urine but it does make a ghastly gas. i used to hold my breath and dump it in and run out of the bathroom. (okay yes i'm a little odd--i like for things to be really "clean") if you breathe any for very long it will burn your esophagus, and i'm sure anyone with asthma would have a very bad experience.

then i heard somewhere you shouldn't wash the litter box with bleach or other harsh chemicals so i started using liners, but i still wash the entire box with hibiclens about four times a year. the rest of the time i just use whatever kind of soap (that i use on myself) is handy. a few squirts of the antibacterial handsoap but it doesn't have too strong of an odor and i make sure it's rinsed well.


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## Destinie (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies! I never knew!


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## Destinie (Nov 23, 2011)

koneko_otaku said:


> Correct, mixing anything with chloride which includes bleach with ammonia can produce deadly gas.
> 
> Mixing Bleach and Ammonia - Chemical Reactions from Mixing Bleach and Ammonia - Why You Shouldn't Mix Bleach and Ammonia
> 
> I had the accident once when I tried to bleach out cat urine. It was downright unpleasant and it was for less than a second exposure to the gas when I fled. A few seconds of toxic gas could incapacitate some people.


Oh definitely! I never ever mix chemicals and I other cleaners when I clean the box. I'm so paranoid of the toxic gas that I refuse to have bleach anywhere near other cleaning products. =_=;


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