# How long do "vet smells" last on a pet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 20, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334 "2021-12-20T02:07:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/1 "2021-12-20T02:07:03Z")
So we just had to take a kitty to the emergency vet since he wasn’t eating or drinking and his butt looked swollen. Turned out he was extremely backed up and they helped him out (but poor kitty has to eat canned pumpkin for a while). However, ever since he came home his sister has hissed and growled at him and done her best pufferfish imitation. One explanation I’ve heard is that he still smells like the vet office. Does anyone know how long this might last until they’re cordial again? ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/2 "2021-12-20T02:10:10Z")
With my guys all is well within 24 hrs or so. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/3 "2021-12-20T02:11:12Z")
If it’s based on shedding it should be gone by now . 😁 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/4 "2021-12-20T04:06:58Z")
My experience is just a few hours, but it depends on what procedures were done at the vet. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/5 "2021-12-20T05:20:09Z")
Ours have always gotten over it in a few hours but cats is weird enough that I know of a pair of litter mates who have to be separated for a day even if they both go to the vet together. I’m glad your kitty is feeling better. We don’t have an issue with ours if we mix pumpkin in their gooshy fud. May I suggest that when you open the can of pumpkin, you spoon out serving size glops onto a cookie sheet and stick it in the freezer. When the pumpkin is frozen, put the glops into a freezer bag and back into the freezer. A kitty sized glop takes about 15 minutes to thaw for us. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/6 "2021-12-20T05:53:27Z")
Several years ago, I bought one of those blue-green pumpkins, which are grown for food; they have a small seed cavity and thick, smooth flesh. I still had my pressure canner (I sold it this summer) and decided to can some - and in the end, I had about 10 quarts, and even froze some because I ran out of jars! That pumpkin was bigger than I thought. Anyway, I was sitting on the floor, cutting it up on a cutting board over a towel, and one of my cats reached into the container, hooked a chunk of that pumpkin with her claw, and ran off with it and ate it! She’s never done that before, or since, so she must have detected that this had something in it that she really needed. Just a few days ago, I baked a smaller squash and froze the flesh, and put some of the stringy seed stuff in her bowl, and she did eat one chunk of it. I tossed the seeds out in the grass for birds and squirrels. Anyway, give your cat a good brushing and that should eliminate quite a bit of odor. It might also not be the scent from the vet’s office, but that of another animal that your other cat was responding to. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/7 "2021-12-20T12:15:11Z")
He’s back to normal and acting like a big idiot as usual. @JaneDoe42 I will try your idea and let you know how it goes. Thankfully she seems calmer around him now, but she doesn’t like pumpkin. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/8 "2021-12-20T14:42:07Z")
Not a useful answer to the question, but I find it interesting that, although I’ve lived with multiple cats for nearly all of my life, often with a dog mixed in, and this has over the years added up to quite a lot of cats and an unfortunately lot of vet visits: I don’t remember any of them ever having the “vet smells” reaction. When I was a child, we did once have a cat become significantly more friendly to another cat after that cat came back from a multiple-day stay at the vet.; but we thought that was because the at-home cat, who hadn’t liked the vet-visit cat before, had discovered to everyone’s surprise that she missed that cat when she wasn’t there. And other than that, I don’t remember any case of different reactions after a vet. visit; though I have known cats to behave differently around a cat who was seriously ill. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/9 "2021-12-20T17:27:12Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > but it depends on what procedures were done at the vet. This. If it has been a couple of days and she’s still hissing, it is because his butt and poo smell different than what she is used to. Give it time. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/10 "2021-12-20T19:14:37Z")
Once I figure out how to put photos from my computer on here, I will share pictures of the little fuzzy fools. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/11 "2021-12-20T22:50:37Z")
I don’t know about vet smells. My Siamese have always gone together to the vet office. When I’ve fostered cats my 2 are always super interested. And mill around sniffing the shelter odors, and purring. They never really make fast friends because Siamese cats are jerks, IME. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/12 "2021-12-20T23:33:18Z")
The only vet smells I notice are when we have our dog’s anal glands expressed. Man! The yucky floral stuff they use to cover up the anal gland smell is worse than the anal gland smell itself…and it can sometimes last for days. When we had more than one dog at a time, they never were standoffish or threatening to the returning one. They just sniffed a bit and everything was back to normal. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/13 "2021-12-20T23:40:25Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > The yucky floral stuff they use to cover up the anal gland smell is worse than the anal gland smell itself…and it can sometimes last for days. Tell them that. If the only reason they’re using whatever it is is to attempt to cover up the smell, and it’s actually making the smell worse, then they shouldn’t be using it; or at least, should only be using it for people who request it. ---
**Author:** ![PB\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@PB\_J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PB_J)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-vet-smells-last-on-a-pet/956334/14 "2021-12-22T00:59:53Z")
One of my cats had a constipation issue, and I used (as suggested by my vet) Laxatone. It is a gel and comes in a tube like toothpaste. I would squeeze the prescribed amount on my finger and the cat licked it off. I had 2 cats at the time, so this assured me the right cat got the laxative. It was non-prescription. You may want to check with your vet if it’s ok to try with your cat. I just checked and it is sold by Chewy, Petco and Amazon.