Animals that smell "sick"

[Aegolius acadicus]

Hi guys,

So I was wondering, is it pretty normal to have animals smell "sick" to you? I work on a dairy, and a lot of times I can smell when cows get sick; they just have a kind of gross, sweet smell to them, not like normal cow smell. Granted sometimes this is due to an obvious bacterial infection that would be expected to have an odor, like with retained placentas, but over the years we have also had a couple cows with more general illnesses that smelled "off" to me, and my diabetic dog also smelled oddly. One of the girls I work with at the clinic where I volunteer has said that animals with distemper have a specific smell to her, and another guy I work with can smell ketone-breath, but I haven't had enough experience with either of those to tell. Has anyone else experienced this? I know it's a pretty broad question, but is there a particular thing that would cause an animal without an obvious external infection to smell "off"?

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[LetItSnow]

Has anyone else experienced this? I know it's a pretty broad question, but is there a particular thing that would cause an animal without an obvious external infection to smell "off"?

Sure, there are definitely conditions - not just 'infection' - that carry a distinct odor to them. Why is that surprising? It's just another sense like sight, sound, or touch. And since illness is essentially a departure from normal ... it shouldn't be surprising that the appearance, sound, feel, or odor can change when the animal is 'abnormal'.

 

[Aegolius acadicus]

I guess I just found it interesting because some people I've talked to can't smell any difference at all, and I haven't been able to smell ketone breath. Not sure if it maybe just takes practice, but the differences are interesting to me.

 

[jmo1012]

I guess I just found it interesting because some people I've talked to can't smell any difference at all, and I haven't been able to smell ketone breath. Not sure if it maybe just takes practice, but the differences are interesting to me.

i bet you can actually, given what you described with the dog and the cows. but regardless, illness changes physiology. changes in physiology lead to changes in everything else, potentially including scent. and i think whether or not someone can detect those changes is probably tied to their own chemistry, particularly brain chemistry. same with the whole spectrum of colors thing

 

[battie]

Parvo smell is the worst smell in the world to me. It hits me like a brick wall.

 

[Skimble]

A good sense of smell is really important for vets. One of the Dr's I work with doesn't have a great sense of smell and she's mentioned how it's hindered her. Sometimes you can smell something like an ear infection prior to seeing clinical signs. A good Dr uses all of their senses!

 

[GoldenGirl28]

Parvo smell is the worst smell in the world to me. It hits me like a brick wall.

I was about to say the smell of parvo is pretty distinct!

 

[DVMDream]

Parvo smell is the worst smell in the world to me. It hits me like a brick wall.

Careful with this one. I get what you are saying because I've said it before, but it is the bloody diarrhea that you're really picking up on. We've had a few puppies with horrible hookworm infections that smell just like parvo puppies.

 

[jmo1012]

Careful with this one. I get what you are saying because I've said it before, but it is the bloody diarrhea that you're really picking up on. We've had a few puppies with horrible hookworm infections that smell just like parvo puppies.

yeah same for HGEs in older pets too

 

[Aegolius acadicus]

Wow, I've never smelled parvo before. The vet I shadow does identify ear infections by smell though; it's kind of funny to watch the clients' faces when they're describing a head tilt and he picks up their pet and starts smelling its ears.

 

[apizfoshizz]

I guess I just found it interesting because some people I've talked to can't smell any difference at all, and I haven't been able to smell ketone breath. Not sure if it maybe just takes practice, but the differences are interesting to me.

Dairy cows with ketosis often have sweet smelling breath, which may be what you are noticing when you say their breath smells sweet.

 

[Aegolius acadicus]

Dairy cows with ketosis often have sweet smelling breath, which may be what you are noticing when you say their breath smells sweet.

Yeah, it could be. It's hard to tell sometimes what I'm supposed to be smelling for based on a description because everyone experiences things slightly differently. I can just tell that they smell different than the healthy cows.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Careful with this one. I get what you are saying because I've said it before, but it is the bloody diarrhea that you're really picking up on. We've had a few puppies with horrible hookworm infections that smell just like parvo puppies.

good point DVMD.
i know that smell unfortunately from personal pet experience.

I find most of your veterinary posts extremely insightful (unlike your WW posts). YOu are a credit to your profession.

 

[DVMDream]

good point DVMD.
i know that smell unfortunately from personal pet experience.

I find most of your veterinary posts extremely insightful (unlike your WW posts). YOu are a credit to your profession.

Thanks. I don't really feel like I am. I feel like an idiot most of the time. Still feel like I can fail out at any moment. Still sometimes wonder how I even got into vet school.

 

[Coquette22]

A good Dr uses all of their senses!

Er... taste?

 

[jmo1012]

Er... taste?

yeah for the occasions that clients bring goodies

 

[Skimble]

Er... taste?

They used to taste urine to detect diabetes! Thankfully we don't need to do that anymore.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

This makes sense to me. The doctor I work for now sticks her nose to a lot of wounds and whatever.

You can usually tell when a tooth is shot based on how the breath smells, if an ear is yeasty, whatever. The only experience I've had with parvo is a puppy we diagnosed that never came back :/

For the ketotic sweet breath, that's the number one complaint people have when they force their bodies into a ketotic state for those fad diets. Your breath smells and tastes gross!

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Hi guys,

So I was wondering, is it pretty normal to have animals smell "sick" to you? I work on a dairy, and a lot of times I can smell when cows get sick; they just have a kind of gross, sweet smell to them, not like normal cow smell. Granted sometimes this is due to an obvious bacterial infection that would be expected to have an odor, like with retained placentas, but over the years we have also had a couple cows with more general illnesses that smelled "off" to me, and my diabetic dog also smelled oddly. One of the girls I work with at the clinic where I volunteer has said that animals with distemper have a specific smell to her, and another guy I work with can smell ketone-breath, but I haven't had enough experience with either of those to tell. Has anyone else experienced this? I know it's a pretty broad question, but is there a particular thing that would cause an animal without an obvious external infection to smell "off"?

That "sweet" smell is probably ketosis, wwhich a dairy cow can get after calving. Sometimes a ketotic diabetic cat or dog will smell the same too......I had one client tell me, embarrassed, that his dog smelled like his cows do when they get sick, and sure enough, the dog was diabetic. Congratulations! Being able to identify that smell is genetic and not everyone can, so take advantage of it.

Certain diseases definitely have different smells -- yeast (skin or ear infections), bloody feces/diarrhea -- and then there's that fetid "dead cat" smell that has an unknown cause but is usually the sign of a fatally sick cat.

 

[Coquette22]

yeah for the occasions that clients bring goodies

Touche. A client picked up her dog after a parathyroidectomy and left us three bags of Lindor truffles. It was appreciated.

They used to taste urine to detect diabetes! Thankfully we don't need to do that anymore.

Yeah, I know the story. Mellitus versus insipidus. Luckily, we have glucometers now...

 

[chickenlittle]

Ability to smell ketone breath is SUCH a huge perk. I once had a colleague with a sick pet in the hospital and as she was running bloodwork, I walked by the bank of treatment cages and said "wow, which of these guys is a diabetic?" I could smell it just walking past the cage... and apparently I was the only one in the hospital at the time who could do so, because they were all totally wowed when the bloodwork results printed out and I was correct. Sounds like that's what you're smelling. To me, it smells like a fruity nail polish remover.

 

[Mysterymare]

I don't think I have the strongest sense of smell I do t think but I'm going to start exploring this idea. My ex boyfriend could always smell when I was getting sick even before I felt sick. He said my breath had a faint "chemical smell" I didn't believe him until he was able to predict my getting sick twice.

 

[jhsieh9645]

Er... taste?

Not infectious, but I had anal gland expressed on my face few times. The worst was from a chocolate Labrador while taking temperature - lifted the tail, checked out where butt-hole is, "puuuuu~~~".

It tastes..... Salty and alkaline... Luckily I wear my glasses that day.

 

[Foxhunter]

I guess I just found it interesting because some people I've talked to can't smell any difference at all, and I haven't been able to smell ketone breath. Not sure if it maybe just takes practice, but the differences are interesting to me.

Apparently ability to smell ketones is genetic.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Apparently ability to smell ketones is genetic.

ability to smell at all is genetic too.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Not infectious, but I had anal gland expressed on my face few times. The worst was from a chocolate Labrador while taking temperature - lifted the tail, checked out where butt-hole is, "puuuuu~~~".

It tastes..... Salty and alkaline... Luckily I wear my glasses that day.

 

[missdarjeeling]

I can't smell ketones very well (unless it's urine), but HGE, yeast, and maggots all smell very distinct to me. I'm pretty sensitive to the maggot smell, for whatever reason. I envy people who can smell ketones easily!