Do cats fart? An investigation into the mysteries of feline flatulence

Scientific American · Jackie Flynn Mogensen · 2026-11-03 11:00 UTC

Dogs are constantly passing gas. So why don’t cats seem to?

A couple of weeks ago, my three-year-old tabby Archie climbed into his litter box, scuffled around a bit and let out a squeaky fart. The sound startled me—so much so that at first, I didn’t believe Archie had done it. My boyfriend was in the other room—the sound couldn’t have come from him. I was just feet away from Archie. To say I was puzzled is an understatement. I’ve lived with cats for nearly my entire life, and I had never heard or smelled one pass gas.

The incident sent me on a scientific quest: Why had I never heard my cat fart? Dogs are such prolific farters—so why aren’t cats?

I searched for academic papers on cat flatulence—with little luck. I reached out to animal behavior experts, pet gastroenterologists and university veterinary schools. One source politely declined to speak with me. Others didn’t respond at all.

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