I still remember, even twenty (!) years later, how excited I was to notice that Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab offered a perfume oil inspired by the ancient Egyptian cat-goddess Bastet. Cats, perfume, history — a perfect combination, to my mind. Bastet was probably one of the first sample vials I ordered from the BPAL website.

Here’s my old review of Bastet from MakeupAlley.com (requiescat in pace):

I’m probably not the only person who ordered an imp’s ear [ed.: sample vial!] of this scent just because I loved the name and the concept. 🙂 When I applied Bastet to my skin, I smelled an initial blast of cherry that reminded me of cough drops. I was already mentally listing this imp for swap, when the cherry note dissipated and Bastet revealed her true nature as a warm, sultry blend of amber and sandalwood, with some additional spices in the background. (I didn’t notice any musk, which is fine with me.) I’m usually more of a floral type, but I’ve been enjoying my sample of Bastet so far. If I decide to continue worshipping her, I’ll purchase a 5 ml bottle.

Ever since then, I’ve kept an eye and nose out for other feline-referential perfumes. Here are five favorites of mine — for the most part, they evoke the feelings associated with cats, rather than the smells of cats themselves (something that would be nearly impossible, chemically speaking, I believe). I actually prefer this more emotional and imaginative approach!

For Strange Women Winter Kitty: Every time I try Winter Kitty, I remember how much I love the rooty-sweet smell of a good vetiver. This all-natural perfume oil combines vetiver with notes of evergreen, incense, and vanilla for “the scent of a house cat returning from a winter walk with chimney smoke and brisk air captured in their fur.” For Strange Women offers Winter Kitty as a seasonal limited edition every year, and it’s work the wait if you’re curious. (FSW website)

Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery Black Cat: Laurie Stern is a cat-lover as well as an expert natural perfumer, and Black Cat is an olfactory homage to her favorite furry friends. When I reviewed it for Now Smell This in 2011, I wrote, “It’s a playful take on a gourmand theme, and it begins with a rich orange-cocoa chord, like some fancy organic/artisanal confectionery. . . . The ylang ylang becomes more noticeable as the perfume develops, and the base is a soft (and not overly sweet) anise-vanilla.” (VSP website)

DSH Perfumes Serval Cat: Perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz developed this scent from her memory of her first encounter with an African serval at the Denver Zoo Conversation Alliance, when she experienced “a whiff of a distinctively warm, honeyed ‘animal’ mixed with a spicy, grassy hay and a surprisingly sweet, almost fruit-like note” even before she laid eyes on the actual wild cat. She incorporated African aromatic materials in this fragrance, in honor of the cat’s origins, for a scent that evokes an outdoors landscape as well as its slinky animal inhabitants. (DSH website)

Papillon Artisan Perfumes Bengale Rouge: When I ran into longtime fellow scent-aficionada Ida Meister at a fragrance event a couple of years ago, she cried out, “Jessica!! Bengale Rouge!!” and told me that this fragrance reminded her of me and I needed to try it because I’d love it. Liz Moores’s created this rich, spiced-orange, rose-tinged amber as a tribute to her beloved Bengal cat. Ida was right, and it’s one of my favorites from Papillon. (Papillon website)

Feel free to share this free post with a fellow cat-lover or fragrance-lover.

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Odette Parfum Co. Pas de Chat: Odette’s brand founder-perfumer initially crafted this vanillic skin-scent as her own signature fragrance. As I recently wrote for the Bloom Parfums website, “In the French terminology of ballet, pas de chat means ‘leap of the cat.’ This quick, sideways jump became an inspiration for Odette’s Pas de Chat, her first perfume. This graceful fragrance starts with a buoyant topnote of pink pepper, followed by a clean musk that feels as chic and cozy as a gossamer-thin cashmere sweater.” (Odette website)

In other, even newer indie perfumery news, consider following Faeral Perfume for the January 2026 release of Minou, described as “a dose of cheeky nostalgia and an antidote to the modern world.” (Notes include grapefruit, strawberry bubblegum, rhubarb, milky fig, fig leaf, warm grass, chalky iris, and vanilla marshmallow musk.) “Minou” is a French diminutive (i.e., cute little nickname) for “cat,” and this one is a fun playmate!

Do you have any favorite cat-inspired scents to add to the list? I’m aware of Miskeo’s Portrait de Madame et Son Chat, for example, but haven’t had a chance to try it yet.

Let us know!

Additional podcast fun: Perfume On the Radio, “The Perfumer’s Cat” (with one segment featuring me; thanks again for the invitation, Saskia!)