What makes my cats want to roll in the dirt?

Orgasmic is the word with mine, Msolga.

Horses look pretty damned bliss bombed when they do it, too!

They do look happy rolling in the dust. If we had more rain, I could raise some really happy pigs, huh? Let them roll in the mud.

Let them sleep outside.

Then it must be great for them, Deb!

Why should we quibble about that?

So what's a bit of laundry, a bit of general cleaning up & dusting off, when compared with the experience of bliss?

Dammit roger, if our dear, darling animals can experience some sort of state of bliss we can only dream about, then who are we to argue?

Better that some being/s in the household does, than no bliss at all!

Dunno about cats in particular, but the thinking for a lot of animals is that the dirt-rolling is (in part) an effort to cover their own scent with other scents - so predators can't find them, and they can catch up with prey without being sniffed out.

He/She might have like tick or somethin

I should probably give him a going over for that, though I hate to get my hands that dirty. Mostly, I've about decided they do it to be annoying.

I thought that was horrible smelly stuff and shit rolling?

Our cats would roll on the bed in ecstasy whenever we changed the sheets. They couldn't care less about the clean sheets sitting on the floor, or the stripped mattress, but as soon as one sheet hit the bed, they'd be all over it.

Yes, they do that too.

Cats roll in the dirt for a multitude of reasons. The main being HYGEINE. As crazy as that sounds. It is good for their coat. It helps remove shedding hair, oil and skin flakes. Also, during hot days, is a way for them to cool off and lastly, it is a way of marking their territory.

Your forgot the main reason. They do it to annoy the boss, but thanks for the answer. Other than that one point, I think you are competely right.

And, judging from the ecstatic body language when they do it, it feels ferking FABULOUS.