(possibly NSFW) Are there any special protocols for menstruating zookeepers?

sent to syz

Most keepers have minimal or no contact rules.

That said, many animals are exquisitely sensitive to scent. When I worked with exotic carnivores, our staff was instructed to avoid all perfume/cologne and scented deodorants. I never had any trouble during menstruation, but I did see cats getting dangerously overstimulated when someone slipped up and wore scent.

I’m aware of the minimal or no contact rules. But it’s the scent I’m wondering about. There are certain mammals, in our zoos anyways, that the keepers work around (inside the enclosures).
I can see how colgne/perfumes/deodorants would cause issues as well.

Thank you for the replies :)

@syz Sexually stimulated? Or just very interested in the scent?

@FutureMemory We had a bulldog once, in the late 90’s, that would become extremely sexually arroused by the scent of (Calvin Klein) CK One cologne/perfume. Lol it was horrible.

@FutureMemory It’s hard to say. Since “overstimulated” involved drooling, facial rubbing, and extended claws dragging body parts toward the head, we always extricated the “odoriferous” person before things progressed too far. I don’t think it was particularly sexual in nature, since I would also see them behave this way with animal carcasses, turtle carapaces, shed snake skins, and other random items (we did a lot of experimenting with enrichment programs). But like many actions of cats, it seemed quite sensual.

@PluckyDog that’s funny, because most humans did not have the same reaction!

yes stay away from predators like bears lions

Thank you everyone. I was confused because I can’t seem to find any information on the subject.
I understand and agree with the scent rule but I wasn’t sure if menstruation fell under different, or even more stringent, rules.

Not exactly on the topic, but related. I have read about this regarding menstruating while surfing. Blood draws sharks. If you’re interested, you could do a search for it on Google.