Mutton smell

I'm wondering if there's something about ovine meat that, besides the stereotypical aroma - or reek, depending on your acculturation and tastes - of mutton (adult sheep), there's also some component that's undectectable to the human nose but still strong.

I had a lambchop for dinner last night (bought from the UW Meat Science department store) and saved the piece of bone in the middle - don't ask why, you'll find out later. I scrubbed all the remaining bits of marrow out of it and soaked it overnight in 10% bleach. Bleach is a very powerful oxidizing agent - in layman's terms, destroys lots of things. Then I left it soaking in a cup of water on my desk to get the bleach out when I went to work.

Mistake.

When I came back during lunchtime the cup had been overturned, there was water all over my desk, and the lamb bone was lying there. Fortunately my computer didn't kena. My drinking glass next to it had been untouched, so...whichever naughty kitty tipped it over had definitely been in pursuit of the mutton bone.

The funny part was, when I picked it up and sniffed it, all I could smell was still the faint chemical stench of bleach. It didn't smell palatable or attractive at all any more.

Then, when I got home again a little while ago, I picked up the bone from the windowsill where it had been left to dry and laid it on top of my computer. A few minutes later Karen said "There's a cat on your computer". I looked into my bedroom and heard a CLUNK and saw a striped tail retreating under my desk.

Cats like mutton...go figure.