That poor cat had such a delayed reaction to that smell.
I had sourdough starter for a few months. I forgot about it for a little bit and I had it sitting on top of a shelf I had in the kitchen so the cats couldn't get into it. This was in Virginia in the winter time, so it wasn't super hot or anything. One morning I went in the kitchen and smelled something off. I finally saw unknown ooze on the floor. Followed the trail and found my starter had bubbled out of the bowl, trickled all the way down the cabinet, and made a lovely puddle on the floor. It smelled awful.
And that was my last sourdough attempt