What a beautiful quilt top! I'm sure you can get the smell out without washing. My sister buought me a quilt mother made her decades ago. Her ex-husband had the quilt for the past 20 years and had let his cats sleep on it. When she brought the quilt in, it made my entire house smell. Because of bad weather, I could not put it outside, so I sprayed it several times with Fabreeze then folded it with sheets of Bounce with Fabreeze inside each fold. The quilt no longer smells. I will wash it if I ever finish repairing all the torn places; but it is wonderful that the horrid smell is no longer in my house or on the quilt.