Bathing Cats?

We have two cats and two adults....unluckly both adults are allergic to cat dander. We've found an easy solution to live happily with our babies and that's to give them baths once a month. I've heard both sides, bathing is fine and bathing is bad for cats. Our cats don't seem to have any problems I just wanted to know what other people thought of it. We also only use cat shampoo.

I am also allergic to cats and Zissou gets her bath once a month-ish as well.

I think there is no problem with it if it is necessary. Zissou doesn't enjoy her bath, but she doesn't hate it all that much just sort of grudgingly tolerates it. Provided you use the absolute gentlest cat shampoo you can find (anything with any sort of essential oil or even scent should not qualify as a cat shampoo), keep the cats warm during and after the bath, don't do it any more often than once a month, and most importantly the cats don't get too stressed out about it, have at it. If you have to use some sort of contraption or raptor-handling gloves, it's not worth putting your cats through it.

Under no circumstances (because this can't get said enough) should water get anywhere near their ears, eyes, nose, face, etc.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

We have two cats and two adults....unluckly both adults are allergic to cat dander. We've found an easy solution to live happily with our babies and that's to give them baths once a month. I've heard both sides, bathing is fine and bathing is bad for cats. Our cats don't seem to have any problems I just wanted to know what other people thought of it. We also only use cat shampoo.

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I bathe my cats because I have asthma/allergies. It also helps me keep them mat free. It does help and I don't see anything wrong with it if you do it in a way to minimize stress as much as possible. And you can do it. I believe most cats are more adaptable then we give them credit for! So I think you're doing fine by bathing them once a month!

Some things I do to eliminate stress when bathing:

*Use a rubber mat in the bottom of the kitchen sink where I bathe them, so the don't skid.
*Talk softly to them while bathing.
*Run rinse water in the other sink prior to bringing the cat to the sink.
*Snuggle the cat wrapped in warm towel for a while after bathing. (Mine love it.)
*Play soft music.

People that show their cats will give them baths before every show - whether the cat is shown 2-3 times a month or once every 2-3 months

There is NOTHING wrong with bathing a cat - even once a week. If you use some conditioner on the coat, it will not dry out like some have said. I've washed kittens from 5-6 weeks old (first bath) - thru adult.

However, instead of washing them with shampoo for the allergies - I suggest you get a gallon of distilled water and just wipe them down with a washcloth once or twice a day. That works for keeping the dander down.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

We have two cats and two adults....unluckly both adults are allergic to cat dander. We've found an easy solution to live happily with our babies and that's to give them baths once a month. I've heard both sides, bathing is fine and bathing is bad for cats. Our cats don't seem to have any problems I just wanted to know what other people thought of it. We also only use cat shampoo.

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I just wish I had the nerve to bathe Persi. Especially after watching the Persians the other night in the cat championship, with their beautiful blown out hair with hair dryers. Persi's 1st birthday is coming up, perhaps I should give him a bath for his birthday although I am afraid he will not consider that much of a present!

Sometimes I wish I was closer to some of you that are afraid of washing your cats for the first time. I could show you how its done

it was my first time bathing my bengal frankie yesterday....i had no choice in the matter as my father had kindly locked him in the garage for 2 hrs... i went outside to find him as i hadn't seen him in a while.. to find him sitting in the coal bunker,covered in coal, frankie who is normal a brown/grey color was black...so i bathed him with difficulty...he tried to grab on to everything and in the end i had to give up with him only semi washed....so he pouted for the rest of the day...but at least he's kind of clean now

I give mine a bath every week (Sphynx)
No problems at all. I use Nova Pearls shampoo.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Under no circumstances (because this can't get said enough) should water get anywhere near their ears, eyes, nose, face, etc.

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TOTALLY. Thanks for the reminder. The few times I've bathed Penny and Daisy I only cleaned them from the shoulders on down

When I dried them off with a towel I was able to gently "smudge" their faces clean with the damp part of the towel.

They're not that dirty anyway. My kitties are so good. I LUV THEM!!

Before the cat is put in the tub, I take a warm wash cloth and wipe off the face, ears, top of the head. With Spooky being white, I had to add a drop or two of shampoo to get him clean under the chin. Then I was careful to rinse that off before totally getting him wet.

We bathe our kitties once a month because of minor allergies, sometimes more if they get into something they shouldn't have. We groom them before and after the bath as well as use a cat shampoo our vet recommended. It seems to help with the shedding.

Our older two grudgingly tolerate being bathed but our youngster - she's almost 3 years - isn't so keen but she is doing better.

btw - we just bathed all 3 today. What a chore.

It is hard to say, if you cat is getting enough fatty oils from their diets, they should be fine for bathing often. My cat hops in the shower with me at least once a week, I think she developed this habit because I would bottle feed her while I took a bath. She seems to adore the water. When I actually bathe her I use baby shampoo.

Keep them warm, Keep the shampoo gentle, and keep them calm, and you should be fine