Do you bathe your cat(s)?

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]Okay, so EmmyLou does have a point. I've just always heard "bathe your cat in case of a medical situation" so I started it. But, everybody else also has good points. Why not bathe the cat? They can't clean every part of their body, and Zoey is an indoor-outdoor cat, therefore she tends to get partially smelly. I'm not exactly partial to sleeping with a smelly kitty. It also cleans out all their fur very well and I believe it is a good experience for them, just exposes them to one more thing. Zoey is not traumautized by the bath, she is simply being sassy, as she tends to be. I'm sure as she begins to get used to it, she'll grow to love it. i massage her while I shampoo her, and I'm sure the water feels good, especially cool water in the summer and warm water when it's a little colder.[/font]

Do you bathe your cat(s)? Yes
If so, how often? Once in the blue moon.
What do you bathe them in? I actually use the shower
Do you use shampoo? Yes
If so, what kind? Panteen Pro V shampoo and conditioner
How does your cat respond to the bath? When I tried to hold him whilst wetting him, he hated it he scratched and clawed, so I put him on the floor and held my empty hand above his head, just to ensure no water got near his ears. He just sat there and gave a faint meow or 2. Then when I dried him off he was happy as Larry.


Reason for bathing on that occasion, was because Neko was just becoming an indoor/outdoor cat and he soiled himself outside. I imagine he lost his balance or something and stood in his poop. Or it wasn't his poop.

Someone had asked about the teeth cleaning... I've got a kitty tooth brush and animal toothpaste (I think it's beef flavored or something)... he doesn't much like it - which is expected, haha - but I do the best I can... any plaque I can get off is good... I have checked with my trusted vet and she said he's not in need of a professional cleaning, so I'm at least helping put that off a little with what tooth brushing I can do

I bathe Oliver partly because my mom is somewhat allergic, and we are now living with my parents (yay to graduating college and being currently jobless! haha)... it also helps with getting dead undercoat off (I do brush him regularly, but it's much easier to gather up wet hair than have dry hair fly around and irritate my mom), and although he's an exceptional and frequent preener he a) can't get EVERY inch of his 15 pound body, haha and b) the wet kitty food breath gets transferred from tounge to fur... he gets to being stinky at the end of the month and he's indoor only!

I figure he reacts so well because he was a street kitty and I'm sure he's gotten caught in the rain more than once.... I know a lot of people have a notion that cats are still pretty wild (note: their egyptian ancestory) however they are really domesticated at this point and do depend on us a lot and regular grooming is part of that dependence... whether you decide to bathe or not

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

There is no reason NOT to wash a cat. I've always given my cats baths whether they were shown or not. Only one that had to be treated differently was Mitten cause he was terrified of water.

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I think those are the answers right there. The reasons not to wash cats is that they hate it and they're not supposed to be washed, in nature. Also the water could do damage if it gets in their ears. And washing strips the natural oils from the hair and skin.

It ... actually can do them more good. Keeps fur cleaner then them doing it themselves.

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This isn't true. Not if you're talking about a normal healthy cat... they can clean off dirt quickly and thoroughly with saliva. And they can reach every part of their bodies; you'll see it if you watch them wash themselves. Certainly, on the rare occasion a cat gets into something messy or if a cat is elderly and unable to clean itself, you step in. I've found that a cat wipe is sufficient for those cases.

For the record, my cat is white and he's medium-haired. A few people have asked me how I keep him so gleaming... I don't. He does it. He makes my white walls look dirty when he sits next to them.

The cats I grew up with were the same. They were shiny, clean and odor-free... until near the end.

Cats do NOT hate water or getting baths - I've never had a cat (except Mitten) that could not be washed when I chose to wash him/her. You are lucky you have a white cat that stays white - most don't - they get yellow over time.

I think you misunderstood my statement. I've given several examples of why you can and should wash a cat. And if you use the RIGHT shampoos/conditioners in the coat, it will not dry it out. I know people who campaign their show cats 3-4 times a month (almost every weekend) which would require a bath before every show.....and the cat's coat is WONDERFUL - not dry, but nice and silky, shiny, clean.

During heavy shedding time, you can wash a cat and get more of the undercoat out.

While YOU might not choose to wash your cats, doesn't mean other shouldn't.

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]Golden Kitty's last post says it all. Everybody has opinions, emmylou, and yours is not the right one... Golden Kitty's choice to wash her cats is not the right choice either, but everybody should decide for themselves and for the better of their cat. Trust me, emmylou. I don't think your white cat is an outdoor cat. Zoey is, and she's white almost all over! She tends to get a bit discolored, but that is not the main concern. She tends to get smelly... Who wants to sleep with a smelly cat? I think it's good for them to be exposed to it as well, and you are wrong, cats do not hate water. Haven't you heard of those who have cats that jump right in the shower with their employees? [/font]

Almost every one of my rexes loved water and baths. I had 3 month old rex kittens that I could not keep out of the sink when doing dishes. One loved to play in the running water and none of them hated getting a bath.

Do you bathe your cat(s)? YES
If so, how often? Show cats every other week, other cats when they need it
What do you bathe them in? Shower
Do you use shampoo? Yes
If so, what kind? Goop, Dawn, Matrix Biolage, Abba Molasses, and/or medicated
How does your cat respond to the bath? Veeshan does not mind the bath at all, Kingston does not really like it, Cala does not like it, Willow does not mind bathing and I have never needed to bathe Scruffy.

After having 2 cats that needed medicated baths I have learned I will always bathe my cats starting at kitten age. It is much easier and less stressful if you get them used to having baths at a young age. Veeshan has been getting regular baths since she was 4 months old and she does wonderful getting bathed now. Kingston is still young and getting better with every bath.

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]See? I knew there were situations in which medical baths were recommended! What sort of issues did your furbabies have, kitytize?[/font]

The first cat had some scabs on his skin and the vet prescribed antibiotics and recommended trying the medicated bath. The skin cleared right up with 2 baths and never had another problem.

Cala is the second cat and she has severe allegies in the fall. I bath her every other week from Oct.-Dec. Without the medicated baths her skin gets red and oozy. With the medicated baths there is very little redness and no oozing. Giving her medicated baths keeps her off cortisone shots.

I have question as I live in england is it best to wash my kittys in summer than in winter.. Would they get chill if I did do it in winter?

Originally Posted by PinkRhinos4

I have question as I live in england is it best to wash my kittys in summer than in winter.. Would they get chill if I did do it in winter?

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I blow dry my cats.

I don't bathe mine. Seb absolutely hates water. If he needed to be bathed, a professional would have to do it.

My cats do not stink. They can keep themselves clean so far. I have washed Daphne's feet when she had litter stuck between her toes. She sounded like I was torturing her. Such drama

I don't see any problem with bathing cats. Some do, some don't. As long as the cat is healthy, happy and loved, I don't think the bathing thing is such an issue.

i haven't read all of the replies. but here's my answer.

after stimpy initially got a couple baths (he spent a month in a shelter, and previous to that had been fed something wretched that caused his fur to be super dry and brittle) we stopped bathing the cats.

stimpy is BIG. when he doesn't want to do something, he can throw your back out. and when he gets a bath, he makes it sound like you are trying to drown a child with all his thumping, banging, howling and carrying on. i was afraid the neighbors would call the cops on me every time i bathed him.

baths are now on an "as needed" basis. which isn't very often. we usually use a cat shampoo, preferably tearless, but sometimes an oatmeal one. usually when i have to bath them the shampoo is so old i have to buy a new bottle again.

Do you bathe your cat(s)?
Yes
If so, how often?
Show Abys and Norwegian - Once a month and before show, Persian - twice a month, all other cats - about 3/4 times a year.
What do you bathe them in?
A special sink in the bathroom just for the cats
Do you use shampoo?
Yes, and conditioner
If so, what kind?
Chris Christensen Gold on Gold system for the longhairs and Jerob's Mahogany Gold for the shorthairs (all my cats are red or brown or variations thereof)
How does your cat respond to the bath?
Very well

I've never bathed any of my cats because they've never needed it. Fingers crossed they stay that way. They are both very clean. There are reasons why you might want to bathe a cat - allergies, grooming (I know someone with persians who is a professional groomer and bathes her cats every 6 weeks to keep them tangle free), if they can't clean themselves due to illness or obesity, if they've rolled in something potentially dangerous, showing... I'm sure there are more. However, if there isn't a good reason I prefer not to as there are potential problems with bathing. It can strip the oils from the coat, although using suitable products should prevent that, but it can also cause problems in multi cat households with the bathed cat not being recognised by the other cats due to different smell. Not saying that will happen, but I have heard of it happening and causing problems. I also wonder whether too much bathing actually results in cats not cleaning themselves as much? I've no evidence of that, just something I wonder about. I do keep in wipes for spot cleaning if needed and would always prefer to use those or a dry shampoo than bathe my cats, tbh. Jaffa would freak out if I tried to bathe him as he hates being restrained. Mosi loves playing with water but I don't think he'd take too kindly to having a bath. Guess it's a personal decision. My choice is to not bathe unless there's no alternative.

[font= "Comic Sans MS"]See, that is why I am doing this when Zoey is still young! I want her to get used to it, and she always smells so fresh and clean after her bath, and her coat is sooooo soft! I think I'm going to use either Pert with medium conditioner, or Pantene with conditioner. I used Finesse on her last time and it worked well... And you can tell, she's throwing a fit because she's just being a little drama queen. But she obviously likes being massaged with the shampoo, because she eventually purrs!

PinkRhinos: you can bathe them in summer and winter! In summer, it washes out the dead undercoat better than just regular brushing (unless you invest in the furminator). In the winter, it helps prevent their hair from getting dry and coarse, as well as their skin, if they naturally have dry skin. And they will not catch chill if your dry them. Kitytize said she uses a blow dryer but I personally would not recommend it unless they were exposed to it as a very young kitten, because the noise and sudden rushes of air can be very frightening unless exposed to it as a very young kitty. Zoey goes bonkers when I turn on the vacuum and won't calm down for half an hour! What I do suggest, is warming a soft towel in the dryer during the bath. Then fetch itm afterwards, it'll be warm! Gently rub them dry with it... Zoey loves the second massage she gets with the towel! [/font]

Just wanted to add that my Lou (the Norwegian) is a good 6.7kg (around 14lbs) and is about 2.5 feet (if not more) from head to tail tip. He doesn't really like people, he's more of a cat's cat than a human cat and yet, he's very easy to bathe and groom. He actually likes being bathed and groomed

He's currently getting more baths than the usual once a month due to the fact that he's shedding big time (aarrrggghhh!) and he's being shown more since he's had two very successful shows!

Any cat, if trained from young can be bathed successfully and easily IMO. Most of my cats get bathed from one week after their 1st vaccinations and every month after that for the first 6 months of their life. Using a blow dryer (which I don't use anymore since I bought a pet dryer that looks like an oven) is easy when used from young. My shorthairs do NOT get blow dryed unless absolutely neccessary - they dry naturally and get brushed daily irrespective of whether it's a show month or not.

Someone from England asked about bathing in winter.... up until May I went to school in the middle of Pennsylvania (woot, graduation!) where it's freezing in the winter... I still bathed Oliver once a month - just made sure to crank the heat while he was drying and towel dried him very well (plus I hold him all wrapped up like a baby in towels to get as much water off him as possible)... I've never had a problem - some people put the towels in the dryer so they're nice and warm, I couldn't do that at my apartment since the laundry was at the end of my building and was $0.75 a load!