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Are you meant to bath cats?

post #1 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:12am
Thread Starter 
Just a thought... How many of you's do bath your cats?
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post #2 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:18am
I do every week.
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post #3 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:21am
nope..haven't really ventured to do that...
although..when Jim was running a bath for himself my sabrina checked out the tub....
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post #4 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:28am
Thread Starter 
Smudge has been checking out the bath, but im a bit to scared to put her in it lol Do you use cat shampoo?
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post #5 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:35am
I haven't bathed my Princess yet. She is short-haired, indoor-only cat, and therefore less likely to get into anything sticky or mucky.

If my kitty ever needs a bath, I will likely do one of the following:

1) Wear protective gear from top to toe, in order to avoid being bitten or scratched; or

2) Pay a professional groomer to bathe kitty for me (the most appealing of these two options).
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post #6 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:39am
I think the short answer most people would give is No, but then it depends. Show cats get bathed regularly, so do many white cats (mine occasionally) and some cats just seem to get into things they shouldn't and can't keep themselves clean. Most cats, mot of the time, keep themselves clean, but sometimes it gets beyond them, or they get something dangerous on their fur. Sick or old cats may need help and like mahy things it is good if they are already used tot he procedure as it is less traumatic. Always use a PH neutral shampoo - a special pet shampoo is best of all. And rinse it off really well and keep the cat warm till it is dry.
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post #7 of 53
3/5/08 at 11:43am
The only one of our cats that has ever had a bath is Elliott.
He only got the bath because he's white and I drop a whole boat load of spaghetti sauce on him...it wasn't hot he didn't get burned.

Believe me, I looked like I'd been in a knife fight...I don't plan on bathing a cat EVER again
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post #8 of 53
3/5/08 at 12:11pm
I had to bathe Ginger just once - after she literally sat her fuzzy britches in some spilled dish soap on the sink.

She was very cooperative during her emergency bath in the bathroom sink, if extremely unhappy.

I will not bathe my cats in general, however, as I do not show them and they are indoor only, so I see no point in it.
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post #9 of 53
3/5/08 at 12:30pm
i bath the kittens every once in awhile, especially puffy, she likes to use the litter box as a bed for some odd reason. i give tiger a bath sometimes too.
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post #10 of 53
3/5/08 at 12:43pm
I bath my cats every so often- when they need it. I start from very young so they get use to it. Otherwise it is almost impossible to bath a cat. I have tried bathing a cat who had never been in a bath before and lets just say that it didn't go too well.
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post #11 of 53
3/5/08 at 1:01pm
Mine get a bath once a year, they are indoor cats so they dont get very dirty. One time they got fleas, im sure they appreciated the flea dirt being washed away. Plus that stuff goes on your furniture and bed too.
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post #12 of 53
3/5/08 at 1:21pm
I have had show cats for more then 25 yrs - have washed all of them (and some that were not shown). No big deal to me - can wash just about any cat/personality if necessary.

Charlie gets a bath the day before the show. But I think on the months he's not going to a show, we will give him a bath anyway. He loves them
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post #13 of 53
3/5/08 at 1:23pm
It depends on the cat. My Alley was indoor/outdoor longhair but she never matted, and kept herself very clean. She had maybe 2 baths in her life.

Riley, however, is indoor only longhair and he gets a bath every other month or so. He just seems to get dirty no matter what and has issues now and then with poo sticking to his fur in back. I keep it trimmed but he still needs an emergency bath now and then.
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post #14 of 53
3/5/08 at 1:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graciecat View Post
The only one of our cats that has ever had a bath is Elliott.
He only got the bath because he's white and I drop a whole boat load of spaghetti sauce on him...it wasn't hot he didn't get burned.
That's one of those moments that probably wish you'd taken a picture of.


If I have to. Sure, people think cats can keep themselves clean but the inevitable always happens - they get into something, get covered in mud, get ringworm...
Before I said "enough" with letting Sho outside (lasted about 4-5 months) he made sure to get into a few messes, mud and ringworm mostly. He's also been less than graceful in the litter box and planted his whole back foot in poo.
Tomas has only had spot cleanings from getting food or poo on him, the entire time he tries to convince anyone within earshot that we're attempting to murder him and struggles a lot. Not looking forward to his full bath day.

I've washed worse cats, though. Try washing grease and used motor oil off of a cat that absolutely hates you and has never had a bath before! Amazingly she didn't manage to bite me. The bath didn't improve her opinion of me either.
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post #15 of 53
3/5/08 at 1:27pm
I wash my cat about 4 times a year.
We are getting ready to do one.
I like to do it when shedding season is
going helps on getting all her fur away.
She has very dense fur.
She has a greasy back end and dandruff
so that helps this as well.
Does she like it, nope. I get as wet as she
does, yes. It gets easier as time goes on.
If I could use a good kitty wipe I probably
would cut it down to 2 times a year.
But I used one of those things and she
had a bad reaction to it.
Overall, it is not really necessary though,
they keep themselves clean.
They dont smell like wet dogs ever, thank god.
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post #16 of 53
3/5/08 at 1:40pm
My siamese I don't bath. I do give them a wet wash cloth clean off now and then though. But my Persians I do bathe they seem to like it and the long fur really does need it with a good detangler..
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post #17 of 53
3/5/08 at 2:16pm
I bathe, condition and blow dry my cats. Right now Maxx gets bathed once a week because he will be shown in April. Peaches doesn't get bathed as often. But it helps so much with shedding and allergies.
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post #18 of 53
3/5/08 at 2:27pm
I've never bathed a cat in my life.

If one were to get into something that needed to be cleaned off, sure. But otherwise, as far as I know, there is no reason to. Mine are all short hairs btw.
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post #19 of 53
3/5/08 at 2:27pm
I bathe my cat every now and then. I do this primarily because I am allergic to cats and feel it helps, at least according to my allergist, and also because she is very overweight and can't reach all of her areas to clean herself. I always start bathing when they are small so that they are used to it when it comes time. I also use a method of tying the cat up so that it doesn't choke them (learned from working at vet clinics/groomers). This way they know that struggling gets them no where and they just sit still the entire time, crying loudly of course!
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post #20 of 53
3/5/08 at 6:04pm
Hardly ever.

Keli is 11 years old, she's had one bath, about 10 1/2 years ago She was covered in fleas and dried blood.

Jinxy got out of the house about 5 years ago (longest day of my life, the boys had broken a window in the basement I didn't know about), and I gave him a bath after capturing him again, just b/c I'm so very allergic to poison ivy.

Bandit got a bath about a year ago b/c I had changed her food, and her skin got just terrible and flaky from it.

So, all in all, never on a regular basis, only if really necessary.
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post #21 of 53
3/5/08 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baby-Freckles View Post
Smudge has been checking out the bath, but im a bit to scared to put her in it lol Do you use cat shampoo?
Yes. I use cat shampoo My cat has been bathed since she was a kitten, so she is used to it. She doesn't mind a bit. I wouldn't do it as often if I didn't have to, but I own a breed that baths all the time are what you do.
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post #22 of 53
3/5/08 at 6:13pm
Every month! I get hives from their dander But bathing them once a month solves the problem.
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post #23 of 53
3/5/08 at 6:20pm
I bathe Macho every 2-3 weeks , he sits in the tub looking at me meowing that's all LOL
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post #24 of 53
3/5/08 at 9:27pm
Mine are bathed once a month before shows, I still bathed them after the end of show season.
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post #25 of 53
3/6/08 at 3:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tamgirl99 View Post
I bathe my cat every now and then. I do this primarily because I am allergic to cats and feel it helps, at least according to my allergist, and also because she is very overweight and can't reach all of her areas to clean herself. I always start bathing when they are small so that they are used to it when it comes time. I also use a method of tying the cat up so that it doesn't choke them (learned from working at vet clinics/groomers). This way they know that struggling gets them no where and they just sit still the entire time, crying loudly of course!
Your allergist is correct! It does help tons with allergies. The dander produced by the cat licking and licking is so sticky that really only bathing and cleaning the home regularly are the only real effective ways of controlling allergies somewhat. There are other things that help some. But they just aren't quite as effective!

I wouldn't say my cats love being bathed. But they pretty much just sit there now. They'll get a little anxious if I take too long and try to jump out. But a gentle hand on the chest stops them and they sit like good little soldiers again!
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post #26 of 53
3/6/08 at 11:08am
Show home here but even the non show cats get bathed at the very minimum every two months...the Persian gets bathed every 2-3 weeks.
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post #27 of 53
3/6/08 at 11:46am
our Himalayen gets bathed about every month but the others only get bathed when they need it.
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post #28 of 53
3/6/08 at 12:11pm
Nope, I use kitty wipes
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post #29 of 53
3/6/08 at 12:24pm
I bathe Alice occasionally. She has longer hair with a thick undercoat, when I added occasional baths to regular combing it seemed to cut down a lot on shedding. Patches has short hair, I've never given him a bath, I don't see any reason to. I use Earthbath pet shampoo.
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post #30 of 53
3/6/08 at 12:45pm
Our older cat, Sneakers, sometimes gets icky stuff in her hind-end fur, or her fur gets dandruffy or greasy. We bathe her whenever she needs it.

The two kittens in the house, Church (rescued shorthair) and "Roxy" (Maine Coon) are both going to be show cats. Church has been to one show so far and they are both going to another show next weekend. They are to be bathed before every show.
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