My kitty, Oreo, is an outdoor cat. My mom and I have talked about it and from now on we want to have her bathed on a regular basis. How often is regular? I know that cats don't need to shower every day like humans.....
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How often do cats need to be bathed??
- Thread starter suzieq9109
- Start Date
I would say once a month at the most. Cats have oils on their fur and skin, and if washed too much the skin will become dry and flaky.
I don't wash my outside cats, more for the fact that they would try to eat me alive if I put them near water, and that they would go rol in the dirt and get soo muddy if not kept in the house till they are dry.
I do wash Cody and Dolly in the summer time though, about once every 2-3 months, as a part of their flea prevention. Other than fleas and skin problems there is really no need to wash them, most HATE it and will do anything to get out of the water.
Good luck with it though, I know how it is, I just have to wash Cody & Dolly in the summer cause I want some clean kitties!
I don't wash my outside cats, more for the fact that they would try to eat me alive if I put them near water, and that they would go rol in the dirt and get soo muddy if not kept in the house till they are dry.
I do wash Cody and Dolly in the summer time though, about once every 2-3 months, as a part of their flea prevention. Other than fleas and skin problems there is really no need to wash them, most HATE it and will do anything to get out of the water.
Good luck with it though, I know how it is, I just have to wash Cody & Dolly in the summer cause I want some clean kitties!
Oliver's an indoor only cat, but I give him a bath once a month... my mom's pretty allergic to him and it helps with his shedding... I wouldn't do it more than once a month unless your kitty gets into something icky...
Unless your cat is particularly dirty for some reason or you need to bathe her for a show, I'd say bathing is unnecessary. Why do you want to bather her? Most cats keep themselves clean. I've never bathed any of mine. It isn't great for their coats as tends to strip away the natural oils.
Only one of my cats has ever been bathed. He was a three week old orphan badly infested with fleas and he was given a couple of baths and gone over good with a comb.
If the cat isn't shown I'd do them once a month or every other month. Show cats get baths before every show. If bathed often you need to add a conditioner to the coat so it won't dry out as fast.
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- #7
[QUOTE=urbantigers]Unless your cat is particularly dirty for some reason or you need to bathe her for a show, I'd say bathing is unnecessary. Why do you want to bather her? Most cats keep themselves clean. I've never bathed any of mine. It isn't great for their coats as tends to strip away the natural oils.[/quote]
Oreo just recently had an abcess (yuck!) and I want to have her bathed just to wash out any puss that may be overlooked and left behind. I know that it's not neccessary but lately, she has had a lot of shedding and dander. She is an outdoor cat, but she usually stays on the screened in porch and when we have summer parties, etc. I want the furniture to look less "hairy" for when we have company. Also, I think it would make her coat look healthier.
Oreo just recently had an abcess (yuck!) and I want to have her bathed just to wash out any puss that may be overlooked and left behind. I know that it's not neccessary but lately, she has had a lot of shedding and dander. She is an outdoor cat, but she usually stays on the screened in porch and when we have summer parties, etc. I want the furniture to look less "hairy" for when we have company. Also, I think it would make her coat look healthier.
As a cat groomer I can say that many pet cats will never "need" a bath. Assuming that they are on a decent diet, are in good weight, and don't have access to dirty substances/areas they will do fine on their own.
Show cats of course require bathing for aesthetic reasons.
A poorly nourished cat will need bathing to get rid of an excessively oily coat.
Obese cats will need bathing as they cannot groom themselves properly.
Cats that get into things may need to be bathed.
Cats may need to be bathed for ringworm treatment, or other parasite controls.
Cats may need to be bathed after extended veterinary care if they have laid in messes, blood, or other things. Illness that include diarrhea may require a rear end wash, or bath.
But a normal, healthy cat will not "need" to be bathed on any sort of a regular schedule IMO. Especially since we now have access to several effective topical flea control products.
Show cats of course require bathing for aesthetic reasons.
A poorly nourished cat will need bathing to get rid of an excessively oily coat.
Obese cats will need bathing as they cannot groom themselves properly.
Cats that get into things may need to be bathed.
Cats may need to be bathed for ringworm treatment, or other parasite controls.
Cats may need to be bathed after extended veterinary care if they have laid in messes, blood, or other things. Illness that include diarrhea may require a rear end wash, or bath.
But a normal, healthy cat will not "need" to be bathed on any sort of a regular schedule IMO. Especially since we now have access to several effective topical flea control products.
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- #9
Since Oreo is an outdoor kitty, and does bathe herself, I will only have her bathed if I think it is absoloutly neccessary ike an abcess (hopefully that will never happen again
), or if her coat gets sticky; that has never happened before. For the shedding, I might need to change her diet....
"For the shedding, I might need to change her diet"
Before making any Dietary chnages let me ask you - do you brush Oreo on a regular basis? If not you need to. Go to the nearest Pet Store - buy a ZOOM GROOM the best $7.00 investment I ever made and go to town. Most cats love ZOOM GROOM.
Before making any Dietary chnages let me ask you - do you brush Oreo on a regular basis? If not you need to. Go to the nearest Pet Store - buy a ZOOM GROOM the best $7.00 investment I ever made and go to town. Most cats love ZOOM GROOM.
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- #11
Thanks for the advice! I will buy her a brush today
I second this; Prego and Polly love their Zoom Groom. You will be amazed at how much hair you can get off with a Zoom Groom.
My cats are indoors. I usually give Tavish and Jude a bath three time a year. if they get messy by accident that wont get off so they would need a bath.. we haven't experience with sushi yet as we just adopted him three weeks ago. Hes 10 months old..
I've never bathed any of my cats unless they got into something. All of my cats have been pretty good at keeping themselves clean. As long as they don't stink or have oily fur(not really sure what would cause this?) or have a medical issue that requires it, I think it's really unnessisary, and a good way to make yourself bleed. The only time I've had to give a cat a bath, it did not turn out good.
Another reason I've heard of people bathing there cats is so people with cat allergies wouldn't be as effected my them.
Another reason I've heard of people bathing there cats is so people with cat allergies wouldn't be as effected my them.
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Zissou gets a bath once every couple months because of my allergies. I take medicine for them (two, in fact) and brush her very well often (and clip her nails and brush her teeth!) but she only needs a bath every now and then because it's her spit I'm really allergic to and it gets built up in the fur so I give her a bath when it gets bad. She's actually about due for one now... I don't put shampoo on her though, I put a little in the water and rinse her with that and then rinse her again with clean water so it doesn't strip her coat.
I don't think baths will really help your situation more than a good brushing would though, as it doesn't really help much with shedding and you can't do it all that often.
I don't think baths will really help your situation more than a good brushing would though, as it doesn't really help much with shedding and you can't do it all that often.
Mine get a bath every 4-6 weeks (Boomer more regularly because he has a habit of 'falling in' when he comes in for a chat when I am in the bath), they enjoy the attention they get and are happy to let me bathe them... in fact Magnum knows when he is supposed to get a bath and will bug for one, just sit in the empty tub and cry.
As for bathing for shedding, it really only helps to get the already loose hair out and brushing actually helps more, you may want to look into foods that have more nutrients that help keep the coat healthy.
Here is a good article about HOW to bathe them:
As for bathing for shedding, it really only helps to get the already loose hair out and brushing actually helps more, you may want to look into foods that have more nutrients that help keep the coat healthy.
Here is a good article about HOW to bathe them:
All of my kitties are indoors only. I just bath them once each season, too much and it could irritate their skin...i always put conditioner on them after i shampoo them to keep their coats really glossy. You could really get away with bathing them less by using one of those dry shampoos you brush throughout their coats.
Oh and buy pet shampoo and conditioner if you are going to do it, human shampo is not good for kitties!
mine are all ex show kitties but they only get bathed every now and then
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