Anya's First Bath!

emily_325 · Jul 23, 2006

For those who have read my other posts about Anya and water you know she doesn't seem to mind being wet. The only thing she DOES NOT like is running water in the tub.

I decided that she would not be like my last cat who gave me scars I still have to this day when he needed a bath. I was going to start young with Anya (she's about 12 weeks old right now), whether she was super dirty or not. I did not do this last time and waited until I had a smelly 10 lb-ish cat before I introduced them to bathtime. BAD idea.

She did really well. I only had to scruff her one time really and that was when she stuck her face down in the water and freaked out. She let me wet her and work in the shampoo and then rinse her.

I dried her as best I could. She doesn't like the sound of the hair dryer when I use it on myself so I wasn't even going to try that. She's now sitting on the dining room chair cushion licking every inch of her body and she smells SOOO good. No more vague hint of kitty shelter smell.

I'm so proud of my girl! I walked away without a scratch! Sorry, just wanted to share my success with everyone. I was kind of dreading today. No one wants to make their kitty unhappy and elusive and the dreaded B-A-T-H.

jen · Jul 23, 2006

That is great that she behaved well, but what is the reason for bathing her in the first place? Cats really don't need baths ever unless they actually get into something very dirty, but unless it is something bad for them, they usually clean it up themselves. Especially an indoor cat.

emily_325 · Jul 23, 2006

Originally Posted by Jen

That is great that she behaved well, but what is the reason for bathing her in the first place? Cats really don't need baths ever unless they actually get into something very dirty, but unless it is something bad for them, they usually clean it up themselves. Especially an indoor cat.

Like I said before I didn't want to try to accustom her to water when she was larger and could more easily hurt me at bathtime. Cats don't NEED baths, but one every now and then to freshen up a smelly kitty, or cool them down on a hot summer day doesn't hurt anything. Especially if they are like Anya and don't seem to mind.

Plus, I have found a couple of fleas on her recently (our downstairs neighbor has two large dogs...) and a bath would help rid her of these. I found no more on her during or after the bath so I think we're flea free now.

zissou'smom · Jul 23, 2006

Yay Anya!!! Good girl! Make sure to give her lots of treats.

Zissou had her monthly bath yesterday too, and she did so well. She actually seemed to enjoy it. I used warmer water than before, and she sort of sat down in it and looked at me like, hey, why didn't you warm the water before!

One tip: run the water before you bring them into the bathroom. That way there's nothing to be scared of. And, like bathing a toddler, there should only be a couple inches of water. How did she stick her face in it?

If your cat smells, and it's an indoor cat, there is something wrong. Low-quality food often causes smelly, oily coats in my experience. Zissou doesn't smell like anything.

I agree that there's nothing wrong with a bath, but once a month is the most often you should do it unless you're showing or something.

emily_325 · Jul 23, 2006

Oh no, she's not smelly. I was saying that would be a good reason to give a cat a bath. Like if they decided to play in their litter box or something and it gets in their fur (I had a cat once who did this as a kitten).

And it was warm and only a couple of inches of water. She just got curious and leaned down and stuck her face in it. I thought maybe she saw her reflection. She quickly decided she didn't like water in her nose.

I'll probably only give Anya a bath every few months at most. I just wanted to have her first one fairly young so that she would adapt easily. Everyone on this site is always saying if you want your cat to enjoy (or at least tolerate) something do it early like baths, brushing, nail clipping, etc...

clixpix · Jul 23, 2006

What? No pictures???

emily_325 · Jul 23, 2006

Originally Posted by clixpix

What? No pictures???

Brian took our digital camera with him to Comic-con all this week.

I've been going through Anya picture taking withdrawals!

meow meow · Jul 24, 2006

I have an old boyfriend whose family really loved cats. Anyhow, they were giving their cats a bath like once a month -- I totally thought this was unnecessary. Cats keep themselves clean - why would you put a cat through a tramatic experience that they dislike for no good reason? I can see if they have fleas but to me this was just torture.

zissou'smom · Jul 24, 2006

Some people have good reason to bathe a cat, and also many cats don't hate it as much as you'd think.

I have terrible terrible allergies to cats, so I groom her daily, vaccuum, take allergy meds, etc... plus I give her a bath once a month or so. Once she got one sooner because she rolled around in poison ivy on a walk.

She doesn't show much resistance aside from getting fed up after a couple minutes and trying to get out-- no growling, hissing, scratching, flailing, nothing. She mostly just hang out in the tub and waits for me to be done (trust me, when she hates something, you KNOW it!!

)

I would also want to bathe a cat I'd just brought home from the shelter. Or if they had gotten into something, etc. I don't understand why people are against it. They do keep themselves spectacularly clean, but then it's also an extra worry if they get something on their skin.

I totally understand wanting to get your cat used to a bath at an early age. Sure it might not be necessary for the rest of their lives, but if it is, like they get ringworm or who knows what, it may be, and you'll be glad they're used to it.

They certainly don't need it more often than once a month, but people who show cats do an extraordinary amount of grooming, and their cats don't mind it much either for the most part. I don't get what's wrong with it.

I brush my cat daily, brush her teeth every couple days, trim her claws every other week or so, and give her a bath once a month. If I didn't have allergies I wouldn't bathe her unless she needed her for some other reason.

urbantigers · Jul 25, 2006

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I don't understand why people are against it.

I'm not exactly against it, but I do think it's unnecessary most of the time and does strip natural oils from the fur. Not to mention the possiblity of developing reactions to ingredients in shampoo or drying out the skin. Personally I want my cat to smell like a cat - there's nothing like the smell of freshly washed cat fur, imo (that's self washed, not bathed). I've never bathed a cat and don't know anyone who has. My cats (and those of my friends, inc those who go outside) have never needed it and have always kept themselves spotless. I do accept that there are some reasons why people might need to, although for allergies I would have thought something like petal cleanse applied weekly would be more effective than bathing. I guess I don't like the idea of a cat smelling of shampoo etc rather than of a cat and I wonder whether they find it distressing to groom themselves only to find that they smell of shampoo and not their usual scent! Then there's the worry that other cats in a multi cat household won't recognise the bathed cat because s/he smells different. There are lots of reasons why you shouldn't bathe a cat, but at the end of the day it's a personal choice if you want to (so long as you don't do it too often). I choose not to.

satai · Jul 25, 2006

Good job Emily!

Good girl Anya!

meow meow · Jul 25, 2006

urbantigersI wonder whether they find it distressing to groom themselves only to find that they smell of shampoo and not their usual scent! [/QUOTE said:
I would worry about this too. They are constantly licking their fur to groom only to taste shampoo! If you can smell the fresh shampoo smell on them -- they can smell it 1000 times more.

If you really feel she needs to be cleaned, how about one of those wipes they make for cats now?

I guess allergies and fleas would be an ok reason to do it.

zissou'smom · Jul 25, 2006

I am certainly not saying that everyone, or even most people, should bathe their cats. Most people have no reason to. I just don't see why it seems that some people are so dead-set against anyone doing it.

I don't use a smelly shampoo. I put a tiny amount of very mild soap (j&j baby shampoo--no phenols or anything, I actually use it on my eyes) in the water, and then rinse her with the slightly sudsy water, and then use clean water to rinse her again. She doesn't really ever smell like soap when I'm done. And I've only got one.

Fleas are an okay reason to give a cat a bath, as long as you are not using flea shampoos because they're unsafe (as in, possibly lethal). There are better ways to deal with fleas though.

emily_325 · Jul 25, 2006

Wow, I certainly didn't mean to start TCS turf wars over my post or anything...

I agree with everything Zissou said. Growing up my best friend was allergic to cats but was always able to come over because our cats were bathed fairly regularly and we kept everything very clean. I totally understand Zissou's reasoning for her bathing. Plus, I still have that SAME best friend and like to think she could come over now and have the same pleasant (and non-allergic) experience.

With that said, bathing is very much a personal preference. I believe that as long as the cat is not harmed, put under major stress, or traumatized by the experience, there's no problem with it. Of course the owner should be knowledgable about how to do it safely and comfortably, and as to what products are safe to use if any.

I think it's a bonding experience with my cat, but then again I have a strange cat who enjoys water. Ever since her bath whenever I'm looking for her I find her sprawled out in the tub. Granted we're going through a heat wave and the porcelain is nice and cool, but I think that were she upset about the experience she would avoid the area. She's still trying to jump in the tub with me in the mornings as well.

If there are people who don't want to bath their cats then I see no problem with that either. As has been mentioned, most cats are very meticulous self groomers and could go their whole lives without a real bathing if their owners choose to go that route.

zissou'smom · Jul 25, 2006

Oh, sweetie, don't worry nobody is actually angry about this!!! We squabble over how to care for cats all day long. And usually we all learn something! I know I have.

You are very considerate of your friend! I know she appreciates it! I get hives if the fur has too much saliva on it, which is why I have to bathe her. Her fur gets a nice shellac of old spit on it, which starts to really really bother me. Like, if she rubs on my neck it'll look like I've been stung by bees and itches like mad. That's why the wipes don't work.

emily_325 · Jul 25, 2006

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Oh, sweetie, don't worry nobody is actually angry about this!!! We squabble over how to care for cats all day long. And usually we all learn something! I know I have.

You are very considerate of your friend! I know she appreciates it! I get hives if the fur has too much saliva on it, which is why I have to bathe her. Her fur gets a nice shellac of old spit on it, which starts to really really bother me. Like, if she rubs on my neck it'll look like I've been stung by bees and itches like mad. That's why the wipes don't work.

What a horrible allergy for a cat lover to have.

Do you break out when she licks you lovingly? At least the bathing helps.

wookie130 · Nov 19, 2006

This is the first time in quite a few months that I've posted anything to TCS, but I'm the one who owns Captain Steuben, who, oddly enough, is still Anya's identical male counterpart. To this day, they still are complete clones...now, I'm pretty sure that Steuben won't allow me to bathe him, and would rather systematically remove my eyeballs, so Anya's got one over on us there.

salemwitchchild · Nov 19, 2006

That's wonderful. I wish Puff was younger so I can "start young". But he's not. And that's why I have been aprehensive to wash the shelter smell off him. I know it needs done though. Glad you had a good experience.

emily_325 · Nov 19, 2006

Originally Posted by wookie130

This is the first time in quite a few months that I've posted anything to TCS, but I'm the one who owns Captain Steuben, who, oddly enough, is still Anya's identical male counterpart. To this day, they still are complete clones...now, I'm pretty sure that Steuben won't allow me to bathe him, and would rather systematically remove my eyeballs, so Anya's got one over on us there.

You should post some pics!

epona · Nov 20, 2006

I find it difficult keeping Radar out of water. He 'bathes' himself under any running tap that he can get to. He has also discovered that if he presses his paw against the tap while water is running, it squirts out in every direction. He finds this incredibly good fun. It is really difficult brushing your teeth with a cat in the basin, spraying water all over and trying to grab the toothbrush.

I don't bathe him with shampoo or soap, but if he gets anything on him I just give him a wipe down with a handful of warm water, he doesn't mind in the slightest.

Anya's First Bath!

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member