Are you meant to bath cats?

[cmoc]

I have had cats for 35 years and never once would I ever have thought to put them through the trauma of a bath! My cousins cat had a heart attack and died after being bathed. My cat did get oil on his paws once and I tried standing him in a sink with half an inch of water, the wailing the scratching, the trauma was horrendous. You can always wash them down with a warm wet flannel and a nice rub down with a soft towel.

 

[momto3cats]

For most cats, I would say no, it isn't necessary. I do occasionally bathe one of mine who is mostly white and not very meticulous about grooming - we're talking 2 or 3 baths a year, not weekly or even monthly. I clip her nails before the bath, give her a towel to stand on so she won't slip, and use a very mild, plain soap. It doesn't have to be traumatic.

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by momto3cats

....... It doesn't have to be traumatic.

I agree. Often cats will pick up on our own stress so if we don't get all stressed out before the bath, the cat is more likely to stay calm as well. It's sort of like that old expression that if you already expect the worst, then that's what will happen.

 

[kassoxo]

I bathed rocco since he was a little kitty kitty
when we got him desexed he came home from the vets covered with Fleas so we bathed him in flea shampoo
and we also got flea treatments to put on the back of his neck

he actually didnt mind being bathed.. id shower him (with my bikinis on of course) and he'd just lay over my shoulder

we showerd him not long ago.. he whinges a little now but he bares it..

 

[mrblanche]

My mother had a long-haired white cat in college that she bathed weekly. But I've only bathed a few cats, usually because they were covered in fleas. I know a few tricks, but I can't say any of them will get you out unscathed.

 

[gloriajh]

don't bathe unless something happens - they are inside only cats

Phoebe has learned to endure the occasional washing after a messy litter incident - she has long hair and things just get caught there - she mostly just squirms and squeaks a little while I gently wash her - afterwards, I think she's grateful to me

They've actually had one bath since they were little - and, Simon was hissing at the others - they just didn't smell right to him -- poor Simon, his nose knows something is different ... so, I resist bathing them unless it is called for - they get an occasional wet facecloth scrubbing, but, other than that - it's up to them

 

[clumsy kitty]

I've had to bathe Oscar twice, when he's come in smelling of tomcat. One of the horrible little critters by my house keep spraying all over our garden, all over Oscar's territory - even in the little tent we bought him for when it starts to rain but we've gone out and can't let him in. Anyway, my method has been to put him in the shower cubicle and shut the door, without the shower on. Let him sniff around a bit, then get in with him, put the shower on (it's a removable head so it's not soaking him) and give him a soak with a wet flannel then rinse it off. He's never happy, but he's not scratched me, not once. But he is quite chilled out in general. We take him to the vet and he just sits on the table like it's a couch. When he was neutered, the vet gave him back to us and he even found it in him to give her a little kitty kiss on her nose! Apparently all the nurses fell in love with him

But you can get pet wipes for general muckiness. A godsend in my humble opinion!

 

[davecat]

I started bathing dave when he was a baby so he could get used to it from a young age.

He has always been a bit of a doofus cat and a bit slower than the rest of the litter and I think this may be a reason he never made much effort cleaning himself.

I used to bath him maybe once a month roughly.

As soon as he got to just over a year old, it seemed to click with him about cleaning him self properly and I never had to do it so often, maybe once every couple of months or so, when he had been out in the rain and stuff.

I was always been very concious of how dirty he looks/smells as when I visit friends with cats who never get bathed, they look greasy and are not nice to stroke at all.

 

[cc12]

Cleo has been bathed twice and liked it. Seldon loves water but I only wipe him down occasionally. Bathing Mary is an exercise in torture. So she gets it rarely.

 

[marjan]

I bath them at least once a month or at most once a week

I think the only time when they hate me is doing this bath thing and send them for boarding ( when I'm on vacation )

 

[kittyl0ve4]

I give Monster a bath about every 3 months. hes longhaired, so i think it really helps him out, since he grooms himself ALL the time & he is constantly losing hair, so it cuts back how much hair he is swallowing. but sometimes, hes known to get into things, like once he went down into the basement & someone here had a thing of oil down there that he got into & got it all over him. so he gets bathed on those occasions too. ive been giving him baths since he was really little, when he was litter training still & sometimes would step in his poo while trying to cover it up. i kept up with the baths, & he got used to it, but still doesnt like it. he still tries to get away, & then when its over he grabs onto my shoulder & hugs me, and wont let go. plus, thats the only time he will allow me to clip his nails. i dunno y but he usually will stay in my arms for a while after getting a bath.

With Mittens, I havent had her that long, maybe a couple of months. she is shorthaired, so i dont think she needs to be bathed very often. i kno she has had baths before, bc my boss used to give her baths.

I have bathed my moms cat before, several times. she was very mean & HATED it.

 

[mer636]

i've been wondering is I should since we adopted both our cats (one from SPCA and the other from petsave) and the one from petsave has dandruff so it was a question i was going to ask maybe you guys can give me some advice?

 

[rebochan]

I've bathed both of mine in exceptional circumstances. Carter when he soiled himself in his carrier coming back from the vet, and Lorelei to calm down severe flea allergy dermatitis.

I don't intend to be repeating this regularly though - the entire time I bathed Lorelei, she was yelling at the top of her lungs and Carter was crying outside the bathroom door because he was so worried about her. Which was cute...but man, what a stressful experience for the three of us. At least I figured out that as long as Lorelei could bury her head in my arm, she was a lot calmer...but this only worked until I had to lather...