How often do you gave your cat a bath?

[arjay alba]

My neighbor gave her cat a bath twice a week, but i thinks that's over. As far as I know, cats can clean themselves.

 

[mani]

They do indeed.  Cats don't need to be bathed unless for some reason they are too dirty to clean themselves, or perhaps they are ill.  If it's illness, I prefer to use special wipes to clean them as bathing is quite an extreme thing to do to a sick cat.

Some people bathe their cats frequently because they are allergic and it helps with the allergies, so it's for their sake and not the cat's.

One of the best things you can do for your cat is groom them.  My cats just adore to be brushed and it strengthens our bond.

If you don't do it already, why not start now?  With your kitten, you may find she will think it's a game at first, so start with just short sessions. 

 

[Winchester]

I have bathed a cat twice. I had to give both Mollipop and Tabby a bath when they were wee kittens. They each fell into the toilet and I had just finished using it both times. A bath was necessary. But that's been it for complete bathing. 

The only time I wet a cat down was Amber Louise when we first brought her home. She had a few fleas....nothing major, but she was too young for any flea product. I put her in a small tub of warm water and combed her out as the fleas went to her neck. I did that a couple of times and no more fleas. Poor Amber; she looked like a tiny drowned rat.

I don't believe in bathing a cat unless it's necessary. They do a great job of cleaning themselves. And there's nobody in our house with allergies, so that's not an issue either.

We do brush each cat regularly. It's a great way to bond, as Mani mentioned. But it's also a good way to feel for any bumps or lumps or what-have-you. Once you know exactly how your kitty feels, you'll know right away if you feel something that shouldn't be there. We have six cats in the house and they all dearly love to be brushed and combed, so it's a struggle sometimes. I usually pick a cat a night and take it into the bathroom. We sit on the floor with the brush and comb and I do my thing.

 

[kathyfromcanada]

3 of the 4 cat's I have don't need a bath as they can groom themselves. However, Athena the white cat has a skin condition and she needs to be bathed every so often. We have only bathed her about 3 times a year but she is a mess if we don't. 

 

[sivyaleah]

We've never bathed Casper and only once needed to give Cocoa a bath. That, was because she had urinated on herself at some point when we first got her; I'm sure she had something happen that we didn't witness.  She also had a piece of poop stuck to her at the same time so, we surmised perhaps she got surprised in the box by Casper, ran off, and then had to go so badly that she couldn't control herself - or know well enough yet where the litter box was.  But I'd never do it otherwise; both are adept at keeping themselves clean.

There are some breeds of cats which do require frequent bathing; the Sphinx being one.  Their body oils have nowhere to collect, so it needs to be removed by the owner or it make the cat itchy and uncomfortable. But other than that, there really isn't any need to bath at cat unless they really have messed themselves.  And I'd still try for some kind of wipe first.  Cats just don't take well to bathing, unless they have gotten used to it since kittenhood - like those who are show cats.  It's fairly traumatic for most.

 

[mani]

 
I have bathed a cat twice. I had to give both Mollipop and Tabby a bath when they were wee kittens. They each fell into the toilet and I had just finished using it both times. A bath was necessary.

I'm just wondering whether this fits into the category of 'too much information'    

 

 

[mycatsinthetub]

I bath them as needed. If they've helped in the garden or got into something sticky.

I have more problems keeping the boys OUT of the tub than in it. My youngest (6 months) is a a swimmer. He loves the water!!!!! My oldest kitty (almost 10), likes to splash flicking his tail in the water and batting the bubbles.

 

[lilin]

My neighbor gave her cat a bath twice a week, but i thinks that's over. As far as I know, cats can clean themselves.

That's way overkill. And for most cats, it's actually going to make their skin quite dry.

A bathe a cat when they are actually dirty, which is virtually never. My elder cat did need bathing once or twice a week at the end of her life because she had ataxia and would fall in her food or litter box. She actually got dirty, and being elderly, could no longer clean herself as effectively.

But Pia? Never. She keeps her own coat in very nice condition.

 

[arjay alba]

I read also from yahoo answers that cats cannot cleam themselves alone. When they lick their coat, they were just cooling themselves.. How true is that? I never gave my cat a bath since I adopted her.

 

[bluebird gal]

Never given a bath to either of our boys.  Frankly, I can't imagine why .. short of an illness where they can't clean themselves.  I guess you would have to with an outdoor cat if it got sprayed by a skunk or got into some wild animals poo.   

I do use a warm, damp rag to wipe our older boy off occasionally but only because when he goes outside on his harness he loves to roll in any kind of dirt he can find.  Never shampoo or soap of any kind just the warm, damp bath rag.

 

[teatabby]

 
I have bathed a cat twice. I had to give both Mollipop and Tabby a bath when they were wee kittens. They each fell into the toilet and I had just finished using it both times. A bath was necessary. But that's been it for complete bathing. 

 

They must have appreciated the bath!

I've never bathed Minnie and I gave Maddie a bath a couple years ago when she finished rolling around in the dirt for hours in our catio and was, frankly, a complete mess. She was not happy about it 

 

[furmom101]

I don't bath my cats. I bathed my most recent cat because I found him as a stray and he had mud caked into his fur and tons of dust. But that's it. They never stink and bath themselves daily on their own. They also have nice coats!

 

[mani]

I read also from yahoo answers that cats cannot cleam themselves alone. When they lick their coat, they were just cooling themselves.. How true is that? I never gave my cat a bath since I adopted her.

Cooling is just one of many reasons why cats lick themselves... They do it to remove dirt, redistribute natural oils, the saliva has 'healing' enzymes in the case of licking a wound, and they simply find it relaxing!