Do you bathe your cats?

Shorty2U · ‎03-09-2010

There is a vine video I just saw on face book. It is longer than your usual vine, its a 2 minute video of an orange cat (not long haired) screaming what sounds like NO in complete distress while getting a bath in the tub.

There are comments under it with people arguing. Most are saying the owners are mean, this cat is in distress and the owners are laughing and that cats clean themselves. Then others are saying whats the big deal that cats can be bathed and that most cats would scream like that if bathed.

To me the cat didn't even look dirty and I felt bad for the cat but I am not saying don't bathe any cats.

Personally we do not bathe the 3 domestic cats we have now and they are very clean because of course they clean themselves. My husband brushes them at times. When we had our long haired cat (who has since passed away) we did bathe him on occasion. because his hair would get a bit messy in the back side being it was long. He did not scream like the cat on the vid but he wasn't thrilled.

Just wondering do you bathe your cats and do they even need to be bathed IF they have short hair and stay Indoors? I wonder what our vet would advise, we never asked we just assume they clean themselves because our cats look immaculate.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make~ The Beatles

hennypenny · ‎03-10-2010

The last time we tried to bathe a cat was a fiasco. We had given a long haired cat a lion cut as he kept getting matted.

After the cut I thought it best to bathe him and get the excess cut hair off of him. Well, mr. henny was given the chore of holding the cat while I washed him. The cat bit mr henny and it became infected and it was pretty scary.

No more cat bathing in this house.

ROMARY · ‎04-28-2010

Only with paper towels dipped in luke warm water. Then, more paper towels to dry. She loves it! Purrrrrrs and purrrrrs.......... ${#emotions_dlg.rolleyes}$

'More or less', 'Right or wrong', 'In general', and 'Just thinking out loud ' (as usual).

mewsmomtoo · ‎03-05-2014

If I trap kittens they get a bath to get off all the dirt and any fleas. Other than that, the only time I bathed a cat was when he got ringworm (got it at vet's!). I had 3 cats and the vet said I would have to bathe them once a week with a special shampoo. The one who had the ringworm was just a love bug and while he didn't like his bath, he tolerated it. The other two I did get into the tub, but that is as far as it went. Since I did not have a death wish, we left it at that. I also discovered that it doesn't matter how often you bathe and medicate a cat with ringworm, it is going to go away in it's own time. Shampoo and lotion etc. are a waste of money

I wouldn't bathe an adult cat except under certain circumstances. I understand that hairless cats need to be bathed once a week because of their oily skin. If you find your cat enjoys it (some do!), then that's great, but I'm going to go with brushing and the occasional warm wet rag ${#emotions_dlg.biggrin}$

sylviahomeatlast · ‎03-11-2010

my daughter and I bathed 2 cats---we had to suit up in parkas and big gloves---not only were they ballistic about the actual washing, but the hair dryer sent all of us over the edge---never again ---we've had cats for 40 years and I think they do a better job on themselves---even the long hairs

brewhaha · ‎07-25-2010

They prefer showers - raining cats & dogs.

Topaz Gem · ‎03-10-2010

No. Cats are self-cleaning critters.

"Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~Henry James

Alter Ego · ‎03-12-2010

I used to bathe my long hair cat and he didn't mind it at all. He was somewhat of a diva and I'm sure he actually enjoyed it. He was a rescue and it was pretty clear that he was used to it.

Because of him, I tried to give my domestic short hair a bath. THAT didn't go over well, and I haven't tried it again.

I eventually started taking the long hair to a groomer and recently decided to bring the short hair as well for a wash. He looked gorgeous when he was done - he was deshedded and actually looked a shade darker. Although I brush him, I was surprised by how much dead hair they got out. Because he has particularly thick hair, I am considering taking him again - I like the fact that he won't be ingesting all of that dead hair and that the hair won't be all over the house.