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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / January 2006To Bathe or Not to Bathe?
We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried them and let them take care of the rest of the grooming. We now have Nugget, a 17-year-old elusive tortie who hates being bathed; Scrap, 10 years old who has never had a bath but who looks pristine; and Smoke who is 9 months and never had a bath. At what age and how often should Smoke be bathed? She is a longhair. How about Scrap? He's a domestic shorthair. And Nugget? She was an abandoned kitten and was the probably the runt of the litter (hence her name). Is it proper to bathe cats when they keep themselves pretty clean? Or should they be bathed to clean off what we cannot see with the naked eye and they may not be able to get at with the naked tongue? It is improper to bathe cats unless they have gotten into something and cannot bathe themselves. Gail > We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in > the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > should they be bathed to clean off what we cannot see with the naked > eye and they may not be able to get at with the naked tongue? > It is improper to bathe cats unless they have gotten into something and > cannot bathe themselves. Or are so large that they cannot effectively clean themselves. I have one of those. Every couple of months we have to bathe Cosimo. He's surprisingly easy to bathe though. Puts up with it like a champ. This is Cosimo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kd1s/77384615/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kd1s/80341108/ And here's Randy (Aka Bright Boy): http://www.flickr.com/photos/kd1s/77243996/ And finally Emily, the Cat that has a house to run: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kd1s/77244038/ Or if necessary that the person or persons in the household have a need to remove the extra pet dander > It is improper to bathe cats unless they have gotten into something and > cannot bathe themselves. > Gail Not all the way true If necessary that the person or persons in the household have a need to remove the extra pet dander or read below from http://www.fanciers.com/cat-faqs/general-care.shtml Bathing You should not ordinarily need to bath a cat. Cats are normally very good about cleaning themselves, and for most cats, that's all the bathing they will ever need. Reasons for giving them a bath are: a.. The cat has got something poisonous on its fur, b.. It doesn't take care of its coat as normal cats do, c.. You are allergic and need to bathe it to keep allergens down, d.. The cat is a show cat and about to be shown, e.. You are giving it a flea, tick, or lice dip, f.. It is unusually dirty for some reason (perhaps bad weather). If you just trimmed your cat's claws, now is a good time. Having someone help you hold the cat definitely helps. If your cat is long haired, groom it *before* bathing it. Water will just tighten any mats already in the coat. Bathing methods: a.. Get everything ready. Warm water, selected bathing place (you might consider the kitchen sink as being easier on your back and facilitating control of the cat). Having water already in the tub or sink reduces the potential terror to the cat at the sound and sight of the water coming out of the faucet. Put a towel or rubber mat on the bottom of the tub or sink to give your cat something to sink its claws into. If you have spray attachments, either to the sink or the tub, those will help you soak the cat efficiently. You want to use soap formulated for cat skin, as human-type soaps will remove all the essential oils and leave the cat's skin dried out and susceptible to flea infestations or skin breakouts. There are some soaps formulated for allergic pet owners. Use sparingly and rinse well after working through coat. b.. The garden sprayer can also be used. Fill an ordinary pressurized garden sprayer (try a hand-pumped type that does *not* hiss) with warm soapy water, put cat and sprayer in empty bathtub, and use the trigger wand to soap the cat with one hand while hanging on to the scruff with the other. Put the sprayer wand down and work the soapy water into the fur, and finally follow with a bucket of water as a rinse. This procedure results in low moans from the cats, but no shrieks. To dry the cat, towel dry first. You can try hair dryers on low settings depending on your cat's tolerance. Otherwise, keep them inside until they are fully dry. If your cat is longhaired, you will want to groom it as the coat dries. Give the cat a treat after the bath, this may help them tolerate the process. If the problem is greasy skin, you may wish to try a dry cat shampoo instead. If you are attempting to remove grease, oil, or other petroleum products from your cat's fur, try using Dawn brand detergent first to remove it, and follow up with a cat shampoo. Dawn is used by volunteers who clean up birds after oil spills. Also reported to be successful is Shout laundry stain remover. >It is improper to bathe cats unless they have gotten into something and >cannot bathe themselves. >Gail I don't believe it. What is your source for this? Why is it improper to bathe a cat? What about Bengal cats, who like the water? My cat is kept indoors, but I have lots of dogs coming through the place nowadays, and my cat is sociable with all of them. Ergo, he picks up a few fleas. I gave him a nice bath last night. I have a battery operated pump with a little plastic hose coming off it... perfect for bathing an animal. He has gotten so he tolerates it calmly. Now that he is used to it, I think he realizes the warm water feels good. Charlie >> We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in >> the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> should they be bathed to clean off what we cannot see with the naked >> eye and they may not be able to get at with the naked tongue? "Charlie Wilkes" <charlie_wilkes@users.easynews.com> wrote : > My cat is kept indoors, but I have lots of dogs coming through the > place nowadays, and my cat is sociable with all of them. Ergo, he [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > calmly. Now that he is used to it, I think he realizes the warm water > feels good. Tweaker is so copisetic! (Or however you spell that, is it even a word, lol!) What a laid-back boy, and the luckiest former barn cat ever. I bathed my little rescue tabby at first because she smelled like the shelter. It was the first time she put her claws out, trying to climb out of the tub over my back, and she did get purchase in some skin, too. She was terrified. Every time after that was such an ordeal I finally stopped, realizing it was more for me than for her. (It takes care of the stinkybutts and makes her so soft and fluffy!) She has had maybe five baths, all in the first two years she was here. So she has not had a bath in something like two years. Since she is all indoor, she is fine. I am fine too, because I would rather not traumatize her and have her smell a little funky. I don't believe in that "life is messy, clean it up crap" that Proctor and Gamble shoves down our throats to sell us more $3 bottles of stuff we don't need. Some of the best things in life are a little funky smelling, after all. :') I am thinking of picking up some of those kitty wipes because she is allergic to so many things, they might help keep the allergens off of her. >"Charlie Wilkes" <charlie_wilkes@users.easynews.com> wrote : >> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >lol!) >What a laid-back boy, and the luckiest former barn cat ever. Copacetic. Here is some speculative etymology: http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cop1.htm I lean toward the Chinook derivation because my observation has been that usage is more common in this part of the country (PNW) than elsewhere in the US. But who knows? It aptly describes Tweaker's prevailing attitude toward everything from slobbering pit bulls to warm baths. >I bathed my little rescue tabby at first because she smelled like the >shelter. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >we don't need. Some of the best things in life are a little funky smelling, >after all. :') Sure, if it's a nasty trauma for the cat, obviously it should be minimized. But, I doubt if a properly administered bath is hard on the cat's skin. I use just a bit of Nolvasan (Ft. Dodge surgical scrub) and, as Lyn emphasizes, I rinse thoroughly and then rinse again, so as to get rid of any chemical irritants. >I am thinking of picking up some of those kitty wipes because she is >allergic to so many things, they might help keep the allergens off of her. Yeah, that's the way to go for cats that don't tolerate bathing. I want clean animals if they are going to share my bed. Charlie > We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in > the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > should they be bathed to clean off what we cannot see with the naked > eye and they may not be able to get at with the naked tongue? I don't think you need to bathe a cat unless it gets into something such as a sticky or oily residue. The only exception would be if a cat has an infestation of fleas when first adopted -- then it may be necessary to bathe once or twice. (I'm basing this on the assumption that yours are indoor cats, as mine are.) Neither Holly nor Duffy have ever been bathed. My first cat was bathed twice because he was feral when adopted and had a great many fleas. We didn't have anything like Advantage at that time, either. MaryL > We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in > the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > should they be bathed to clean off what we cannot see with the naked > eye and they may not be able to get at with the naked tongue? It is nevver *necessary* to bathe a cat unless they have foreign material on them, or a heavy flea infestation, disease, stud-tail, etc.. If you *want to* bathe them, never bathe them more often than every 4-6 months, and use a soothing shampoo made for cats. Rinse really well and then rinse some more. All cats should be groomed thorougly to remove dead hair and mats *prior* to bathing, or matting can occur or be exascerbated. The best grooming tool is a medium or fine toothed teflon-coated grooming comb. In reality, if you groom your cats appropriately they should never need bathing. -L. >> We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in >> the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >your cats appropriately they should never need bathing. >-L. I gave my cat, Bubba, a bath. It took me forever to get the hair off my toungue. Sorry... Claude Claude V. Lucas wrote:I gave my cat, Bubba, a bath. > It took me forever to get the hair off my toungue. LMAO! > We have had several cats and over time occasionally gave them baths in > the laundry tub using warm water and a mild soap. Then we towel dried > them and let them take care of the rest of the grooming. to bathe or not bathe that is the question i ask myself this once a week (wether i need it not)
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