Bathing Short Hair Kitten, Oily Fur

[ScubaSkater]

Hello, I’m pretty new to taking care of kittens and recently adopted 2 so I am not familiar with what to do with this issue.
Both of my kittens were orphaned at a young age and now stay strictly indoors, both are domestic short hairs. One of the kittens has very soft fine fur that sometimes looks a bit oily, nothing too terrible but makes him look dirty. I’m not sure if he just wasn’t taught to groom himself, or it’s because he is growing and changing or maybe the food I feed him.
The kitten doesn’t totally hate baths so I’ve been using that to keep him less oily.

Anyone have experience with this? Is this temporary, a diet issue or just this one kitten’s quirk?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!
How old are they?
Can we see pictures? How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post

 

[Columbine]

Hi, and welcome to TCS

It really isn't great to bathe kittens (or cats) too often, unless there's a medical reason for it (e.g. ringworm). By bathing too often, you risk drying out his skin and maybe even exacerbating the oiliness issue (if it is indeed truly oily, rather than just looking dirty).
How To Bathe Small Kittens The Safe Way
How To Safely Bathe A Cat: The Complete Guide

 

[ScubaSkater]

Hi! Welcome!!
How old are they?
Can we see pictures? How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post

The kitten in the back of the first picture has the oily fur. The other pictures are just him. It doesn’t look bad in the pictures. Both kittens are 4 months old.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh WOW they're GORGEOUS!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Is the odd look to the fur happen because that cat uses a lot of spit when it grooms itself?
My Mister Big Kitty has that, for a little while after he grooms himself he looks kind of icky.

 

[Columbine]

What gorgeous kittens

My girl has that same fur type, so I get what you mean about oily looking now. It's not oily or dirty at all - just the way the fur is. Ultra shiny and ultra soft, just gorgeous You don't need to be bathing him, just brush him and let him be

This is my girl for comparison:

 

[GoldyCat]

ScubaSkater what have you been using to bathe the kitten? One good bath with a specialty degreasing shampoo for cats, or with Dawn dish detergent should help. Make sure the Dawn is the original formula, not concentrated, scented, or antibacterial. Also, rinse, rinse, rinse, and when you think all the soap is out rinse again. If even a little soap/shampoo is left in the fur it can look sticky or oily.

I wouldn't use the Dawn or degreaser too often because it will dry out the skin. I don't bathe my show cats more than once every 2-3 weeks even if they have shows closer together. They only get the degreaser about every other bath.

 

[ScubaSkater]

Thank you!
It doesn’t look like there is any residue, it’s exactly like when you don’t wash your hair and it gets shiny and clumps up a bit.

 

[ScubaSkater]

What gorgeous kittens

My girl has that same fur type, so I get what you mean about oily looking now. It's not oily or dirty at all - just the way the fur is. Ultra shiny and ultra soft, just gorgeous You don't need to be bathing him, just brush him and let him be

This is my girl for comparison:
View attachment 240941

Yeah, everyone always comment about how soft he is.
I guess it’s just that type of fur, good to know there are others like him and that it isn’t something I’m missing or feeding him wrong.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi again! Maybe there's something in here:
7 Brushes That You Should Consider For Your Shorthaired Cat

 

[ScubaSkater]

ScubaSkater what have you been using to bathe the kitten? One good bath with a specialty degreasing shampoo for cats, or with Dawn dish detergent should help. Make sure the Dawn is the original formula, not concentrated, scented, or antibacterial. Also, rinse, rinse, rinse, and when you think all the soap is out rinse again. If even a little soap/shampoo is left in the fur it can look sticky or oily.

I wouldn't use the Dawn or degreaser too often because it will dry out the skin. I don't bathe my show cats more than once every 2-3 weeks even if they have shows closer together. They only get the degreaser about every other bath.

I know at the rescue they were bathed with dawn, that was almost 2 months ago. I got a special kitten shampoo that supposedly is all natural.

 

[jinxybean]

Bathing will increase their grooming as they try to dry themselves off, and hairballs are one unexpected by-product of the extra licking. You could try grooming them with a damp paper towel, massaging their coats then slicking it down smooth. My cats never seemed to mind the 'paper towel loving' they get - it's like playtime roughhousing to them.

I also like the ZoomGroom for gentle coat care and slickers are another good coat groomer to even out the oil distribution. One cat of mine thinks the ZoomGroom is a spa massage and loves having the rubber nubs against her coat. The other...well, it's not her favorite at all but she likes the slicker. Wash them both between uses to keep their coats clean.