cat acting weird after a bath

Alex.nrytl

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 7, 2022
Messages
4
Purraise
3
i just gave my cat a bath because she’s never gotten a bath after 2 years, and she was starting to smell bad and grooming so much, after the bath and drying her, she starting grooming herself non-stop, it’s been half an hour and she’s just grooming her entire body and it’s worrying me, i tried to distract her with treats, she ate it all, i gave her her favorite wet food, and some cat nip to calm her down, thankfully she doesn’t hate me(i hope) but she just won’t stop licking every inch of her body, please help
 

Attachments

BeccaCat

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 7, 2021
Messages
279
Purraise
549
I think she’s probably fine, she’s probably just mad about the bath. My cat hates water but insists on jumping into the shower. Then she jumps out and grooms herself like crazy. Some cats even use grooming to calm themselves. My guess would be she’ll stop later tonight. If she’s still over-grooming tomorrow maybe call your vet just for a professional opinion.
As long as you only used pet safe products to bathe her, my guess is she’s just annoyed.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,436
Purraise
33,200
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
We pet or brush our cat and she has to groom afterward for what I call removing the 'cooties' we've given her. I can't imagine that a bath wouldn't elicit an even bigger response.

The bigger issue here is if a bath is even needed. I know you said she began to smell bad, but tbh, most indoor only cats do not ever require bathing. Maybe some unscented hypoallergenic wipes would do the trick, rather than a full-on bath? What about her actually smells bad? Is she older, and does she need a full-scope exam, just to make sure nothing else is going on?
 

Margot Lane

Kitten at heart, not a Top Cat
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 24, 2021
Messages
4,368
Purraise
8,961
Honestly I’ve never even heard of people bathing cats until I got to this website. Obviously every cat is different, but they’ve always seemed like fastidious, self-cleaning ovens to me. She was smelling bad all over? Could it be some dermitalogical issue? I agree— I think she is doing this b/c she feels a little undignified and wants to re-clean herself! 😃
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Alex.nrytl

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 7, 2022
Messages
4
Purraise
3
I think she’s probably fine, she’s probably just mad about the bath. My cat hates water but insists on jumping into the shower. Then she jumps out and grooms herself like crazy. Some cats even use grooming to calm themselves. My guess would be she’ll stop later tonight. If she’s still over-grooming tomorrow maybe call your vet just for a professional opinion.
As long as you only used pet safe products to bathe her, my guess is she’s just annoyed.
it’s the next day, and she stopped grooming thankfully 😭 it’s just as you said, she’s normal now, she just refused to sleep with me which made me sad but i gave her her space
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

Alex.nrytl

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 7, 2022
Messages
4
Purraise
3
We pet or brush our cat and she has to groom afterward for what I call removing the 'cooties' we've given her. I can't imagine that a bath wouldn't elicit an even bigger response.

The bigger issue here is if a bath is even needed. I know you said she began to smell bad, but tbh, most indoor only cats do not ever require bathing. Maybe some unscented hypoallergenic wipes would do the trick, rather than a full-on bath? What about her actually smells bad? Is she older, and does she need a full-scope exam, just to make sure nothing else is going on?
i gave her the bath because she used to be an outdoor cat so she was always smelly but i chose to ignore it i though it was finally time because she would not stop like biting herself while grooming? and it’s the next day and she hasn’t bit herself while grooming, and her coat looks much better now, i won’t give her another bath ever, i’ll take the wipes advice
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Alex.nrytl

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Dec 7, 2022
Messages
4
Purraise
3
Honestly I’ve never even heard of people bathing cats until I got to this website. Obviously every cat is different, but they’ve always seemed like fastidious, self-cleaning ovens to me. She was smelling bad all over? Could it be some dermitalogical issue? I agree— I think she is doing this b/c she feels a little undignified and wants to re-clean herself! 😃
she was an outdoor cat so she was always a bit smelly because of it, and i wanted her to be used to me/trust me so i didn’t bathe her, after 2 years i thought it was finally time, and she acted that way, but it’s the next day and she’s back to normal !
 

tiggerwillow

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Sep 6, 2022
Messages
713
Purraise
1,315
The only time I have bathed a cat is when, one time, a cat me and my boyfriend had decided to roll in something bad and it was on his fur, so we had to give him a bath to get the stuff out of his fur.

Unusually for a cat, he loved having the bath.
 

Furballsmom

Cat Devotee
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
39,271
Purraise
53,927
Location
Colorado US
because she would not stop like biting herself while grooming?
It wasn't because of fleas?
Is she getting dry food only?
You might try giving her canned food, and if the biting during grooming continues, try avoiding giving her food with chicken since it can often be a trigger for allergic reactions.
 
Top