How Often Do You Bathe Your cats?

[Margot Lane]

I know most of you don't because you've never needed to.
My boy Church can't groom himself the best and his coat will start to get oily because his joints won't let him groom as much as the average cat. So he gets bathed about every 6-8 weeks. Either an oatmeal deshed or dirty dog. My friend owns a grooming place so I just take him there and bathe and blow him out myself. He's a good boy

Gorgonzola only gets a bath when her shedding gets out of control. For a short haired cat, she blows her coats like a husky when the seasons change. So I'd say about three times a year for her.

So if you have these issues, how often do you bathe or take to the groomers?

I just love Church and I love that you take care of him. I don’t know his backstory but he looks like he’s been through a lot & is just a plain sweetheart. If it were me b/c of his special needs I’d ask my vet. All my cats have been automatic self cleaners, so wouldn’t know. PS I just checked his backstory…that is SO sweet he found you! Thank you for taking care of Church!

 

[The_Baroness]

My first cat only ever got flea baths. It wasn't common and only happened maybe 3 times in her 11 years. Tigger and Loki only ever got one bath and that was a single full body bath because of fleas. Suva has had many full baths and butt baths. It really just depends on how messy she gets from her litter visits (she is still young and has some nasty poop and dingle berries she tries to wipe on carpet). But I make sure the baths are quick and after she is in a towel calms straight down.

 

[gabicards]

I had to give my first cat somewhat regular baths when we were treating him for a Giardia infection, to try and prevent him from reinfecting himself while licking his own fur (still a hard battle to win, even with baths).

For my current cat, when it's very hot in Paris I bathe him once every couple of weeks. He dries completely in less than half an hour, and he's a very furry Maine Coon! I avoid bathing him when it's cold, unless he gets into some type of mess (he's still young, so we're prone to litter box accidents over here) or if his fur seems to be getting yellow (he's mostly white).

Here's Topaz post-bath!

 

[smbsocal]

We bath our cats on a as-needed basis be it for specific incidents or when they have a noticeable smell that doesn't go away.

I have found that some cats tend to be cleaner and self-clean better than others but the fur characteristics can also play a part as well.