How Often Should I Bath My Cat

[amazingdrummer]

There are so many different information on internet so I feel confused. I'm a new cat owner and I have 6-month old short-haired kitten, and I give her bath every week. She's fine with it, she even enjoy the dry-blowing. But since she loves to play with her litter box, she often got dust on her coat, I want to give her bath 2-3 times a week, but the internet said that it might make her skin dry. I want to keep her clean and smell good but I dont want to do anything to harm her either. How long do you often bath your cat? or if I can only bath her one a week, is there anyway I can keep the dust away from her coat (I brush her twice a day already)
Many thanks

 

[maggiedemi]

I've never bathed any of my cats, they clean themselves.

 

[tabbytom]

Same here as M maggiedemi , never bathe my boy once. Very most is when he was a kitten, I just took alcohol and perfume free wipes and give him a run over.

My boy is an indoor cat and occasionally he goes out of the house which I then use the wipes on him.

Cats are very clean as they groom themselves. My boy has no smell on his fur at all.

Most importantly is get a soft bristled brush and brush him everyday. Some say once a week but I brush him everyday.

 

[Kieka]

I bathe my guys for two reasons: fleas or visible dirt. If it is just a spot of mud they get wiped with a wet cloth. Most short hair cats will never *need* a bath. I think it has been over a year since any of our cats got a bath and they smell just fine.

However, if you are inclined to bathe your cat regularly and the cat enjoys it there is no reason not to. I would keep it at the once a week though because it can cause skin dryness. When you are seeing 2+ baths a week that is normally directed at long hair cats and especially those with a Persian relation because they have higher oil production on their skin (selective breeding FTW). So those particular cats will replace oil quicker and can be bathed more frequently without it causing dryness. Unlike humans, you can't just apply lotion to sooth dryness and you likely wouldn't notice it until she was in much discomfort. It really is best with short hair cats to stick with just the one bath a week at the most.

Since you say she likes the dryer part you could just blow the dust off between baths. Or you could get a nice brush and brush her between baths to remove loose dust on her coat. I have also heard of cats who are fond of being rolled with a lint roller so that would be another water free way to remove loose materials on her coat.

 

[amazingdrummer]

Thanks, I will try the dryer tip, i never thought of it before

 

[Cat Sidhe]

I think it depends on the cat. Coat length, health issues involved, age, indoor/outdoor, stress when bathed, being a show cat... It is true that excessive bathing, or use of harsh/drying products can dull the coat and cause dry, flaky and itchy skin.

One bath per week as Kieka said sounds good. If you really want to be sure, your vet or a proffesional groomer could give you the best advice, adjusted to the needs of your cat. You can also use the grooming mitts/gloves to quickly remove the dust of your cat

My cats were/are all indoor moggies.
Coconut and Garfield: Both short-haired with thick winter coat. They got a bath twice per year: one during shedding season to help them remove the dead hair, one during winter. They were groomed daily.

Longshanks was short-haired but had cat dandruff due to allergies, mostly on spring. Because of this, he had to be bathed once per month and had a full set of sprays for his skin, oils, special shampoos...

Midna is medium/long haired. I brush her every day and she loves it, but she didn´t have a bath yet. When she arrived she smelled SO BAD that I really thought bath time was coming sooner or later (she was spayed and had the Elizabethan collar so she couldn´t groom herself) but we survived using wipes with water and grapefruit seed extract to clean her when needed. As soon as she got the cone off she took care of everything.
I´m assuming she will have an amazing winter coat that will provide hours of fun when shedding seasons starts and maybe the bath helps her get rid of it, but I still have to ask the vet.

 

[dahli6]

I run a damp washcloth over their fur as needed. It will clean off surface dust which you might think is unhealthy and also helps with fleas by removing some flea eggs without drying out the kitties skin and fur. She can dry her own fur by grooming.

 

[maggiedemi]

They make kitty wipes too, I've seen them at Walmart and online.

 

[Margret]

I've even seen cats (on YouTube) who enjoy being vacuumed (with an attachment, of course)!

If your kitten isn't afraid of the vacuum cleaner you could try that on her, but back off immediately if she starts to freak out. If it isn't a pleasant experience for her you don't want to do it at all, since there are other options available.

Margret

 

[kashmir64]

The only reason I've ever bathed any of my cats was once with flea shampoo. Normally, I just brush them.
Samai hates the brush, but loves the flea comb, so I comb her 2-3 times a week.

 

[dustydiamond1]

There are so many different information on internet so I feel confused. I'm a new cat owner and I have 6-month old short-haired kitten, and I give her bath every week. She's fine with it, she even enjoy the dry-blowing. But since she loves to play with her litter box, she often got dust on her coat, I want to give her bath 2-3 times a week, but the internet said that it might make her skin dry. I want to keep her clean and smell good but I dont want to do anything to harm her either. How long do you often bath your cat? or if I can only bath her one a week, is there anyway I can keep the dust away from her coat (I brush her twice a day already)
Many thanks

Lots of great advice. Gypsy loves being brushed, we haven't given her a bath in the year we've been with her, she will let us run a lint brush over her. What is your girls name? Can you post her picture for us? Does she have plenty of toys? Maybe another litter box just for her to play in?

 

[maggiedemi]

A lint brush? Interesting, does it work?

 

[dustydiamond1]

A lint brush? Interesting, does it work?

Sorry, I meant one of the sticky lint rollers not a lint brush.

 

[Elfilou]

My cat is a Persian longhair so I bathe her about every 2-3 months depending on the season, just to make grooming easier. Otherwise her hair matts way too quick. Combing is much much easier when her coat is clean. (Short grooming sessions makes life much easier for both me and her.) With a shorthair I honestly wouldn't bathe more than 3 times a year, I fear that once a week is really making your cat really dry. Once a month would sound much better to me, personally. But you have to do what feels good for you.

 

[Alypashong01]

I have a Persian too I bathe him about once a month he doesn't seem to mind. However depending on the breed and coat type I wouldn't over do it most cats prefer to groom themselves in some cases they just need extra help. I'd recommend using a tearless pet shampoo bc they are ph specific for animals