Is Bathing A Short-haired Cat Necessary?

[ileen]

My cat does an excellent job of grooming himself & he's an indoor-only short hair. Do I have to worry about giving him a bath ever? I've had him for over six months now & he never smells. I saw on Cat From Hell that you're supposed to wash sphinx cats once a week, which is way more than I would have guessed & I can see why you'd have to wash long hairs sometimes, but what about short hairs?

 

[Kieka]

Sphinx is hairless (well nearly) they need baths on a regular basis. Only the hairless cats *need* regular baths.

Short or long hair cats only need baths if they.... well ... need them. Too dirty, matted or flea problems would be the three driving reasons off the top of my head. Most long haired cats do *need* to be brushed regularly to prevent mats. Short haired cats can generally take care of their own coats just fine and don't need any human intervention.

That's not to say most cats would like to be brushed just for the bonding of grooming. Someone with allergies might put their cat on a bathing routine to reduce allergens. Someone who is particular about cleanliness might also have a routine of baths for their cats.

But no, your standard typical everyday short hair cat does not need a bath. My last cat bathing time was when Link somehow got himself covered in mud almost two years ago or around the same time we had a flea problem.

 

[golondrina]

When I adopted Cucumella 5 and a half years ago she had lived in a garden 9 YEARS wearing an antifleas collar and had never had any fleas and had never been bathed. Since then she has been living with me as an interior cat, no baths, no fleas and no smell. She grooms herself very thoroughly. I only brush her to remove loose hairs especially in Spring and Summer which she seems to enjoy. She turns around as if to make sure I don't miss any "corner".

 

[Kieka]

Sounds like a happy and clean cat to me.

 

[tabbytom]

My boy has never taken a bath before but not as long as Cucumella and yes, he dosen't smell at all.

Cats are very clean creatures, but if you think your kitty needs a bath, you can used a nice soft warm slightly damp (almost dry) cloth and gently and lovingly wipe him down fur wise.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

When our 2 were kittens I used to bathe them because DH is allergic to cats and we wanted to reduce allergens. DH had noticed that at a friend's house he never reacted to their cat and they bathed her very regularly. It turned out not to really be necessary. Other steps control his allergies well enough without me having to bathe them. The only time I'm tempted now is when Mooch's back end needs a little help. But she has both weight and constipation issues stemming from her medication. Even then; if I have to I just go for a "spot cleaning".

 

[lalagimp]

Tommy used to get a bath every 2-3 months when he was fat. He'd get butt dandruff on his lower back because he had more difficulty grooming. Now he gets a bath once or twice a year. He gets one when he gets into something and gets filthy, or he'll get one when family is coming to visit because he's really friendly and they're kind of allergic. Same for my other two shorthaired and even my DMH. She's got an undercoat but doesn't mat up.