Do you give your cats baths?

[Miss Z]

Good girl Abby! You need to tell my Zsa-Zsa to not be a scardy-cat of water!!!!

[Randi]

I don't bathe Fister, and if I tried I would fail completely!! Anyway, I don't think it's neccesary to bathe a cat, unless the circumstances arise that are already mentioned.

I summer when it's hot, Fister likes to be brushed with a wet brush or a wet cloth. Occasionally, when he comes out of the litterbox, I wipe his butt with a wet piece of cotton. I think he likes that.

The pictures of Abby are really cute!

Here's a little tutorial on how to bathe a cat.

Cat Bathing As A Martial Art

A. Know that although the cat has the advantage of quickness and lack of concern for human life, you have the advantage of strength. Capitalize on that advantage by selecting the battlefield. Don't try to bathe him in an open area where he can force you to chase him. Pick a very small bathroom.
If your bathroom is more than four feet square, I recommend that you get in the tub with the cat and close the sliding-glass doors as if you were about to take a shower.
(A simple shower curtain will not do. A berserk cat can shred a three-ply rubber shower curtain quicker than a politician can shift positions.)

B. Know that a cat has claws and will not hesitate to remove all the skin from your body. Your advantage here is that you are smart and know how to dress to protect yourself.
I recommend canvas overalls tucked into high-top constructionboots, a pair of steel-mesh gloves, an army helmet, a hockey face-mask, and a long-sleeved flak jacket.

C. Use the element of surprise. Pick up your cat nonchalantly, as if to simply carry him to his supper dish. (Cats will not usually notice your strange attire. They have little or no interest in fashion as a rule.)

D. Once you are inside the bathroom, speed is essential to survival. In a single liquid motion, shut the bathroom door, step into the tub enclosure, slide the glass door shut, dip the cat in the water and squirt him with shampoo.
You have begun one of the wildest 45 seconds of your life.

E. Cats have no handles. Add the fact that he now has soapy fur, and the problem is radically compounded.
Do not expect to hold on to him for more than two or three seconds at a time. When you have him, however, you must remember to give him another squirt of shampoo and rub like crazy. He'll then spring free and fall back into the water, thereby rinsing himself off. (The national record for cats is three latherings, so don't expect too much.)

F. Next, the cat must be dried. Novice cat bathers always assume this part will be the most difficult, for humans generally are worn out at this point and the cat is just getting really determined. In fact, the drying is simple compared with what you have just been through. That's because by now the cat is semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. You simply pop the drain plug with your foot, reach for your towel and wait. (Occasionally, however, the cat will end up clinging to the top of your army helmet. If this happens, the best thing you can do is to shake him loose and
to encourage him toward your leg.) After all the water is drained from the tub, it is a simple matter to just reach down and dry the cat. In a few days the cat will relax enough to be removed from your leg. He will usually have nothing to say for about three weeks and will spend a lot of time sitting with his back to you.
He might even become psychoceramic and develop the fixed stare of a plaster figurine. You will be tempted to assume he is angry. This isn't usually the case. As a rule he is simply plotting ways to get through your defenses and injure you for life the next time you decide to give him a bath. But at least now he smells a lot better!

See also: "How to pill a cat"

[Chilli]

I voted yes, because Khaith absolutely loves baths. Him and Abby sound quite a bit alike, actually!
Though Mel, on the other hand, RARELY gets baths. I think in the whole four years or so that we've had her, we've only had to bathe her twice. My sister and I both have scars from both times.

[catmandu]

I will never bathe A Found Cat,unless it is totally necessary.
I might have to with the Moose,as his skin is so dry.

[Felix]

I voted NO.I have never given Felix a bath.He keeps himself really clean.Hes anal over that.Sure sometimes if I touch him he will clean himself in that exact spot I touched,as if I had coodies or something

Abby I loved your pictures in the bath.You sure are a good girl.

[babychicaleek]

Gem only took a bath once and she ATTACKED!!!! so bad....

[moosmom]

Because MooShoo is hairless, he requires a bath once a week. Normal furry cats have fur for their oils to go into. Moo doesn't so his skin gets rather oily. The rest of them (3 furry kits) have had baths in the past for cat shows. But I don't bathe them on a regular basis, unless they really need it.

[.sarah]

I voted yes because of the cat that lives at work. We bathe Hootie every month, and he's a pretty good boy for it. Doesn't enjoy it, but he still doesn't fight. You can take your cats to a vet or groomer to be bathed if they need it and are bad ... we're used to the bad cats, trust me

[AlleyCat]

Millie's the only one I bathe. And I loathe doing it, only because she screams bloody murder! I have a large sink near my washing machine -- it's square and deep (it's like a laundry tub but it's really a sink) so I hook up one of those hand-held sprays and it works well. Millie is a large cat (putting it mildly hee hee) so she has trouble reaching her delicate areas, so she's the only one I need to bathe.

On a side note, Cleo is a self-bathing freak. All day long !!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Normally I don't!! But I voted "yes", because I had to bath all 3 my cats 4 times each last month . Our newbie Zazou is carrier of ringworm-virus, so she gave it to her sisters
Oh my, I am happy that this period is over; bathing a cat is like asking to be killed

[icedtea]

well seafa and kansas are only kittens, and once seafa jumped in the bath and my dad yelled out "oh no!" but i wasnt awake at the time
seriously seafa jumped in the abth and thrashed about. is it ok to bath kittens in like, 3 cm of water?? what do you do???
i had a very bad experience with seafa getting a bit messy at her other end. we thought something might be wrong with her when she started dragged her bottom on the ground, but no she ad just left somethign behind. i had to clean it up and it wasnt pretty.

[orangemm]

We used to wash our other 4 cats (took 2 of us with an assembly line, leather gloves, a carpeted board for them to hang onto, and lots of towels), but we haven't tried it with these 2 boys. Archy might be ok, but I know Binky would FREAK.

[kb2yjx]

I have given the members of the Clan baths. I found that clipping ALL the claws and brushing and combing them, really helps. I have several towels ready, just in case I may need one(ONLY kidding). The bat tub is the best place, make sure you have a mat down in the tub, cats sure can slide!!! And be sure to have something comfy for you to kneel on. It is a hassle, but then looking at the beautiful, shiny, and clean looking cat, it is worth it!!! I bathed the kidney cats a bit more often(monthly)because of the dandruff. Boo did not seem to mind. GOOD LUCK!!

[lv4dogs]

I only bath the cats when needed.

Tiki has only had 2 baths (once when I first got him, my friend & I rescued him, mom & littermates from the streets) and he was filthy & flea infested. Then again shortly after that to make sure he was clean & flea free and also to get him used to it.
Meko on the other hand has had about 5-7ish or so baths. Once when I first got her (I rescued her as well from the outdoors) then again about once a month for a few months because she used to be a real hellian and I wanted to let her know that I am boss not her, I needed her to get used to everything. Then she had 2 baths a few months ago when I had that terrible diarrhea episode with both kitties. Her long fur & liquid poop just don't mix well at all.

They are now both great cats. I can do anything I want to them & they let me, baths, nails, ears, brushing, whatever. I call them my dog-cats. lol

I used ferret shampo on them most of the times. The last time I bathed Meko though I was out, the only thing I had was dog shampoos so I used Nanooks shampoo on her as it is very mild.