Do cats need to be bathed?
Do cats need to be bathed? The answer is yes and no. Normally, a cat is really good at grooming and bathing himself. Ever smelled a cat? Exactly! Now the thing is that there are some cats that have very long hair – yes, Persian, we are looking at you – and no matter how good they are at licking dirt away, they cannot go deep enough.
Hairless cats such as the Sphynx might need a bath to clean the oils that hair would normally clean. So, in the long run, if your cat needs a bath or not will ultimately depend on you and your cat.
So, do cats need to be bathed or not?
If you were to ask your cat, he would probably utter a very loud “no!”. This is because water is not too natural for a cat unless it is for drinking. Do know that if you decide to put him in the water, he will put up a good fight. All his life he has been preparing himself for a moment like this. It is best that you clip his nails because he will use them the moment he feels the sound of the water.
When is it a good idea to bathe my cat?
Some special circumstances tough, as we mentioned earlier, will require water and shampoo. One good excuse for putting your cat in the water and soap is if you find external parasites, if he is covered with dirt that won’t go off or a smell that will not go off either. Then there are the long-hair and hairless reasons that we mentioned at the beginning of this article.
There could also be medical conditions that require that you give your cat a bath. Senior cats, or those with a physical condition, for example, might not be as good to bathe themselves so they might need the extra hand.
To finally answer the question, “do cats need to be bathed?”, you have already seen that it might depend on circumstances that do not really depend on you. In Dogalize, we have plenty of information about your cat and how to take the best care of him. Visit us and take a look at everything we have for you and your feline friend.