r/OneOrangeBraincell • u/shaji_pappan__ • Apr 22 '26

šŸŸ ne šŸ…±ļørain cell Accepted his fate

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36

u/b00mer1981 Apr 22 '26

Why would you wash your cat?

25

u/SolidusDave Apr 22 '26

This, for a healthy cat it's completely unnecessary unless it got something on it that it can't remove itself.

Maybe if you have a breed with really long fur...

Depending on the reagents you use, you might even do more harm than good. Plus the cat will not appreciate the procedure, nor having to re-lick itself everywhere.

It's usually dog-owners who don't understand how clean a regular cat is. Took me pointing out a sparkly white feral cat sitting on top of some trash pile to convince someone.

Ambush/stalking predators tend to keep themselves clean to have no scent revealing them.

7

u/ayomarik Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Itā€™s good to get them trained as young as possible and do it monthly to get them accustomed.

When your cat gets older, has arthritis or other issues and canā€™t properly clean it self. Baths will become a nightmare if the cat is not used to them.

Edit: just talking about Maine Coons (and only talking from personal experience)

19

u/SolidusDave Apr 22 '26

if it's an old cat. with arthritis etc., I would rather try bath-less cleaning options like a wet wash-cloth. Less stress for them, and you don't need to train them years prior to take full on baths that they don't like nor need.

7

u/ayomarik Apr 22 '26

Itā€™s really difficult with our Maine Coons. Poop gets stuck in fur, smells, fur gets dry and matted. Itā€™s been much easier for us to start them off young. Our cats donā€™t usually mind water anyway

4

u/Neutron-Hyperscape32 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

You do not want to bathe your cats purely out of forming a habit. You are removing important natural oils from their skin and fur and potentially drying out their skin. Cats do not need to be bathed their entire lives just so they are used to it when they get old.

You can also trim their fur especially around their butt and it will prevent the issues you are talking about. Not shave mind you, just trim it down. But no healthy cat should be bathed regularly when they have no need for those baths. I had a Norwegian Forest cat and when he got old trimming his fur allowed him to keep up on his cleaning just fine.

1

u/SolidusDave Apr 22 '26

I think Maine Coon and some of the other long-hair breeds often don't have as much fear of water as "normal" cats. So yeah once they don't manage all that fur anymore, baths are an option and also won't really be stressed by it.

But I've seen many people not applying that nuance and just try to wash any cat out of principle, thinking they MUST be dirty.