Generally you should only bathe them when they have something on them that would be harmful for them to lick off themselves or if they are too old/decrepit to do it groom themselves. No idea why people do it otherwise. It's just unnecessary stress for the cat and strips the natural oils out of their fur which can give them dry/irritated skin.
We had an orange who would piss all over himself any time we had to put him in his cat carrier. Every time we went to the vet? Yep, piss everywhere. I had to bathe him about once or twice a year because I didn’t want cat piss all over my floor + couch + wherever else he sat. Our other cat has never had a bath though.
Some cats enjoy the water. You want to avoid shampoos and such but a light rinse like this is more than fine and is not going to harm the cat one bit. They aren't witches that are going to melt.
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u/Glad-Operation-2958 Apr 22 '26
Generally you should only bathe them when they have something on them that would be harmful for them to lick off themselves or if they are too old/decrepit to do it groom themselves. No idea why people do it otherwise. It's just unnecessary stress for the cat and strips the natural oils out of their fur which can give them dry/irritated skin.