Hello:

Should cat's get baths? If so, how often?

excon

I am reading that cats groom themselves using their tongues and teeth.

I have no other comment.

I have no other comment.Hello Judy:

I don't know what cat you think I'm talking about, but it's my little kitty...

Grooming is one thing, but she's not clean. I have a white wall that she rubs against and it's not white anymore. I suppose I could ask a pet bathing place, but I have an idea what they'd tell me. So, I thought I'd ask my friends...

excon

Hi Guys,

From my experiences with 4 cats in my life, the only time they needed a bath is if they got into something real nasty and even then they licked most of the stuff off by the time we got set up to help them and we would usually only do a wet cloth bath... ;)

I'll only mention the nasty hair balls I've had to pick up over the years! YUCK!

With that all being said, there are certainly some people that will bath a cat, but they can't do it too often and if it hasn't been done since they were kittens they really shouldn't try it at all... kinda cruel/shocking to the animal!

Mark

I've had cats forever and while they don't like it, I have found that at times it is needed, usually when they get into something, or when I've had the occasional flea problem, Not really a bath to get rid of the fleas I use topicals for that, but to get rid of the "dirt" they leave behind. Living in the Southeast, summertime is terrible for fleas here. Unfortunately, it ain't easy. Most cats keep themselves clean, some overweight cats can't reach certain areas, I once had a Fat Tom, that actually was his name, couldn't reach the strip down the center of his back and it would get greasy and dirty he did require regular baths to keep his skin in good shape, lucky for me he liked them.

What color is your cat, excon?

Hello Carol:

She's multi colored, kind of rust and black and brown. She has long hair too. Why?

excon

She goes outside?

You are too good to me.

Okay. I've got five cats: four mostly black and one dark gray. Two of the window wells (indoors -- have to keep the window open with storm or screen down, depending on weather) are favorite places to sit and doze. They take turns sitting in these two windows.

I wash the white wooden sills every week because they turn black -- not with dirt, because our cats are indoors only, and not because the sills are covered with hair.

Also, at the bottom of the doorways (white woodwork) there are dark swaths (strips of blackness) where the cats rub up again the wood as they wrap themselves around the corner and go from room to room.

It's like the darkness of the fur "leaks" out and gets on the white wood.

Does this sound like what happens at your house?

Exy, there are products on the market especially for cats. Bathing a cat in the tub, like you would a dog, is not something for the faint of heart, or the easily bruised. My mom had scars on her arms for life because of a cat bathing incident.

You can buy powder that you brush into the fur that is supposed to clean the cat. There are also wet wipes made for cats.

How often do you brush her?

It's like the darkness of the fur "leaks" out and gets on the white wood. Hello again, Carol:

Darkness of the fur, huh? I remember telling my mom that the darkness on my neck was sun tan... She didn't buy it either.

excon

Here's a link for some cat bathing products.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDAQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drsfostersmith.com%2Fcat-supplies%2Fgrooming%2Fpet-bathing-and-shampoos%2Fps%2Fc%2F3261%2F1992%2F1920&rct=j&q=cat%20bathing%20products&ei=7EgmTquPL6y60AG8z53lCg&usg=AFQjCNFunvkkXq26V4_7db9uwL3G4PgXJA&sig2=-tffIB392LD2sNSy6uZw8g&cad=rja

I think I figured it out!

Melanin, the pigment that darkens skin in humans is also in the fur of cats, more of it in dark cats. It's transferable. Think polymer. Think carbon atoms.

Melanin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanin)

Bathing a cat won't help.

Thank you for visiting our library. We hope to see you again soon.

I've been told that bathing a cat is not good for the cat as it removes the essential oils of their skin and can cause skin disorders and certain infections.

Hello again, everybody:

Ok, thanks. No bath for kitty girl.

excon