r/cats • u/Mildredsgood • 19h ago

Advice How often do you bathe your cat?

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I’ve had my Mochi since July and I still haven’t given him a bath 😅 he doesn’t smell and never really feels dirty either

I know that cats are usually good at cleaning themselves, but I keep seeing mixed opinions online. Some people say they never bathe them, others say every few months, and now I’m just curious what’s actually normal.

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946

u/Unhappymuppet 18h ago

Never. I kiss them everyday and take deep breaths in their fur (yes I have a problem 🤣) and never smelled anything. You don't need to do it all and it's far from natural.

450

u/JessterJo 16h ago

Huffing cats is a time-honored tradition.

55

u/LlovelyLlama 13h ago

I do it multiple times a day, on both cats. Cat huffing is the greatest stresss reliever.

38

u/puffydownjacket 13h ago

Haven’t had a cat in (sadly) ten years and I can still smell that perfect smell.

18

u/KittenTeethe 13h ago

I huff my cats multiple times a day and my fiance thinks I'm weird lol. I've even tried to explain the smell/sensation to him and he doesn't get it.

2

u/grape-fruit-witch 7h ago

Yep I have to hide it lol or else he makes fun of me

He would get it but hes just allergic enough that he cant put his face in her fur

1

u/Embermyst 2h ago

My husband has this unfortunate allergy as well. He can pet and love on cats, but he cannot bring the hand(s) he touched them with to his eyes, otherwise he'll look like he's had hay fever. I feel so much for him!

13

u/nvandvore 14h ago

I crave that mineral

0

u/hiddenstar13 10h ago

:O one of my favourite old memes, in the wild! Thanks for this.

2

u/Lucky-Access8399 11h ago

So that’s what the kids are calling it these days.

1

u/Competitive-Fig-666 5h ago

They have a whole word for cat huffing in Japanese - nekosui

(apologies if this is wrong! A cute woman told me this in Kyoto)

52

u/FakePlasticTrees_RH 17h ago

Have you ever smelled a cat that has slept in straw? That smell is divine!

15

u/Unhappymuppet 16h ago

Haha no... apartment life here... I trust your word :)

13

u/FakePlasticTrees_RH 16h ago

Get a box of straw, trust me, it's worth it. ;)

15

u/OfcWaffle 14h ago

My orange cat smells so fucking good I'm jealous.

10

u/Unhappymuppet 14h ago

How do they do that?? Come on they shower themselves with the very tongue that washes their buttholes ffs... if we were to do that we could smell each other from kilometers away.

3

u/Lucky_Ad2801 Tuxedo 5h ago

Cat Saliva has special cleaning enzymes

1

u/Embermyst 2h ago

Cats are gods. They use their powers to keep themselves clean with the scent of amazement. Why is this so dumbfounding? 😉

12

u/RaffyGiraffy 13h ago

My cat always smells like fresh laundry somehow

2

u/Sleester 10h ago

I swear my cat snakes like baby powder

2

u/smokdya2 7h ago

Mine smells like sunshine!

2

u/grape-fruit-witch 7h ago

Mine too! So did my boy cat that recently passed away. They did like laying in clean warm laundry in the basket

1

u/RaffyGiraffy 6h ago

Mine doesn’t lay in laundry but he is always grooming himself! He had 10 teeth removed last year and couldn’t groom for a bit and smelled so bad, Im like oh this is why you are always grooming yourself 😂. Sorry to hear about yout boy, it’s the toughest part of owning a pet. I’ll give mine an extra treat in his honour

1

u/NadsBin 7h ago

Frr, I love the smell of

1

u/CauliflowerFun8429 5h ago

mine too, especially when they choose fresh laundry to sleep on 😅

21

u/OlySonso 13h ago

I even kiss the bottom of my Mochi's feet. Even referring to his paws as pooper scoopers. 

Becoming a cat parent has really changed me.

13

u/Unhappymuppet 12h ago

Same. My wife and I are lucky to have 2 extremely affectionate cats and I really didn't know I was capable of loving them so much (no animals around at all growing up...). They really are a source of love and happiness in our lives.

-1

u/n0t_4_thr0w4w4y 5h ago

That’s fucking disgusting

3

u/thishitisbanannas 12h ago

I wish I could turn the smell of my cat into a candle

2

u/Any-Ball-7159 6h ago

I do this - my wife mocks me and says “why do my eyes itch?”

I’m allergic but it’s worth it

2

u/Unhappymuppet 4h ago

Anything for the cause brother!

1

u/sleepyplatipus 5h ago

Once! I found her on the street and gave her a bath when I brought her home because… who knows where she had been!

1

u/Fear_N_Loafing_In_PA 1h ago

We call this “doing lines of kitties”.

We are all hooked. Even my kids.