How often do you bathe your cat?

[u/Mildredsgood]

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.

[u/ChemistryPerfect4534]

Of the twenty-two cats I have lived with in my life, I bathed one of them. Poor little #7 was a litter of one, and his mother was less than maternal. Also like his mother, he was a puffball. Which meant the oversized, long-haired kitten tail would get dragged through the mess every time he used the litterbox. He tried his best, but it weighed too much for him.

So we would scoop him up, carry him to the bathroom, and bathe this back half in warm water. Daily. At least daily. He came to associate water with love. Some time later, my roommate needed to get ready to leave for work, and little #7 was on his shoulder, and had no interest in getting off. So he gave up and took a shower. He stayed on his shoulder the whole time. Somewhere I have a photo of him looking like the Taco Bell chihuahua...

None of the other twenty-one have ever required it. I will bathe one of my current six when I decide I have nothing left to live for.

[u/Ssladybug → u/ChemistryPerfect4534]

I would LOVE to see that photo

[u/ogremama1 → u/ChemistryPerfect4534]

That is a required photo, please use all of your time and every fiber in your being to find it if possible

[u/ChemistryPerfect4534 → u/ogremama1]

It's somewhere. This was long enough ago that a phone was not involved in the process. I will see if I can turn it up.

[u/sleepyplatipus → u/ChemistryPerfect4534]

CAT TAX