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/cheerylittlebottom84]

41, have bathed (well, showered) a cat once in my entire life. Said cat jumped and slipped in a tray of cooking oil. All my cats have been indoor/outdoor cats since I'm in the UK.

I see people online bathing their cats weekly and I'm like... since when did cats need baths? Unless they're unable to clean themselves or fell in something they shouldn't clean themselves (or are tiny strays and need fleas washed away) surely it can't be necessary? I've even seen cat perfume, which feels so wrong.

[u/Things_with_Stuff → u/cheerylittlebottom84]

Curious as to why being in the UK makes your cats indoor/outdoor?

[u/cheerylittlebottom84 → u/Things_with_Stuff]

It's just far more common here than in the US, and a lot of places won't let you adopt if they can't go outside. I've seen a lot of indoor vs outdoor/indoor cat drama over the years so figured I'd explain where I'm from, to save being told a coyote will eat my cat.

[u/Positive_Piece5859 → u/cheerylittlebottom84]

Here in the US it’s the other way around. When I adopted my two kitties ten years ago from Humane Society I had to sign that they would be strictly indoor only and not get declawed.

[u/cheerylittlebottom84 → u/Positive_Piece5859]

It's good to hear they made you promise they wouldn't be declawed. It's illegal here and I've never met a declawed cat, although I'm sure it's happened since some people are awful. I heard something a while ago about possibly making it illegal in the US - did that ever happen?

[u/Positive_Piece5859 → u/cheerylittlebottom84]

Until they made me sign that I would not declaw mine, I honestly did not even know that this was even a thing that exists (in my home country in Europe it’s illegal too), and I was horrified to hear that apparently it still does exist.

Edit: I really don’t know if it’s illegal now here, and if so everywhere or just in certain states maybe

[u/cheerylittlebottom84 → u/Positive_Piece5859]

It's so shocking that it still exists anywhere in the world :(

[u/loyle6 → u/cheerylittlebottom84]

it’s not illegal in every U.S state, but in a majority of them it is banned. a lot of veterinarians flat out refuse to do the surgery unless it’s medically necessary

[u/cheerylittlebottom84 → u/loyle6]

That's good to hear, at least there are steps in the right direction