Should I get my Ragdoll kitten used to baths? Cute kitten pic too!

[MinimalistMommi]

I've read they can be bathed once a month and its good to get them used to it. Does anyone here bath their kittens/cats?

I had to assist once with Firstcat. (He'd got up the chimney and was, quite literally, black.)

It did not go well.

I don't know why you'd bother unless they got really dirty.

fluffy apparently their coats can get quite oily and it helps with shedding fur too?

I read that it was bad for their skin regularly to bathe cats? I have a Rag Doll/British Blue X so I did a lot of grooming research when we first got her! I found that actually giving your cat a bath seems to be quite an American habit and pretty unnecessary if your brushing technique is correct.

You do need to get him used to being groomed properly though: under his arms and around his trousers (all the fiddly places) to make sure he doesn't get matted and to decrease shedding. We do it every other day. She didn't like it at first but now she runs in for a brush and throws herself against it, purring like mad.

I had to bath our ginger boy once as he'd somehow managed to get covered in an oily substance.

It took two of us to do it and left both of us covered in scratches. The cat wasn't too happy either.

I wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary. Cats are pretty good at keeping themselves clean. I don't have a longhair, but I gather regular brushing is required for them to stop their fur getting matted.

I have nothing to add to this thread

Just Awwwwwwww!

Have been a cat owner for 37 yrs and have never had the need to give one a bath! It is completely unnecessary!!

Honestly, unless they have suddenly been doused in some harmful chemical substances (in which case, you'd be rushing them off to the Vet), they do not need to have a bath. They wash themselves perfectly adequately, their fur contains a natural deodorant.

She is adorable!!

I'm in two minds then. I'm sure hurricane says her raggie gets in the bath voluntarily.

Being a cat you'll probably need to supply luxury bath foam, a warm towel & a dry martini in a chilled glass or the deals off.

I wouldn't send a cat out for grooming after I read about a dog who died under the dryer in a grooming parlour.

Beautiful!!

Your cat is utterly adorable, btw!

Yeah yeah yeah - she is beautiful. Really, really beautiful, the most gorgeous cat I've ever seen in my whole life.
But she won't need a bath, in the normal course of events.

I can testify that it needs 5 people to wash a really filthy Siamese. (One for each limb and one to wash and rinse.) Even your bathroom might get a tad crowded!

I bathed my briman once , she had loads of fleas and it was diffilcult getting rid of them. The bathing experience actually went quiet well. I put the shampoo on her fur dry , lathered it up and then rinsed it out, she did keep ju,ping out of the bath and i had to catch her but no scratches or anything and usually she is not the most cooperative cats

I've heard of a cat-washing method that sounds like it might work quite well:

Run a shallow sinful of soapy tepid water.

Put the cat in a pillowcase with its head sticking out & hold firmly closed at the neck.

Lower the cat into the water.

Keep holding on & use the now wet & soapy pillowcase to rub the cat clean.

Sounds even possible without an assistant!

DOI - I haven't done this myself, but a friend has

Sinkful not sinful - autocorrect grr!

My mum has a 13 yr old Ragdoll ,he has never had a bath and has a lovely coat . He is actually quite chilled but I think you would lose most of your skin if you tried to bath him .

Oh she's gorgeous!!

She is beautiful!
No need to bath her if you brush her properly every day / every other day.

Please don't take her to a groomer to be bathed - they stick cats in metal cages and hose them off. It is torture!

DH still has the scars (across chest and arms) from showering our Asian/Burmese cross - she was curious about what he was doing in the kitchen.... Which was painting it.

The cat landed in the paint tray, then the work surface, floor, walls etc. Apparently it took him ages to clean up cat, himself and then the kitchen all before I came home and then was very sympathetic to him aka laughing till I cried.

It's not something he'd recommend doing unless absolutely necessary.

Oh minimalistmommi, she's so lovely!

I bathed my kitten quite often when she was small, as she was a bit lazy about cleaning her fluffy pants! But I'd only put her paws and rear in, never her head. She liked it as far a s I could tell in that she didn't object too strongly.

Tips:
When your kit's asleep, massage her little paws so she's used to you having her paws in your hand. Then you can trim the spiky end off all her claws. Very important not to cut too much, just the clear spiky tip.

Fill the hand basin with warm water, hotter than you think, place a folded towel into the sink, and have lots of towels around. Cover the hot tap with a wrung out face cloth.
Wear an apron with attached towel, and close the bathroom / kitchen / utility door. Have five.towels warming on the radiators. Clear everything like soap etc off the basin. No sudden moves and no shrieking if she hops out and covers the floor with water!

Hold your kitten in your arms, talking to her all the while, and then gently lower her into the sink. She'll stand on the submerged towel while you get a brush and whoosh the warm water around her breeches, brushing off any poo/ litter/ clag. I'd have a little jug of fresh warm water ready to pour on her before taking her out. Keep rubbing her head and face with a dry hand, and telling her she wonderful etc.... If you want you can rub her head and upper body with the wet face cloth.

Have a towel attached to your apron. Lift her up out of the water and onto the towel attached to you.

Wrap her up in that towel, and then change the towel, and then change it again. Wet cats hold an awful lot of water, so be sure to have about five towels ready.

Then bring her somewhere really warm, in the sunshine if possible, so she can dry off and groom without a draught.
Comb her out with a comb, and use a clean brush after that when she's dried off a bit.

My cat didn't mind, and hopped up in to the basins afterwards and licked the taps.

If you don't want to start washing her and if she's a bit uncoordinated in the tray, you can use the wrung out face cloth method where you just wipe her with the cloth until she's clean. They're quite used to their mums licking them, so they get used to the face cloth quite quickly. Certainly saves on laundry!

We used to bath Morph when he was a shaggy assed kitten with a sensitive stomach....

He was the most placid cat ever but he hated it..it was a quick dunk to scrub the poo off then he would hide and sulk for a few hours

I am not planning on bathing my new maine coon kittens unless they are disgusting!

However DD2's boyfriend has a Maine Coone kitten and it gets shampooed once a week with the dog!! And blow dried!!!! So I guess it can be done!

I have a Devon Rex kitten, a sort of semi hairless breed. A lot of people advocate bathing them because they can get a bit savoury/sweaty around the armpit area. I just give him a swipe over with a sensitive baby wipe once a week. He's the only cat I've known to have actual damp, sweaty armpits!

He has a bit of a sensitive tummy at times when he eats mouldy stuff he's collected from the drain in the garden and this sometimes ends up with poo on his little paws. He doesn't seem to mind having those rinsed off under the tap.

He's a very good natured little thing.

Just had to google a Devon Rex. They're amazing!

They really are JubJub, we got our kitten in June, he is such a cheerful little soul, and made a brilliant companion for our angsty mog.