Aren't cats supposed to be clean creatures?

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

BiteyCat clearly missed that memo. Now the sun is out he's taking every opportunity to take a dustbath in the sunspot at the back of the garden, and frankly he's completely manky. (He's normally mainly white, but currently more like a pale grey.) Only very half-hearted attempts to clean off yesterday's accumulated dust so far, and he's just headed out again for a top-up after leaving some of it on the duvet cover He hates being brushed too, so it's not like I can sort it for him if laziness is the issue. Anyone else got a dust-bather or cat-pig?

Oh dear! Can you get most of it off by disguising a hearty ruffle as a brisk fur stroke?

My long haired boy didn’t get the memo either. He has a HUGE bushy tail that picks up every last scrap of crud from outside; leaves, sticks, twigs, soil, pine needles. EVERYTHING. He’s so beautiful but fucking hell, he’s a grotbag.

The Bunz loves a good dust bath. I told him last night, ‘You need to clean those paws, with haste!’ He yawned and rolled over again. What can you do?

His short haired brother, otoh, is obsessively clean and tidy.

My white girl loves a dust bath when she gets the chance. I despair, I really do

We've resigned ourselves to lint rolling the bed every night to dedust and desand it since oldmancat divides his time between the dusty road and my husbands pillow.

Glad to head we're not alone with our mucky menace (@Aph413 I just had to take a sheet off a top bunk that had only just been changed because ours snuck into it - wish I'd thought of trying a lint roller!)

@SporkInTheToaster I have visions of your long haired boy deliberately decorating his tail with miscellaneous items from the nature table. How do you manage to remove them and keep your fingers?

@TheGirlOnTheLanding I used to change the sheet but I don't have a tumble drier and started running out of sheets. The lint roller at least means I can keep my bedding on for the week instead of changing it every night.
I tried shutting him out but his response was to shred the carpet!! Better the bed than the carpet.
Luckily my girl cat doesn't share his interest in dust bathing. Don't think I'd cope.

Actually there was a poster on here whose new young cat flicked grains back into the litter tray to tidy up.

I was almost stunned into silence, I swear mine gathers litter up in her paws and merrily flicks it around with gay abandon turning the flat into a gravel cavern whilst snickering.

She doesn't do dust rolls however, you all bear the brunt for me

Not only do mine love dust baths, they have systematically flattened down various parts of the flower beds (which to be fair are mostly weeds), until they have created dirt beds. In the warm months this is where they will be found, lying in the dirt, partly in the shade, sleeping.

Then they come out and roll about in grit and dust.

And then come in and use the litter trays and kick it everywhere.

We have six cats.

Yes, I hoover every day.

Near my old house, there were a few horse chestnut trees. Cat would come back covered in the sticky covers that fall off when the tree blossoms. She'd then try and lick them off, get them stuck to her tongue, then batter herself in the face with her back paws trying to get them off, then get them stuck to back paws, then try and lick them off...

Yes mine loves a dust bath too. And she digs and comes in with paws covered in earth.

Spongecat loves a dustbath. Didn't know it was a thing! She does clean herself later though, so it seems I should be grateful!

@Weedsnseeds1 that image made me laugh! Daft mog.

A rural farming friend of mine had a pure white cat, although you'd never have known it to look at her. Dunno what her original name was, but they changed it to Sooty because she liked to sleep in their coal bunker.