Do you bathe your cat or put clothes on her/him?

[ADisneyQueen]

I used to give my cat a bath twice a year, but she's 16, so I haven't done it in a long time. She's gotten strange about things in her old age. Also, she does not go outside.
I have been thinking about getting her a dog sweater to wear. She is tiny and thin, not at all like most cats. Sometimes I cover her in a blanket. It's just so cold here and she tries to sit near the heaters. Has anyone tried this?

 

[EMom]

Kitty is on the verge of hitting 19 and she needs a bath, but giving her one is near pointless. She's a Maine Coon and we can't get her fur wet. Meaning, we can sit her in a tub of water, pour water on her, spray her, whatever......That undercoat will NOT soak up water. She's like a teflon cat. If anyone knows how to get a Maine Coon's undercoat wet so they can be bathed, please share.

Check with your vet, because "heat seeking" behavior can signal thyroid problems. These days, Kitty spends a great deal of time under the covers in our bed. Our very furry bed. I could never put a sweater on her. She'd freak out. Good luck with that........

 

[Hedy]

Bathe-no way!
Dress-yes. Oscar has a tie he wears on special occaisons (from the exclusive Pet Boutique of Tar-jzay). He also has a Santa hat, frilly Christmas collar, vampire costume, and most recently a pink pirate bandana to coordinate with my birthday theme. His late sisiter had a necklace which coordinated with his tie. Oscar enjoys the complements he gets on his outfits.

 

[my3sonsagn]

We bathed our cats once and still have the scars to show for it, so now we leave them alone. lol

You could try a sweater, but, if it stresses her out, try wrapping a thin blanket around a heating pad or let her sleep on a bed with an electric blanket. You'd only have to turn either on long enough for it to heat the blanket, and it would stay toasty for a while. They also make cat pads that absorb and then reflect their body heat; my Mom has one for her outdoor cat, and she loves it. Two of our cats are 11 now, and they spend winters blocking the central heat vents.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

The heating pad is a good idea. I'll try that.

 

[si-am]

We have a 5 year old perfectly healthy (overly active if you ask me ) kitty who is obsessed with the heat vents. She sits on them whenever the heat comes on. She also loves to be buried under blankets. I think some cats just enjoy being warm.

Funny, though, our other cat hates heat; he sits on the vents in the summer when the *cold* air is on. (He HATES being covered up, too.)

Total opposites.

 

[Sammy]

Do I give my cat a bath? Not if I want to live.

 

[Planogirl]

Do I give my cat a bath? Not if I want to live.

Exactly.

 

[PeterPan09]

Not unless I have a masochistic desire to be fileted....

 

[OK!]

No. I'd probably lose a limb if I tried to give him a bath, and at probably 17 pounds (he's taller than my parents' Shih Tzu), he's a whole lotta cat to wrestle with!

As for clothes, no. He doesn't go outside, though, so there's no real need. I used to dress up the cat I had growing up, though, in my brother's old baby clothes. That cat should have been sainted; he put up with so much.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I do.. we had a flea issue this summer. What a nightmare. I can get 2 out of the 3 cats to cooperate. I do have claw marks in the windowsill over the kitchen sink.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Never cleaned a cat in my life!!!!!!! A question to these who put clothes on how do you do it without major blood loss?

 

[akcire]

Two indoor cats never outside.

My cats get a bath every 4-6 weeks. They don't mind the bath they hate the hair dryer.

As for clothes, I have tried to put one of those cute t-shirts from target on the cats. One of them stands perfectly still and freezes in place like a 100 pound brick has been placed on his back-he doesn't move at all until you take the shirt off him. The other cat goes all commando and does that crouched crawl interspersed with crazy sideways walking, until he either figures out how to get it off-or we take it off (this is also the cat that can not wear a collar).

For warmth we have a heated blanket on the bed. The cat knows to walk on the controller until the light comes on, then he settles in for his nap-- his feline brother is a heating vent jockey.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

I don't see why a cat would need a bath unless they have fleas or they rolled around in mud outside (But thats just my opinion).

I only put a sweater on my cat when I'm shoveling snow outside and he begs to "help". He loves the snow for some reason

 

[mickeyboat]

My cats are indoor cats, and keep themselves plenty clean. I have never given them a bath. My new kitten likes water, though, and will hop in the bathtub after every shower in our house.

My kids have dressed the cats before. They tolerate it, but don't like it much.

Both cats love heat - they cuddle with us in bed at night, and lay in front of the woodstove when it is going.

 

[Robinrs]

Hats -- Only in my siggie!

 

[DarthKTrava]

Nope to either. I prefer to live with my skin as intact as I can as it is with having cats with claws....

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My cats bathe themselves and they'd probably claw me to death if I tried to put an outfit on them.

We only faciliate a cleaning when there is clear need. But that isn't often. (Last bath was post injury when one of my kitties broke her hind "knees" in 2004. We didn't know she was injured until we found her hanging out in the litter box. She was in a lot of pain--but was smart enough to stay there to do her business. Unfortunately, b/c of the pain--she coudln't keep up with the mess. )

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

I bathe my cats about twice a year or more if they get smelly. I have no idea HOW a indoor cat gets stinky but mine do. They do ok with showers. I put on a swimsuit and climb in the shower with the cat. As far as clothes, yes, my moms skinny 12 year old cat has a baby sweater (customized for fit) that she wears almost all winter. My cats wear clothes on ocation just cause it looks cute. When tabby (now 14) was little I would dress her in so many layers she would take two steps and fall over. I feel bad now but gosh she was cute.

 

[DarthKTrava]

The one time I did have to get one of the cats into the shower was after she was smelling like poo. Fortunately she was my gentlest cat...

The only cat to really get a bath too both Mom and her sister to bathe him. One to hold and the other to do the bathing.