Grooming a cat involves different activities among them brushing her teeth, nail clipping, brushing his/her coat, bathing her/him, among others. While it comes to bathing, however, many pet owners are often faced with the question, “How often should I bathe my cat?” Interesting question I know, but there is an answer to this question.

While you are likely to find varying views after reading different blogs on the internet, I recommend that you read on and get the answer to this question. I will cover different topics including the reasons you should bathe a cat, the factors you should consider once you have decided to bathe him, and finally, how often you should bathe him having paid a thought to these factors. Have a look so that you can get the precise answers.

Reasons you should bathe your cat

While some of us give a big no when asked to bathe their cats, it is okay to do so but note that there are some benefits that you miss out of bathing your cats. Some of these advantages include;

1. Make him cleaner

Actually, bathing a cat makes him cleaner and not clean. The reason is that cats do bath themselves, the reason some pet owners do not find it essential to clean their fury friends.

However, you should note that a cat cannot manage to clean herself until she/he reaches a human-standard clean level. Therefore, if you will want your cat to accompany your little ones while sleeping or leave him/her to rest on a white pillow, a bath is essential to ensure that your kitten is free of parasites and dirt.

2. For a shinier and healthier coat

When you want to enhance the look of your kitten, then you will need to use natural shampoo and natural coat conditioner. The reason is that they play a vital role in promoting a healthier skin and a shinier coat. More to that, these products assist in dandruff reduction which is a great plus to the cat’s skin and coat.

3. To reduce shedding of hair

Cats shed off hair since they need to eliminate dead hair to promote the growth of new and healthier hair. However, bathing a cat helps to rinse the dead hair so that you will not have to deal with cat fur wherever you go. Therefore, when you want to forget about having to see cat fur as you sleep, eat, or cook, then it is crucial for you to take some time bathing your furry friend.

4. To reduce and eliminate fleas

If you have been to a home with fleas, then you already know that these are some of the most irritating parasites. Fleas are not easy to kill since it will have already jumped to another spot before you can even have a hold of it. Therefore, if you want to forget about having to experience fleas, then you will need to bath your cat.

When doing this, you should source for a flea-control shampoo which you can obtain from a veterinary clinic so that it is easy to get rid of these parasites.

Factors that determine the number of times you should bathe a cat

Having had a look at some of the reasons you should bathe your cat, let’s have a glimpse at some of the important factors to consider before you can conclude on the number of times you need to bathe it.

Environment

Do you have a kitten that spends more time outdoors or indoor? This is a factor that will determine the number of times that you need to clean it. For instance, outdoor cats get dirty faster and rapidly meaning that you will be required to bathe them frequently.

On the other hand, indoor cats accumulate dirt over time meaning that you will need to clean them once in a while. Therefore, consider the environment of the cat and how clean it is before determining how often you should wash your cat.

Coat length and type

Cats come with different types of coats based on the length and type. Here, cats with longer coats need more care and maintenance. So, note that you will be required to brush longer coats and check them from time to time so that you can remove the embedded dirt.

Level of activity

This goes without saying since there are two classes of cats based on the activity level, the very active cats and those that are not active. Hence, you will need to wash the highly active cats frequently since they get dirty fast and easily while compared to those that are always sleeping on the couch.

Self-grooming behavior

As we had mentioned earlier, cats do clean themselves. However, you should note that there is a class of cats that cannot groom efficiently due to health issues or being overweight. Going further, others are generally lazy and do not love to groom themselves as others.

With these type of cats, therefore, you should know that the task is now yours, and you will be required to bath them more frequently than those that groom themselves frequently.

Health issues

Finally, a cat with health issues and more importantly those related to the skin needs more attention than those without any health problems. So, if your cat suffers from flea infestation, and skin irritation, then you should know that you will be required to give more attention to such kittens.

How often should you bath your cat?

Having said that now, I believe that it is now easy for you to determine the number of times you should wash your cat. However, note that if you have a kitten that reacts negatively after a bath, then it is always wise to think about your priorities first. After all, what is the need for you to wash your cat only to run to the hospital after that? For sure, it is not worth it.

Therefore, ensure that you purchase a shampoo that your cat will react positively to and not only that but keep close watch of your cat’s reactions to ensure that you are not endangering her health. More to that, avoid washing your cat day in day out since that might result in a dry skin which is not good for your kitten.

In fact, you can opt to wash a cat who is dirty once in every two to three months, and an indoor cat once or twice a year(Remember, it all depends on the factors listed above).

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