Do cats need baths?

The short answer is no. “A healthy cat spends up to 40 per cent of his day grooming himself,” said Dawn LaFontaine, owner of cat accessories retail store, Cat in the Box. “This continuous attention to self-care means there is little need for a cat owner to help out with bathing.”

There are some special circumstances such as cats with arthritis who have lost the flexibility needed to groom, sick cats, overweight cats, and even depressed cats who may require a little more help. A long-haired cat may also need slightly extra assistance cleaning themselves and of course a cat who stumbles his way into something messy that you wouldn’t want them to ingest. You may also need to bathe a cat more often that has fleas.