# Those with long/medium haired cats...



## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

Do you find you have to bathe them ever? When I visited Baby Boy last, he had some poo in the fur under his tail and he was a little smelly. Is this a common occurance with long hair, or just a kitten thing? I know my shetland sheepdog has to get a "butt bath" if he has a loose poo occasionally, and I'm wondering if along with getting him used to being brushed, I should get him used to baths?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Unless they're a breed that _requires_ bathing, and some do, I don't really see a need for it. My twins are almost five years old and they've never had a real, full bath. Cali got a quick clean up once after peeing in her carrier when she was scared by dogs when I tried a new groomer (never went back). My girls *were* given potty patches sometimes when I brought them in to get their nails clipped though, especially when they were little. 

Most cats do not enjoy baths and will never get used to them. The stress isn't worth it to me. The only reason I used to take Mocha in for baths is because I thought that's what got the extra hair out. (silly me!) Now I know it's the comb-out _after_ the bath. In fact, my girls' groomer is coming over this weekend to give her a really good comb-out and trim all their nails.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

jadis said:


> Do you find you have to bathe them ever?


Never.

Once Blacky had a bit of poop on her... used a wash cloth and removed it... a baby or hand wipe would work well too.

I've had to give Blaze (short hair) more of a bath than Blacky, once he peed all over the lower half of his body so he got half a bath. He took it well... as in, he didn't claw my eyes out or bite or struggle excessively or meow pathetically, but was very happy when I let him out of the sink. He was at least 10 at that point and had never had a bath before and he may never have one again...

I don't think most cats will get accustomed to baths and even if it's possible the stress of it is not likely worth it. Cats so rarely if ever need a bath that there's no point.


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

Phew, I was a little worried. I have never bathed a cat and wasn't looking forward to it.


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## spotty cats (Sep 23, 2011)

I've never had an issue bathing my cats, they tend to just stand there lol

Poo you don't want to wash anyway, more effective to powder and brush out. You can get a sanitary shave if needed.


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## Victoriax (Feb 25, 2012)

my Elfie is medium long haired & occasionaly gets a little poop in the fur around his but & I just comb it out for him & he clean's away any smell him self 

when he was on a dry food diet he would quite oftenn have diarrhoea & would then need his butt washed in the sink 

but since changing to wet food only he has not had a episode of diarrhoea once, he just sometime's has a lil ball of dry poop stuck to his furr but this is not very often at all 

he has a groom every day & I check his butt throughout the day so he is never left with poop in his furr for long enough to make him stinky


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I had to dunk Holly's butt several times when she was a kitten as she often had diarrhea until I figured out that she has an intolerance for fish (even small amounts). But never gave her a full bath. 

She still gets the occasional diarrhea, especially if I introduce something new)...she cleans it up for the most part, but sometimes I need to comb or trim it out. Getting her a potty patch would help but it's not often enough to justify the stress of taking her to the vet or groomer.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I bath my girls regularly. Used to be quarterly, but I now cut it down to every 4 month. 

My Meatball needs a regular bath. As a Siberian, her fur is natually a bit oilly (water proofing). So she gets greasy over time. My Metoo may not need a bath every 4 month, but I would like her to get used to bathing in case of emergency -- like the last time she fell into toilet. Also although my girls groom themselves, there are places they cannot reach, like head, behind ears, neck & upper back, etc.

Both my girls are perfectly cool with bathing, and they even enjoys the blow dry process afterward! Here are pictures of their bathing in May. I absolutely LOVE how fluffy they are after bathing! The difference is obvious :heart

Meatball and Metoo in the sink. You can see how carm they are. They were harnessed not because they struggled, just so that I can have both my hands free 


















After the blow drying, Meatball is a big puffed furball!









You don't see big difference on Metoo, but she is softer and silkier to touch (her tail is still a bit wet)


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

I love the clean fluffiness too. And the way they look so tiny when wet. Cute!


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

kty78 said:


> I love the clean fluffiness too. And the way they look so tiny when wet. Cute!


They do shrinked at least 2 sizes down when wet :lol:

After bath, Meatball was incredibly soft like a cotton candy, whereas Metoo was unbelievably silky. I was in kitty heaven and can't stop kissing & hugging them :angel


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

All four of my cats are medium to long haired. None of them get regular baths, but they get emergency baths in very shallow water (the tub) to immediately clean an area in need, if such a need occurs.

It causes way to much stress otherwise.


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## Jan Rebecca (Oct 14, 2010)

My Tuffy only gets a bath when he gets dirty - he has an issue with hairballs - coming out the other end and sticking - he then scoots on the floor to get them off - and yea = well gets all messy - therefore gets a bath. He's never thrilled about them but behaves pretty nicely.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

I have two Ragdolls. We trim the fur around their bottoms which helps a little. Every now and again I have to bath them. Evie has intolerances to so many things, that she often (I say often now it's about once every couple of months!) gets diarrhoea. This isn't pleasant, so we need to wash her. Mitzi is usually fine, but she tends to get a little discolouration around her bottom. We bathed them both last week- and yes, it's very unpleasant. I'm pretty sure our neighbour must think we were trying to drown them from the noise they produced! They don't scratch though, and it's over very quickly. 

I love how fluffy they are afterwards, too! They still are now one week on!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Mow is medium haired and the few times he had stomach issues I'd give him the potty patch.


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## littlesushi (Jun 8, 2011)

i've never bathed either of my cats before. they go in regularly to get a potty patch though (about every 3 months) and if they get something stuck on their fur, we usually brush or cut it out.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I have done butt dunks when they get messy in that region. I also gave Egypt a dry shampoo bath when her fur got really greasy. It only happened once and it was pretty painless.


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

I've bathed my ragdoll twice and I probably won't for a very long time now. The first time there was a poo situation and the only way to clean it was a bath. Unfortunately it was an emergency and didn't have cat shampoo so stupid me used grease fighting dish soap. This made her coat horrible and greasy so I had to re-bathe her using a proper cat shampoo. She was actually really good. Didn't particularly like it but she stood there good. While I was at it I gave my 2 DSH's a bath since they never had one before... that went terrible... I will not be bathing them again unless neccessary... they hid for a day afterwars, not worth it!


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Torri is technically long haired...but not very. She's also white...and likes to roll on the floor...and only learned to groom herself properly this past year (she'll be 5 this summer)

I bathed her once a month for her first year. About every other month until she was 4. She's due for one now and her last was about 6 months ago. She doesn't fuss too much. She cries a bit, but I'm fast at it, and it's over quickly.

Personally I will always get my kittens used to baths. I think it will reduce the amount of stress if I ever need to bathe them for anything (ex: getting into paint, tree sap, oil, being old and having greasy fur, ect.)

When Doran escaped a few months ago I gave him a bath when we got him back. He was filthy and I sinec I didn't know what was all over him I didn't want him ingesting it. Since he had baths as a kitten it wasn't too big of a deal. He didn't like it, and I don't plan to do it regularly, but for the off chance something happens I feel it's worth it.

IMO cats hate baths because they were never taught to like them. Torri enjoys the warm water being poured over her, she snuggles my hands and purrs just a little (not stress-purrs, I do know the difference  ) There are also quite a few youtube videos of cats that like water. Doran loves playing with the water jet from the hose, I'll post a new video later this year of him 'helping' me water  I've taken one the past two years as well.

If you teach a kitten to enjoy the water and play in it then they won't be as horrible to bathe if it's needed later on. Basically if I can help reduce possible future stress by simply bathing a kitten a few times...I'm on it. It's the same reason I'm always playing with their feet, to make nail trimming easier!


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

Io got some poos on her bottom that were stinking up the joint tonight. I "tricked" her into a tub with about 5cm of warm water in it. She followed the laser pointer right into the water. It was a bit of a surprise and she squawked, but I scrubbed her quick, scooped her into a towel and dried her up. It took less than 5 mins, she got a treat afterword, and she doesn't seem angry at me.

I hope she never learns I'm the one that controls the laser, though.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

My Autumn was a medium hair cat and I never bathed her. Just wiped her but when she had poo left on it (very rarely). She was a bbiigggg
cat though (18 lbs).


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

My sister has an obese long-haired cat that needs to be bathed every few weeks now, since he can't groom himself. He gets really greasy/nasty quickly and covered in dandruff and concrete litterboots. He's not a fan of it but he's too fat and old to care overmuch.


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