We first have to define “clean.” Does it mean freshly washed with shampoo and water, or does it mean licked over and covered in cat spit?
If “clean” means the former, then it follows that someone must scrub the cat with shampoo and rinse with water to remove everyday grime, germs, dead skin, spit, urine, faeces, litter box remnants, and whatever else may collect in a cat’s coat.
If “clean” means simply being licked over and covered in cat spit, then the act of a cat licking itself would suffice.
The Facts
Cats are susceptible to matting, fleas, dandruff, dander, ingrown claws, dirty behinds, & other unpleasantries. Either the cat will wash itself or a person must do it for them. Which one will do a more thorough job, thus making the cat truly clean?
One method involves licking with saliva & ingesting large amounts of shedding hair that later return in the form of a hairball.
The other involves washing with sudsy shampoo, rinsing with clean, warm water & drying the coat so that it doesn’t mat.
During this process, loose dead hair is removed so that shedding & hairballs are minimised or, in some cases, eliminated all together.
If you want a life with less shedding, then a bath & blow dry is the answer.
If you are not a fan of dried fecal matter, urine, or anal gland matter on your cat, then a bath & blow dry is the answer.
If your cat is matted or has any tangled hair, then a bath & blow dry is the answer.
If you want a truly clean cat, then a bath & blow dry is the answer.
If you want a fluffy cat with soft, silky hair, then a bath and blow dry is the answer.
Why should you bath your cat?
• A clean, fluffy kitty that feels good
• Less shedding (or none at all)
• Fewer hairballs (or none at all)
• Closely trimmed nails that are less likely to damage furniture or skin and will not grow into the cat’s paw pads
• A clean and tidy behind that doesn’t have leftover litter box “surprises” attached to it
• No more mats ever!
• No more at-home grooming requirements
• Less tear staining (or none at all)
• No flea or tick problems
• No more unsightly dandruff
• Fewer allergy problems (for cat and/or people living with the cat)
Cat Grooming 