Bathe Your Cat or Dog

Bathing your dog or cat is an important part of pet ownership. Regardless of your pets’ breed and coat type, shampooing promotes cleanliness and a healthy skin and coat. Frequency of bathing varies greatly between breeds and individual pets, and how often your pet should get a bath depends on the needs of your own dog or cat.

Cats and dogs may share many things, when it comes to baths and bathing techniques, cats and dogs couldn’t be more different. Cats are fastidiousself-groomers , and many cats can go a lifetime without requiring a true bath. This is generally a good thing, because most cats aren’t big fans of the bathing process, and bathing a cat is generally not for the inexperienced cat owner, or the faint of heart.

Some cats do require bathing, usually for medical reasons. Cats being treated for skin infections or fungal infections, such as ringworm, may need regular baths to treat and prevent reoccurrence of skin problems. Older and overweight cats may not be able to groom themselves as thoroughly, and may require routine bathing in order to keep up their personal hygiene. An occasional bath may be necessary if your cat gets sprayed by a skunk, gets unusually dirty, or gets a foreign substance on his or her coat. But for the average, healthy cat, a good brushing program may be able to replace the bath for routine coat care.

On the flip side, while dogs do require routine baths to stay clean and healthy, they fortunately are a little more accepting of the process. Regular bathing of all dogs, despite coat length or type, helps to keep the coat and skin healthy. Most dogs do not require frequent bathing (once a month or less!), but brushing in between bath times helps to keep them clean, removing dead hair, dirt and other debris from the coat.