Cat People?

[fairyrune]

I have the I Can Has Cheezburger feed on my f-list. Every time there's a picture of cat being bathed by humans, or even just a wet cat, someone inevitably says something along the lines of, "Oh noes!11!!11 That poor kitty! What horrible horrible people would torture a cat by giving it a bath??"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but bathing a cat is something that most pet owners would avoid unless it was 100% unavoidable, yes? It's not something you do just to see the funny look on the cat's face; you only do it if it's in the kitty's best interest.

Am I right? Are these people who are bitching about pet owners taking good care of their babies a bit off their rockers?

Comments

[synnoveaevael.livejournal.com]

i just think it's cause the cats are usually SOOO miserable in water. i mean, imagine if you had to dry off YOUR body with your tongue.

that's a whole lotta time of the day wasted that could be used sleeping!

[fairyrune]

Yeah, but what I'm saying is that these people are calling the pet owners horrible human beings for bathing the cat, when in reality it's probably necessary. Yeah, the cats not happy about it, but he doesn't know why Mommy's making him all wet and scrubbing him.

Would you bathe a cat if you didn't have to?

[synnoveaevael.livejournal.com]

heh. i never thought THAT.

no. i've never bathed my cats. although, firenze could use a breath mint. jesus.

[fairyrune]

Obviously, you are not off your rocker.

I think they make those. They make 'em for dogs. My dad ate one once!

[synnoveaevael.livejournal.com]

i try not to be. the rocker is comfie.

HAHAHAHAHAH!!! now to get HER to eat one. ugh. kitteh breath of ick.

[mynock25.livejournal.com]

[synnoveaevael.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHHA!!! excellent.

[mynock25.livejournal.com]

And my cat LOVES them. (Want to get your cat's attention? Rattle the tin.)

[synnoveaevael.livejournal.com]

reeaally. good to know :D

[aradapilot.livejournal.com]

yes...they are. i love my cat, and i rough around with him and flip him over and do things he probably doesnt enjoy altogether but its just being playful. like an older brother beating on a younger one.

[fairyrune]

True dat, yo.

[ladyjoust.livejournal.com]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but bathing a cat is something that most pet owners would avoid unless it was 100% unavoidable, yes? It's not something you do just to see the funny look on the cat's face; you only do it if it's in the kitty's best interest.

Some cats are bathed regularly; I know someone who has allergies, and giving their kitties weekly baths ameliorates the symptoms. In my own experience, I've only bathed kitties for specific reasons: fleas or, more recently, explosive oily poo.

Am I right? Are these people who are bitching about pet owners taking good care of their babies a bit off their rockers?

They really think these owners are only doing this for the comic value? The hell???

[fairyrune]

Yep. There are people out there who automatically assume that any pet owner who gives their cat a bath is evyl.

You're a bad, bad person because you gave Esme a bath!

::snort::

[la-reine-rien.livejournal.com]

*SNORT*

[fairyrune]

People are stupid, no?

[la-reine-rien.livejournal.com]

*sings* people are strange.. when you're a stranger..

[fairyrune]

Word, yo. Word.

[damnitnicole]

omg your icon made me die

[grigoricennui.livejournal.com]

The truth is this is stereotyping. Cats look dreadful when wet and extremely cute causing protective instincts to kick in. Cats, like people, have different personalitites. While many/most cats don't like to be submersed during bathing and avoid swimming, pet cats especially will learn to tolerate it and some even enjoy the experience. Show cats get baths before a show whether they like it or not.

That said, giving a pet a bath is a pain in the ass. A chore cat owners avoid by getting a pet that helps out cleaning itself. For the most part a cat will take very decent care of itself and only rarely needs a bath. While some people are more fastidious about such things Kim and I have only given our cats a bath like twice in their lives, and the first was because we rescued them from a basement full of god knows how many generations of cat crap and they were diseased and stinky.

J.

...And then there's the girl that used handy-wipes to clean her cat weekly. :)

[makiieris.livejournal.com]

We gave Kitten a bath probably about a month ago, it's her second one this year. Mostly because of the shedding but also because her coat was due to have a bath. In all, it's something we'd like to avoid, she's absolutely miserable when we gave it to her, but in all she was happy after it was all done and she was dry and we're happy to have a less cat hair infested house.

[justducky2204.livejournal.com]

my boy only gets bathed when he does something stupid and/or gross like jumping in the toilet.

"amusing" is definitely NOT the word i would use to describe bathing a cat, no matter how pathetic he looks. though i guess if one weren't participating that it would be amusing to watch it...

[damnitnicole]

No, dude, I'm sorry. As much as I hated bathing Jack, as much as my ex probably still bears the scars of that horrific bathroom experience... it was really funny to see my cat walk on water and lose his shit.

[mishmosh.livejournal.com]

Our cats generally get one yearly bath. The last one they got was because our landlord's animals gave them fleas but since we moved and they are no longer near those animals, no more fleas!

Though cats are pretty damn amusing when you give them a bath. At least ours are. Even though they are miserable.

[fair-juliet.livejournal.com]

cat are self cleaning, especially short haired cats. Unless they get into a big mess you really don't NEED to clean them. Long hairs on the other hand...they need grooming.

[ammre.livejournal.com]

hah, i'm the jerk...

99% of the time when we toss a cat into the shower (most of the time it's peanut, because he's an asshole) it's sheerly for amusement purposes. The only cat that has issues cleaning itself we brush when she lets us near her. (she came to us old and skitterish)

[undergreenlight.livejournal.com]

I most def bath Jack. Mint is balding now because she is neurotic about cleaning herself. But sometimes Jack just gets this funk going on that is totally totally unbelivable. He is pretty good in the bath, he really likes water and it's not that dangerous. My mom's cat tends to be pretty clean as well. I think it really depends on the cat. Jack is just a mess ha ha.

[damnitnicole]

Cat baths are like abortions. Nobody ever wants to do it, and some people won't do it even if they really probably should.