If you’re the lucky owner of a Persian cat then you will be aware of the grooming that’s required to keep your fluffy friends fur in tip-top condition. 

Many Persian cat owners ask themselves the question “how often should you bathe a Persian cat” the short answer is it depends on a few factors. 

Should you bathe your cat?

Everyone’s opinion will differ on this but in my experience, you should most certainly bathe your cat. 

OK, it may sound a bit crazy bathing your cat just as brushing a cat’s teeth does, however, there are many benefits to bathing your cat. I would advise you start when you first get your kitten. If that’s not possible because you’ve got a rescue cat or you’ve adopted an older cat then starting to bathe your cat might prove to be tricky at first but will get easier with time (trust me I’ve been there with my other cat Teddy).

The benefits of bathing your Persian cat

When it comes to bathing any cat there are lots of benefits but with Persian cats and other long-haired breeds, there are some substantial benefits.

Bathing your Persian cat reduces shedding. It’s true nobody likes cat hair in your bed or on your furniture and by bathing your cat you will rinse away any dead hair. Bathing your Persian cat in addition to using a tool like the Furminator will vastly reduce unwanted cat hair. 

Bathing your Persian cat will make grooming for (you and them) easier. Let’s face it, grooming a Persian cat isn’t an easy task by any means, their fur tangles and knots very easily if it isn’t brushed daily, often needing to be shaved out with clippers. When you bathe your cat you help remove the dead hair and clean the fur which helps keep the coat and skin in better condition. 

Bathing your Persian cat makes their coat bright and shiny. When you bathe your Persian cat and comb them often you will notice their coat looks bright, vibrant and healthy. I recently wrote a post about the best brushes for Persian cats. 

Flea control. Another advantage of bathing your Persian cat is flea control, if you bathe your cat often and use a flea treatment then you will stand a good chance of stopping your cat getting fleas or kill fleas your cat has picked up. 

Cleaner air. Bathing your Persian cat will reduce cat dander which can cause problems in people who suffer from cat allergies. Air purifiers are a good way to combat this issue in addition to bathing.

How often should you bathe a Persian cat 

In my experience, if you keep your Persian cat indoors then I would recommend bathing your cat every 4 weeks. This will depend on quite a factors though. 

If your cat never goes outside in the garden and is solely in your house or apartment then this should be enough. If your cat goes into the garden then depending on the time of year you may need to bathe them every 2 weeks. 

I’m not going to lie it can be hard work bathing your cat especially if they’re not used to it. Some cats are very scared of water and will do anything they can to resist getting in the bath or shower. This may include aggressive behaviour which often is a reaction to being placed in a bath. Milo my Persian cat is OK with bathing but that’s because he’s been bathed at least once per month since he was a kitten. 

I wouldn’t say he likes the experience but he puts up with it and as you can see in the main picture of this post he likes to hold onto the rail on the bath whilst we wash him. Occasionally, he will try to climb out but this is becoming less now. 

On the other hand, my other cat Teddy who’s a British Shorthair hates the whole experience and will meow very loudly and try climb out of the bath so this can be a challenge and is usually a two-person job!

He’s getting a lot better now though and each bath seems to be easier than the last. We bought Teddy at 4 months old and he had never been bathed so it’s taken him a while to get used to the process. 

If you have an outdoor cat or a cat that’s sick then bathing them every few weeks will keep them nice and clean and keep their fur in good condition. 

I wrote a post and reviewed the best cat shampoo for your Persian cat.

Drying your cat after bathing them

Once you’ve bathed your Persian cat it’s important to dry them and I’ve found that this stage can stress them out more than the actual washing.

I normally wrap Milo in a towel to get the excess water off him then use a pet hair dryer to dry his fur. I recommend pet hair dryers as these are basically a more powerful version of a human hair dryer with less noise and better temperature control. 

Once dry you can brush them to remove any loose fur. I normally use the Furminator and then use a slicker and this leaves Milo’s fur looking great. 

Final Thoughts 

Ultimately, the choice is yours if you bathe your cat or not. If you have a short haired cat then it’s less important than a Persian cat. So there’s nothing wrong if you never bath your cat. If I don’t bath my cats for about 1 month then you can start to smell them a bit and their fur looks oily and not as healthy or shiny on this basis alone it’s a huge benefit. 

Let me know your thoughts below, do you bathe your Persian cat and if so how’s your experiences been?