Question: can cats be washed a little bit or will they get hypothermia ?

Asked by jemz to Darren, Krystal, Lee, Tara, Upulie on 21 Jun 2011.

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  1. Photo: Tara FernandezTara Fernandez
    answered on 14 Jun 2011:

    Hmm…I washed my cat (against his will) once, and besides taking ages for him to get fully dry, he was not a very happy camper…

    Probably not a good idea if your cat has long and thick fur like mine does. Cats groom themselves to keep clean by licking, so they are generally pretty clean. If they do need a wash, it’s probably best to send them to a professional groomer who can get them dry and keep them warm better than doing it yourself I reckon!

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  2. Photo: Darren SaundersDarren Saunders
    answered on 14 Jun 2011:

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat that was happy about being wet… But, the cat would only get hypothermia if the water was colder than it’s body temperature, or if it was wet and standing out in the wind.
    Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature goes below normal (roughly 35-37deg for mammals). Heat transfers faster in water than air, so your body loses heat faster when it’s wet. And if you’ve ever been to the snow on a windy day you’d know what the effect of wind is on body temperature.

    So, as long as you use reasonably warm water and make sure the cat gets dry after being washed, hypothermia shouldn’t be a problem!

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  3. Photo: Lee WalshLee Walsh
    answered on 14 Jun 2011:

    Cats can be washed and given baths. It is true that most cats don’t like to be wet, but some don’t mind. I had a pet cat once that liked to be bathed and there are species of cats that like to swim, I read once about a species that even has webbed toes.

    Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature gets too low, not because you get wet. If you were to bath your cat in warm water and dry it with a towel and keep it inside while it is wet then hypothermia should not be a problem. However if you bath the cat in cold water and put it outside wet in the wind, the cat has a good chance of becoming hypothermic. Just like if you took a bath in iced water and then stood outside in the wind and rain.

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  4. Photo: Upulie DivisekeraUpulie Divisekera
    answered on 21 Jun 2011:

    You can definitely wash a cat but your cat will not appreciate it! I’ve washed mine a few times and he sulked for days.

    Hypothermia occurs when the temperature of the body falls below the normal range of 36.5-37.5oC. When the body temperature drops below 35oC, hypothermia develops. When you wet your skin (or the fur of a cat), the water conducts heat better than air, so you lose body heat more readily if you are wet and exposed to a cold wind. So washing your cat should be fine as long as you dry him/her off properly and make sure they don’t go outside until they are fully dry and warm.

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