Is it too soon to take tiger for his first bath? I recently saw him scratching his head a bit more often with his paws. Our house is very enclosed and don't see how he could get fleas but thought maybe a nice bath would do him some good.

Most cats take care of bathing themselves and don't particularly like baths from humans. Scratching can result from simply an itch -- just like humans. Or, a cat could have allergies. Even though a cat may be indoors, know that fleas can attach themselves to humans and come into the house and fester. If your cat has not been to the vet recently, you might just want to take him and perhaps find out what is causing this. Constant scratching is a sign that something is going on. Skin irritations are common in kitties. A scratch now and then shouldn't be cause for worry.

Thanks. I haven't taken him to to vet yet since I only got him a couple of weeks ago but I'll definitely take him for a visit soon to get an overall checkup

Usually the breeder will advise you to take the kitty to the vet for a check up and to start a medical record on the kitty for future visits. Make a list of any questions you want to ask the vet. The vet I take Raiden to will spend a lot of a time with us. Some other vets are not that way.

Take him to the vet so you can get a true baseline of his health. I'm really surprised your kitten contract did not require a vet visit within 2 or 3 days. That clause is usually included to protect both you and the breeder.

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~ Kyenta

You are right the contract does say I should have taken him to the vet within the first 3 days. I didn't read the contract till now unfortunately. That means a visit very soon.

Agreed about the vet thing. Despite the health guarantee, it's a smart thing anyway to get introduced to the vet and get on a regular exam schedule.

Sure, you can try a bath though. It's actually a decent time to do it, while your cat is a kitten. You will learn one of two things:

1. Your cat surprisingly loves water (many bengals do!)
or
2.. Your cat hates water

If the former, it could be a fun thing going forward for both of you. If the water is at a "nice" temperature, and you are gentle, and don't treat it like a punishment, it could be a cool thing. If the latter, that may be the last bath you're ever able to administer Mine are all in the latter category unfortunately. Now that they have determined that they hate it, there is no way I could pull that off again unless I was ok with two bloody stumps where my arms used to be (and mine are females... I imagine it would be even more problematic with a male which often get about twice the size). There usually isn't a reason to give a cat a bath anyway unless there is a skunk involved or something unusual like that. I recall reading something about important oils on their coat being lost and such, so unless there is a compelling reason to do it (like your cat loving it) it probably shouldn't be done. There are other ways to treat fleas and other pests.

One other thing to consider with regard to the first vet visit: if you have any thoughts of getting pet health insurance, now is the time to do it (prior to the first exam). There is this small window of opportunity now before any symptoms or problems or abnormalities get "on the books" where you can get insured for no prior conditions at all. Just a thought...

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The little monsters 3

I wouldn't think there would be any reason to bathe a cat unless it had gotten into something -- had a cat once who got into tar when they repaved the street in front of our house. That was not a fun chore!!! There may be dry shampoos that you can use and brush on, but kitties are usually good at keeping themselves clean. An occasional cleaning may not harm the kitty, however, a shampoo is going to wash off the oils from the cats skin and can cause irritation. I think unless your kitty does not keep himself clean or he gets into something that gets all over him, he is not going to need a bath. Raiden does such a great job of grooming. I love smelling him. He smells fresher than a newborn baby!

Thanks guys. Tiger actually keeps himself very clean. He even gets mad if you mess with his grooming if he just finished, it's so funny. But I'll take your advice and keep the self cleaning to him.

I have never bathed Quasar.

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~ Kyenta

I actually found out he had ear mites when I took him to the vet. She treated him and I give his ears a routine cleaning. The scratching stopped

My last cat had never been bathed and I decided to have a groomer bathe her because I was having some sort of allergy. The groomer told me she was the best behaved cat she ever bathed! Unfortunately she got a bad yeast infection a couple of weeks later. I am pretty sure the bath contributed to that. So it was back to the vet and ear drops for a couple of weeks :(

I would never bathe a cat myself at home.

I bath my tigger once a month and he loves it with the shower head but hates the blow dryer! lol
so we just cuddle up to warm up.

Ear mites will definitely cause scratching! Glad you took him to the vet and got things taken care of.