5 Ragdoll kittens fully enjoy their first bath together (who said cats dislike water!)

Pearl is an attractive woman who loves Ragdoll cats. She has a successful TikTok account because of it. Her home is 'littered' with Ragdoll kittens. She probably loves Ragdoll kittens and who doesn't because they are gorgeous. In fact, her partner gave her a present of roses plus 6 more Ragdoll kittens (see pic below)! I find it remarkable. I have no idea how she is going to cope with so many cats in her home and I have serious concerns about it but it does make very interesting videos.

And here is her partner delivering 6 more of the beauties within a bunch of flowers. All for the cameras. Don't forget that all this would not happen but for the fact that Pearl has a TikTok page and she needs to make videos for it. It was Pearl's birthday and they are due to be married in four months according to the vide caption.

"This is all I wanted for my birthday," she said.

“This is what women really want when they say they want flowers.” Not sure she is speaking on behalf of women in general. No woman except her would want this. For me is screams: "Work!"

And in the one below we have 10 year old Ragdoll kittens being given their first bath and they love it, it seems to me. They fully accept it. They have no problem being in water up to their neck. Who said that cats don't like water?

@pearlsragdolls

I did in fact find somebody. It's exactly 4 months until our wedding 🤍

♬ original sound - Pattimifatti

When you watch the video you see her pick up a Ragdoll kitten to place the kitten in the bath and totally in line with their description of being Ragdolls, the kitten's head flops back just like a plush toy.

The ragdoll cat is one of those rare breeds with a character which matches up to their name. They are very affable and pliable and accepting and that is probably why they accept being in water up to their neck.

I am a little concerned also with the fact that she's bathing them. They don't need bathing it seems to me. You only bathe a cat when they truly need it (e.g., toxic substance on their fur) because you remove the oils from a cat's body when you do this.

What you end up with is siblings temporarily being unable to recognise each other because they identify each other through their body odour.

I have a strong feeling that Pearl bathed her kittens in order to make a successful video which it is because according to TikTok it's been seen 47 million times! But don't forget that TikTok constantly replays the video on a loop and so these very high viewing figures from TikTok are artificially inflated. 

A TikTok account does force people to make fresh videos all the time which can work against cat welfare. Just saying.

@pearlsragdolls

10 week old kitten get their first bath

♬ original sound - Pearl’s Ragdolls

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Video on bathing a young rescue cat by holding the scruff throughout

This is a slightly intriguing video. It took me about 10 seconds to realise that throughout the entire bathing of this young rescue cat (who was a bit grimy) the caregiver held the cat in her right hand by the scruff of their neck. And this accounts for the pliable and accepting behaviour of the cat. 

We all know that holding a cat by the scruff helps to pacify them because they are mentally reduced to being kittens held by their mother when they are carrying their offspring from an old down to a new one. This is the 'kitten reflex response' when carried by mom.

Images and video

Both images below are screenshots from the video. The video is below the images. It comes from TikTok where they allow visitors to download videos which implies that they allow them to be used under a creative commons license.

This woman has decided that the best way to bathe cats is to subdue them with the scruff-of-the-neck hold and it certainly works well as we can see in the video.

Cooking pot?

It's intriguing too that she used what appears to be a cooking pot in which I presume she added lukewarm water and some soap. On reflection, I think the reason why she used a large cooking pot is because she wanted to pour it out into the sink for the video. This allows us to see the dirt in the water. Neat idea.

Drowning fleas?

How effective is bathing a cat to get rid of fleas? You are effectively trying to drown them. Can you drown fleas? The woman who bathes this cat thinks that this is an effective way to get rid of them but is it?

My research indicates that you can indeed drown fleas, but it might take 24 hours. That would be untenable while bathing a cat and therefore I think when you bathe a cat you do get rid of some fleas not by drowning but because they are washed out of the fur into the water. 

Some fleas will probably remain on the cat, and they can be removed with a flea comb I would suggest. I would certainly check for fleas after bathing a cat like this especially when they are rescue cats because they are going to have lots of fleas normally.

Scruffing adult cats

Towards the end of the video, we see her holding this young cat up by the scruff of the neck. In fact, her hand has gone around the neck to the side. The entire weight of the cat is pulling downwards from this hold. 

I would not do this for an adult cat. It is going to stress the cat's body and neck too much. But for a young cat it is acceptable. You would simply support the cat by the legs if the cat was an adult and if you wanted to use this scruff technique when bathing.

Ritualistic shampooing accepted by patient domestic cat standing on hind legs

This patient domestic cat knows what he is about to receive by the look of his patience as he waits to be shampooed. It seems to be a ritual. The cat politely complains but accepts the shampooing. It is very cute because it appears that the owner has done this a lot and her cat has learned to accept it without question except for the faint complaint.

Cat in Asia is shampooed standing up on two legs.

It is unusual to believe that you have to shampoo your cat regularly. In this instance it maybe because the cat is a community cat living outside a lot with the greater possibility of getting dirty. But I think it is more to do with the attitude of the woman caring for her ginger bicolor cat. She is treating him as a child. You can see her washing his bottom and tail as if she is washing the bottom of a baby. There may be a culture in that country to do this. She may be doing it to get rid of fleas. The better method would be to use a flea comb twice per day. Healthier for the cat and more effective.

It is nice that she has this close bond with the cat but she needs to be aware of the unnaturalness of bathing a cat so often (if that is the case). It can dry out the skin and it certainly removes all the cat's scent. If there are other cats who are friendly with this one, they will no longer recognise him for a while. There may even be a fight as a consequence.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Should cats be bathed?

No. Why bathe your cat when he or she is bathing themselves for hours every day? Why wash off all the natural oils etc.? That is the obvious answer. However, there might be occasions when it is necessary, for medical or health reasons, to give your cat a bath.

Smell your cat! Mine cat smell gorgeous. The average domestic cat grooms himself fastidiously. The average healthy domestic cat that is not overweight grooms for up to several hours per day! They are clean, believe me and it is a natural cleanliness.

If however, a cat is overweight or ill or very old he or she might not groom properly. Certain areas might not be reached. I would groom these areas for your cat with a nice, gentle but efficient grooming brush. But I would not put her in a bath.

Three instances comes to mind when you might consider bathing your cat. The first is the dreaded flea. If a cat is infested, a bath in an insecticide or specialist shampoo, under a veterinarian's supervision might be useful. Don't forget that flea treatments are toxic. Use with caution and care. Read those damned instructions.

The second is when your cat has obviously got something toxic on his or her coat. She may have fallen into a paint pot. Mine did. She got a bath. Her brother did not recognize her afterward and hissed at her. She washed herself all over to get back to normal.

The third is when a good and experienced veterinarian suggests it; for whatever reason. Otherwise, "should cats be bathed?"...No, don't bother. Don't put your cat through it, please.