Vet issues warning against 'disappointing' viral pet trend that leaves animals 'panicking and stressed'

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

A vet has spoken out against a viral TikTok trend in which people try to force their cats to bathe, describing as 'disappointing'.
Taking to the platform - where he has some 210,000 followers, the veterinarian - who uses the handle @ben.the.vet - shared the view in a short clip.
The video, which was titled Vet reacts to viral cat bathing video, saw Ben watching footage of a stressed cat being forced into a bath.
Sharing his views on the topic, the veterinarian said: 'Oh, gosh, what is this obsession people have with bathing their cats?
'You do not need to bath your cat. Cats are extremely good at keeping themselves clean and grooming themselves.
'They spend a lot of time every day [...] grooming themselves.'
Ben noted that there are some breeds - notably Persian cats - who are less adept at keeping themselves clean, due to their short faces.
He also shared a situation in which a person may need to help their cat clean themselves.
Ben said: 'If they get poo on them or something like that, fair enough.
'You might want to clean them. But try and make it as unstressful as possible.
'Maybe just get a bowl of warm soapy water and clean the dirty area.
'It's very rare that cat would be completely covered in poo or need to be immersed in water like this cat [in the video].
'At any rate, this cat is like majorly panicking and stressed.'
He continued: 'I'm not really sure this video is very funny, but it's got millions of views, so people seem to find watching a stressed cat entertaining - disappointing.'
Concluding the clips, Ben said: 'The take home message [is] don't bath your cat routinely. Please, it's not necessary.'
His video was accompanied by a caption which shared further advice on why you don't generally need to bathe cats, and the best way to do it in the rare and specific situations it is necessary.
The caption said: 'You. Do. Not. Need. To. Routinely. Bathe. Your. Cat.
'Yet it's one thing I'm often asked by cat owners, especially new kitten owners, is when can I bath them? The answer I always give is never, unless you absolutely have to.
'If you do have to bath them because they have diarrhoea/get vomit on them/roll in something, then here are some tips for making it as non stressful as possible.
'Get someone else to assist you, it will make things much quicker.
'Wet as little of the cat as possible - just wet and shampoo the dirty area.
'Distract the cat - e.g. offer them a treat of some kind.'
His final instruction was: 'Don't film it to post for likes on social media!'
Many viewers agreed with Ben, taking to the comments section to share their thoughts.
A number of viewers took to the comments section to share their thoughts, with many saying they have never felt the need to bathe their cats
One wrote: 'My cat gets a bath if he gets fleas. If. I'm not gonna routinely torture him. Poor baby.'
Another added: 'I've literally never felt the need to do this for any of my cats.'
And a third wrote: '3 years no bath...she smells like sunshine and blueberry muffins, love...'
'Unless it's a kitten with fleas or an elderly cat with bathroom issues, it's so so so unnecessary,' a further TikTok user commented.
Meanwhile, another wrote: 'I hate it. It hurts my heart. I can't even tolerate watching my cat in any sort of distress makes me cry. I'll admit, I'm biased. My cats is the best cat in the world, but still. I'd never subject her to a bath.'