How often should a Maine Coon be bathed?

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The question in the title presupposes that all Maine coon cat owners should bathe their cats. And as at Oct 21, 2021, the top website that Google finds when searching for answers to the question in the title, states unequivocally that Maine Coons should be bathed at least once a month to help control shedding and keep the coat clean. Wrong, I say.

Maine Coon being bathed to get rid of fleas
Maine Coon being bathed to get rid of fleas. This is one of the reasons why you might bathe a Maine Coon but only exceptionally. Constant, daily flea combing will do the job and cats love it. Most cats don't like to be bathed. Photo in the public domain.

I don't live with a Maine Coon but I would strongly disagree with their advice. You do not need to bathe your Maine Coon unless for a special reason. It is wrong to presuppose that you should. The Maine Coon is like any other domestic cat in this respect. People don't ask how often they need to bathe their moggy? They don't even think about it unless there is a specific reason to do it.

Purebred cats are just like random-bred i.e. moggy, cats when it comes to all matters of maintenance and caretaking. There is no difference. Just because the Maine Coon has a shaggy coat, medium-long in length, does not mean that it needs to be bathed every 30 days.

Domestic cats are very good at looking after their own coats. Admittedly, the longer the coat is the harder it is for a domestic cat to care for themselves. And because Maine Coons are created under artificial selection principles as opposed to natural selection for moggies, it is possible for the coat to become too long as is the case for Persians. This prevents the cat maintaining themselves adequately. Persian coats must be combed regularly to avoid matting. This is not the case with Maine Coons.

Nature would not allow a domestic cat's coat to become too long because it undermines survival. But domestic cats live in an artificial world, protected and mollycoddled by good cat caregivers and therefore the concept of natural selection and survival is inapplicable.

Bathing your cat is like removing her ID

Jackson Galaxy would agree with me when I state that you don't need to bathe domestic cats. I know because I have read his book Total Cat Mojo. You don't want to remove all the natural oils and natural body scent which are on a cat's coat. The scent is part of the cat's identification to other cats. It is their signature to other cats. You need to retain it.

One thing you can do every day with a Maine Coon is to flea comb the coat especially around the neck and shoulders. I am sure that you know about that. This is the kind of routine caregiving that you can do with great benefit for both you and your cat. Do that instead of bathing your cat once a month. And comb them all over to keep the coat in great condition. That's enough as far as I am concerned.

Disagree? Tell me in a comment please, but explain yourself.

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