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Are cats actually clean?

We have two cats. THey are brothers actually, and tend to clean themselves and their brother very regularly. They also don't smell and generally don't have any SCENT to them at all. However I still wash my hands after every petting session. Partly because I'm allergic to animal fur, but also due to the fact that they are free roamers and are outside most of the time when they're not sleeping and could lick, eat and touch god knows what.

Kinda unrelated but still: please don't surgically remove your cats claws. That's torture.
 
chrisPjelly said:
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I love sniffing my cat, but not his butt
 
I am allergic to cats.
Now, which part? Their spit, basically.
So why is their hair a problem?
Because it's soaked on poisonous feline saliva.

So yeah.
 
Greedings said:
You kick your cat? What the fuck?
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Yup, no doubt the guy puts his heaviest boots on and kicks his cat clean across the room, regular like.

Because if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's to take the internet literally.

I mean you can tell he hates his cat by his lovingly crafted avatar, of his cat.

Probably sits on puppies.
 
My cat loved taking baths and enjoyed calmly staying in the water while we washed her, so cleanliness was not a big problem for us.
She hated the hairdryer though and always wanted to dry herself by chilling on my lap while I was playing computer games
 
MrOogieBoogie said:
Makes me lol when people say a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's.

Yeah, no.



Incredible information. Thank you.
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I think, but can't really say with certainty, that this belief come from a parroted idea that a dog's mouth has fewer bacteria living inside it than a human's.

Which, while I suppose technically would fit the definition of "cleaner" is rather beside the point. The health hazard for humans is that dogs mouths have different bacteria than a human's.

Edit "can't say with certainty" lol. Why I googled AFTER posting is a good question.

https://iheartdogs.com/ask-a-vet-is-a-dogs-mouth-really-cleaner-than-a-humans/

(And to be clear it's not a confirmation of "less bacteria", as usual it's slightly more complicated where the myth came from)
 
IÂ’ve had dogs my whole life, and used to have a whole bunch of cats, so IÂ’ve kinda just gotten used to not really worrying all that much about stuff like that? Like, IÂ’ve gone straight from giving my dog a belly rub to eating something more times than I can count.
 
my cat drinks out of my glass of water....

a date was over at my house saw my cat drink out of the cup.... then I picked up the cup and drank from it.
She got grossed out and refused to kiss me. LOL
 
ElectricBlanketFire said:
Nothing is clean.
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Pretty much.

Also, unless you lock the kitchen during the night (and thereby significantly cut down on the cat's area of movement, you monster!) it'd be foolish to think they don't go there while you sleep.

Wash your hands, cook your food, cut shit on a clean cutting board.
 
My cat eats off my plate of my food, even though I've told him not to and moved him off the couch repeatedly. If I have to get up for whatever, I have to take the plate with me or cover it over.
 
Westbahnhof said:
I am allergic to cats.
Now, which part? Their spit, basically.
So why is their hair a problem?
Because it's soaked on poisonous feline saliva.

So yeah.
Click to expand...

this is a thing people often miss.

"my cats clean themselves all the time" - yeah, by licking themselves. so they are covered in dander.

but you get a fun furball prize every so often so there's that

TheOnlyOneHeEverFeared said:
My cat eats off my plate of my food, even though I've told him not to and moved him off the couch
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are you, like, one of those people at the park who has a cat on a leash

I think cats are clean enough to pet without hesitation myself but I wouldn't let one up on a table or food surface, same as a dog. they are cute as hell sometimes but cats just think you're a big cat who shares food for some reason
 
Cats themselves are clean at the expense of their surroundings, basiscally.

My cat feels so beautiful and fluffy and then I look at my floor and it's like a wall to wall carpet of his goddamn fur! I used to sweep and mop every.... I don't know, 2 weeks? Now it's like twice a week most of the time.

And then the crumbs of litter, or food, or broken off claw husks....

Still, they're not drooly or smelly like a lot of dogs, so it's worth it.

Definitely would clean the counter after he's been on it, though.
 
Kyoufu said:
I wish more cat owners would bathe their cats.

"they clean themselves!"

your cat fucking stinks
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Fucking this. Same with the "I clean the litter box every day and I dont smell it" crowd. You cant because its become normal to you, it just fades into the backround. The rest of us sure as hell can pick up when you cat drops a terd when we are there, it reeks like hell.

Bathe your fucking cat, clean the litter bix twice daily, load up on air fresheners and just get used to the fact that your place will still smell like shit.
 
When I saw my friend's daughter reach to pet a stray cat, I shouted, "Nooo! Don't you dare touch that!" They looked at me like I'm the one with the problem.
 
Ghostandgoblin said:
Not at all, they need the love.

On the other hand, my cat massages me quite often. I heard it's a habit supposed to bring more milk to the mothers nipples. Is that weirder ?
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No one actually knows why cats knead. Some say it's a comfort thing from when they were feeding from their mother cat, some say it's from pre-domestication where wild cats would prepare to lay down in hay or grass or whatever, some say it's because they're marking their territory and they have scent glands in their paws.

It is cute though!
 
Depends what you mean by clean. You won't get sick if they lick your food or face but they spread bacteria like everything else.

Your cat being on your worktop and spreading germs is no worse than getting fast food made by multiple people making your food in a kitchen that isn't cleaned every day with utensils that are cross contaminated.
 
Hickbilly Deluxe said:
Fucking this. Same with the "I clean the litter box every day and I dont smell it" crowd. You cant because its become normal to you, it just fades into the backround. The rest of us sure as hell can pick up when you cat drops a terd when we are there, it reeks like hell.

Bathe your fucking cat, clean the litter bix twice daily, load up on air fresheners and just get used to the fact that your place will still smell like shit.
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Unless your cat doesn't use a litter box and you don't live in a fucking cave.

Then there's no problem, cause they bury their shit outside.
 
I love both of my cats, but they are gross little germ factories. They track litter all over, shed constantly, are total pigs when they eat, and one of them pukes if he eats too fast (and always on a rug). The idea that they are cleaner than a dog or any other pet is ridiculous. Like any free roaming pet, you learn to clean up after them and live with some of the mess. That being said, it's totally worth it and I can't imagine my life without both of my cats. I can live with cat hair on my clothes for all the happiness they bring me.
 
Kyoufu said:
I wish more cat owners would bathe their cats.

"they clean themselves!"

your cat fucking stinks
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They do? 🤔

One of my cats is sixteen and we havenÂ’t bathed him since he was a baby. Others are four at this point and weÂ’ve never bathed them, even when they were babies.

Oops.
 
I let a cat rub the top of its head on mine once. I broke out like an hour later. That broke the myth immediately for me. My gf also lets her cats go out on her balcony where she keeps a bird feeder. Without fail one cat starts rubbing herself all over the bird shit on the ground the moments she steps outside. I don't let that cat out anymore.
 
Lanrutcon said:
Then there's no problem, cause they bury their shit outside.
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Yup they shit outside, in every other poor fuckers flowerbeds and yards.

Cats, the most socialist pet in the world, everyone gets to clean up after them.

No problem at all. I actually look forwards to cleaning up the neighbourhood cat shit so my kids can play in the yard. It's nice.
 
Nerfgun said:
this is a thing people often miss.

"my cats clean themselves all the time" - yeah, by licking themselves. so they are covered in dander.

but you get a fun furball prize every so often so there's that



are you, like, one of those people at the park who has a cat on a leash

I think cats are clean enough to pet without hesitation myself but I wouldn't let one up on a table or food surface, same as a dog. they are cute as hell sometimes but cats just think you're a big cat who shares food for some reason
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Naw, he's just super clingy.
 
Hissing Sid said:
Yup they shit outside, in every other poor fuckers flowerbeds and yards.

Cats, the most socialist pet in the world, everyone gets to clean up after them.

No problem at all. I actually look forwards to cleaning up the neighbourhood cat shit so my kids can play in the yard. It's nice.
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You should probably raise your kids rather than spending all your time going around digging holes in your garden trying to locate cat shit.

Sid's kids: if you're reading this, get your dad a hobby.
 
My cat doesn't efficiently clean her butt all the time so ever few months I have to give her a bath. I think some cats clean themselves better than others. She doesn't stink. I've had stinky cats before though. And I don't use clay so she doesn't track litter.

Also under no circumstances is my cat allowed on the counter.
 
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