Vet recommends giving rescued cat a bath, owner expects the cat to hate it, but the cat surprises everyone by loving baths (and looking very adorable in a towel)

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Jun 17, 2026 5:30 PM EDT

All cats hate water, right? That's a known fact. Except that this fact is actually wrong.

From the time that we were children, there has been one thing that we have always known. Cats love milk, and cats hate water. Of course, now, as adults, we know that neither of these is true. Cats are not allowed to drink milk at all, actually, and water? Well, that's more complicated. Most cats don't like water, that remains true, but like most things in life, there are also exceptions to the rule. And the exceptions to this rule are exceptionally adorable.

Cats who love water are something special. They're rare, and they are also some of our favorites. We love baths. Baths are awesome. So really, it makes sense to us that everyone should love baths too, and that includes cats. Cats who hate water really hate water. They will jump, they will thrash, they will destroy everything in their paths to get away from that wet stuff. Cats who love water are the complete opposites. They are so chill about it. They will stay in that water forever if you don't take them out. They understand baths like we do. We, unfortunately, are not lucky enough to have a cat to share bathtime with, but on r/cats, there is someone lucky enough to have two of these cats.

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"She got ringworm and other skin problems. Vet advised to bath her. Since then she loves having a bath."

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Generally, we don't think that cats need to be bathed. They hate it, we hate it because they hate it, and it's an overall unnecessary and bad experience for everyone involved. But in this case… yeah, it was necessary. The poor thing looks like he was in such a bad place when you found him. We never would have guessed that this is where he started looking at him now. He just seems so, so happy in his little head towel in the water.
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Now, that is just unfair. One cat who fell in love with baths after having to take one as a kitten… that is something that we can understand. A second cat who loves water just because water is cool or something? Nope. Unfair. We would think that maybe he learned from this cat, but no, he “just likes water” ever since he was a child. You've been blessed twice, and it's not fair to the rest of us.
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