No. Most cats groom themselves and rarely need baths. However, hairless breeds (like Sphynx cats), geriatric cats, and those with mobility issues may require regular bathing if they cannot groom themselves properly. Occasional baths are also necessary if your cat gets into something unsafe or sticky.
At a glance
Length
10 min
Channel
Cats
Video from
Feb 2021
Rating
⭐⭐ Great video · 2/2
Best for
Cat owners who bathe their pets occasionally or need guidance on safe, gentle products
What this video answers
Do all cats need regular baths?
Why is pH important in cat shampoo?
Can I use human shampoo on my cat in an emergency?
Which shampoo is best for dry skin or dandruff?
Are grooming wipes a good alternative to bathing?
Reads the guide aloud in your browser — free, no account.
Summary of This Top 5 Cat Shampoo Review
The video presents a hands-on review of five cat shampoo options, tested using pH strips and real-world product evaluation. The host explains that while cats rarely need regular baths, certain situations—like getting into motor oil or encountering sticky substances—do call for a wash. Hairless breeds, geriatric cats, and those with mobility issues may also require regular bathing. The key challenge is choosing a product safe for cats, whose skin is thinner and more sensitive than humans', and whose grooming behavior means they'll lick any residue left behind.
To narrow down the field, the host researched customer reviews, tested products for lathering quality, and measured pH levels using strips to compare each shampoo against human shampoo and established feline standards. The five recommendations range from specialized cat shampoos to an affordable household alternative, each with distinct strengths, price points, and ideal use cases.
Key Moments
Key Takeaways About Cat Shampoo Selection
Earthbath Hypoallergenic Fragrance-Free Pet Shampoo is gentle and fragrance-free at a pH near neutral (6–7), making it safe for sensitive skin, though it costs approximately 91 cents per ounce.
Bayer Hylyt Shampoo is frequently recommended by veterinarians for moisturizing dry skin and dandruff; it tested at pH 6 but can be difficult to find and has variable pricing (62 cents to $2.41 per ounce depending on bottle size).
Pro Pet Works Oatmeal Pet Wash combines shampoo and conditioner with aloe and moisturizers, earning praise for soft coats, but has a strong smell and a lower pH (4–5) that may not suit all cats.
Dawn Ultra Dish Soap is an economical emergency option at roughly 19 cents per ounce with a pH of 7, ideal for occasional use when a cat gets unexpectedly dirty, though sodium laureth sulfate means it should not be used regularly.
Pogi's Grooming Wipes offer a gentler alternative to full baths, infused with aloe vera and vitamin E, at 9–11 cents per wipe, suitable for touch-ups between baths.
Cat skin has a different pH than human skin and is far more sensitive to fragrances, making species-specific products essential for safety and comfort.
Why Proper Cat Shampoo Matters for Your Pet
Using the wrong product on your cat can lead to skin irritation, inflammation, and toxicity if residue is ingested during grooming. Because cats have thinner skin with a slightly more alkaline pH than humans, human shampoos and generic soaps can disrupt their skin barrier and cause discomfort. The video's emphasis on pH testing and ingredient transparency reflects a real gap many pet owners face: most people default to whatever shampoo is convenient rather than considering feline-specific needs. This review bridges that gap by testing actual products and explaining why each matters, helping you make an informed choice whether your cat needs occasional cleaning or regular maintenance due to breed or health status.
Frequently Asked Questions About These Cat Shampoos
Do all cats need regular baths?
No. Most cats groom themselves and rarely need baths. However, hairless breeds (like Sphynx cats), geriatric cats, and those with mobility issues may require regular bathing if they cannot groom themselves properly. Occasional baths are also necessary if your cat gets into something unsafe or sticky.
Why is pH important in cat shampoo?
Cat skin is slightly more alkaline than human skin. Using shampoo formulated closer to a cat's natural pH (around 7) helps maintain their skin barrier and reduces irritation. The video tested each product's pH to help you understand how each compares; products that deviate too far from neutral may cause dryness or sensitivity.
Can I use human shampoo on my cat in an emergency?
It is not ideal, but a single use of mild human shampoo in an emergency is unlikely to cause serious harm. However, human shampoo has a lower pH and stronger fragrances that can irritate cat skin. If possible, keep a cat-safe option like Dawn dish soap on hand—it is safe, gentle, affordable, and has the right pH.
Which shampoo is best for dry skin or dandruff?
Bayer Hylyt Shampoo is specifically formulated to moisturize and is popular among veterinarians for treating dry skin and dandruff. It contains conditioning agents designed to lubricate the skin. Pro Pet Works also includes conditioning agents and receives strong reviews for soft coats, though its stronger scent and lower pH make it less universally suitable.
Are grooming wipes a good alternative to bathing?
Yes, for touch-ups and maintenance between full baths. Pogi's Grooming Wipes are hypoallergenic, infused with soothing ingredients like aloe vera, and durable enough not to tear. They are ideal if your cat is resistant to water or if you simply need to freshen their coat without subjecting them to a full bath.
Formulated to minimize the risk of allergic reactions or skin irritation, typically by avoiding common irritants like artificial fragrances and dyes.
pH level
A measure of how acidic or alkaline a product is on a scale from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral; cat skin requires a slightly more alkaline pH than human skin.
Surfactant
A cleansing ingredient that helps lift dirt and oils from the skin so they can be rinsed away.
Moisturizing
Providing hydration and preventing dryness; shampoos with moisturizing agents help keep skin and coat soft and healthy.
Fragrance-free
Without added scents or perfumes, which is important for cats because they are sensitive to fragrances that can irritate their skin and nose.
This video is genuinely helpful if you own a cat and want to understand what makes a shampoo safe and suitable. The host cuts through marketing claims by actually testing products with pH strips, measuring ingredients, and explaining why cats need different care than humans. Rather than just listing "the best," the video teaches you how to evaluate products yourself.
What I appreciated most was the practical testing approach and the inclusion of both premium options and budget alternatives. The honest discussion of price per ounce, availability issues, and ingredient concerns shows real product knowledge, and the acknowledgment that most cats rarely need baths sets realistic expectations. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this to any cat owner looking to make an informed choice.
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For most cats, bathtimes are few and far between. But when your cat does need to take a bath, you should be prepared with a safe, gentle, and effective shampoo. Choosing the right product will ensure that your cat finishes their bath with a clean coat, hydrated skin, and no worries about toxicity or irritation later.
But how do you choose a great cat shampoo and how do you know which one is right for your cat? That’s what we’re talking about in this week’s video.
After hours of research and testing, we’ve chosen these gentle cat-friendly shampoos as the best you can buy.
Read the complete guide: https://cats.com/best-cat-shampoo
✔️ Sign up for our free recall alert program: https://cats.com/recall-tool-email?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video
Video Navigation:
0:00 Introduction
0:15 Why Buy Cat Shampoo?
1:40 How We Chose Them
2:51 Earthbath Hypoallergenic Fragrance-Free Pet Shampoo
Buy on Chewy: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fchewy.sjv.io%2Fc%2F1397719%2F3054490%2F32975%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.chewy.com%252Fearthbath-hypo-allergenic-dog-cat%252Fdp%252F40484
Buy on Amazon: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEarthbath-Hypoallergenic-Dog-Shampoo-Sensitive%2Fdp%2FB00079PHVG%2F%3Ftag%3Daac-youtube-20
3:42 Bayer Hylyt Shampoo
Buy on Amazon: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FBayer-soap-free-cleansing-moisturinzing-hypoallergenic%2Fdp%2FB00061MPCY%2F%3Ftag%3Daac-youtube-20
5:29 Pro Pet Works Oatmeal Pet Wash
Buy on Amazon: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPro-Pet-Works-Cats-Hypoallergenic-Skin-Organic%2Fdp%2FB018FGSTT4%2F%3Ftag%3Daac-youtube-20
6:42 Dawn Ultra Dish Soap
Buy on Amazon: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDawn-Dishwashing-4x19-4oz-Non-Scratch-Packaging%2Fdp%2FB07HKR2QP9%2F%3Ftag%3Daac-youtube-20
7:48 Pogi’s Grooming Wipes
Buy on Chewy: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fchewy.sjv.io%2Fc%2F1397719%2F3054490%2F32975%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.chewy.com%252Fpogis-pet-supplies-deodorizing-wipes%252Fdp%252F137369
Buy on Amazon: https://cats.com/link/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPogis-Grooming-Wipes-Hypoallergenic-Fragrance-Free%2Fdp%2FB010MVG6ZY%2F%3Ftag%3Daac-youtube-20
9:01 Conclusion
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Video transcript for “Top 5 Best Cat Shampoos (We Tried Them)” Accessibility
A full written transcript of this video, provided for accessibility. Select any timestamp to jump the video to that moment.
Hey guys, it's Mallory here with All About Cats, and in this video, we're going to be taking a look at the top five best cat shampoos you can buy. So, as many of you guys have probably realized, cats don't need to be bathed on a regular basis, with the exception of certain situations. So sometimes you
might find that you need to bathe your cat if they wander into the garage and get some motor oil on them. Or if they're in the wrong place, when somebody drops some nacho cheese. Something like that might necessitate a bath, but in general, cats are not going to need to take regular baths.
There are some other exceptions. For instance, hairless breeds are going to need regular baths. Cats who have mobility issues, or who are geriatric may need baths, if they're unable to groom themselves properly. There are some situations that are going to necessitate regular bathing. But for the most part,
cats do not need to take baths on a regular basis. But when you do bathe your cat, you're going to want to choose a good high quality and safe cat shampoo. So the reason why you're not going to want to use your own shampoo, or just any soap that is available is that cats are different from us, they have
quite thin skin. They have very sensitive skin. Their skin has a somewhat different pH level than a human skin does. They're also very sensitive to fragrances, and perhaps most importantly, they groom themselves after they're bathed. So if there's any residue left on their body after the bath, you're going to
want to make sure that it's something that's safe for them to lick up. So in order to make these top five recommendations, I spent some time looking at the cat shampoo, market, reading customer reviews, and getting a sense for which products were the most popular and seem to work the best. Once i'd
identified a few products that seemed to be working well, I purchase all of them, and then I started testing them out. For most of our reviews, my cats test out the products, but for this one, I didn't really want to subject them to all of that bathing. I squirted out some of these shampoos, I looked at how
well they lathered and I also tested their pH using pH strips to compare them to one another and to a typical human shampoo. Typically what people will say is that because a cat skin is somewhat more alkaline than a human's, you're going to want to get a shampoo that's somewhat more alkaline than a human
shampoo. So I took a look at how all of these products compared. And I found that generally the cat shampoos were a little bit more alkaline than the human shampoo I tested. But there was a lot of inconsistency between them. During the reviews of each of these products, I'll mention the results of this test so that
you can get a sense for how each of these products compare. So with all of that being said, our first recommendation is EarthBath's fragrance free hypoallergenic shampoo for pets. What I liked about the shampoo is that it's fragrance free, meaning that it's not going to irritate your cat skin or their
nose. Overall, it seems to be a shampoo that's pretty gentle on your cat skin, which isn't going to cause a lot of irritation. Now when I took the pH strips to this particular shampoo, I found that it looked like it was lingering somewhere between a pH of six and seven. They say that they tried to get their shampoos
to be about a pH of seven, which is neutral and generally recommended for cats. So it seems like it's generally in that range. I couldn't really find much to dislike about this product. Perhaps the only concern is its price at 91 cents per ounce roughly. It's a relatively expensive product
certainly more expensive than just using something like dawn dish soap, which we'll touch on later. The next shampoo that I want to recommend is Bayer's Hylyt shampoo. So this is a shampoo that gets a lot of recommendations from veterinarians. It's formulated to moisturize your cat skin and
it can be a good option if your cat has dandruff or particularly dry skin. I've also heard that it's a popular choice among Sphynx guardians, so it can be a good option for them as well. This shampoo is formulated with water as its primary ingredient. It also contains sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, which is used
as a foaming agent, cocoamidopropyl betaine, which serves as a surfactant. It also contains sodium lactate as well as peg-150, which serves as an emulsifier and thickener as well as peg-75 which is an emulsifier as well as a skin lubricant. It also contains some added fragrance, dye and
preservatives. So overall it does contain some ingredients that could potentially cause some irritation. I know that some reviewers have mentioned issues with that but overall for the majority of cats, this is going to be a good shampoo that helps to lubricate and moisturize the skin. And during
my test with the pH strips, it look like the Bayer Hylyt shampoo was about a pH of six. Now I found It can be a little bit difficult to find this shampoo. Its availability seems to be somewhat limited right now. I've also found that its price can be really variable depending on how much of it you
purchase. So I've seen its price ranging from between 62 cents per ounce, all the way up to $2.41 per ounce. If you're buying a smaller bottle, if you do find that you like this shampoo, it could be a good idea to invest in a larger volume of it as this can really bring your price per ounce down. Now if
you're interested in a shampoo conditioner blend, you might consider Pro Pet Works, shampoo and conditioner. The company says that this formula was made with pets with allergies in mind, and I've seen a lot of reviews from customers who say that it made their cat's coat extremely soft. So unlike a lot
of the other shampoos we're mentioning here, it contains EGDA, which is a conditioning agent, as well as what is unfortunately a proprietary blend of skin conditioners and moisturizers. So again, we don't know exactly what is in this shampoo and conditioner. I found that the Pro Pet Works shampoo
and conditioner was one of the lower pH products that I tried with a pH of somewhere between four and five. Again, I've seen a lot of really positive reviews for this product. And it could be a good option if you're looking for a shampoo and conditioner to use occasionally, but again, between the fact that
it has a really strong smell that can be both annoying to you and your cat, along with the fact that it contains some ingredients that are not clearly named, this is one that I would hesitate a little bit before purchasing. Again, it gets really good reviews, but I'm just not completely sure about
it. Another downside of this product is that it's fairly expensive at $1.09 per ounce, it's a little bit on the expensive side. And then my next recommendation is one that's probably going to be familiar if you've had cats for a while and it is Dawn dish soap. Original Dawn is a really popular option
for bathing cats. It's known to be a pretty gentle so and it's relatively safe to use on your cat even if there's some residue left on their body after the bath. Now this soap does contain sodium laureth sulfate, which there are some concerns about. It might not be a good option to use on a regular basis. But then
again, most people aren't going to be bathing their cats on a regular basis. So for occasional use, this is a really good economical option. That works quite well and people have been trusting it for quite a long time. And interestingly, the pH of the dawn dish soap was the closest to what is generally
considered ideal for cats at around seven. Especially if you have a situation where your cat suddenly gets dirty, something gets on them and you need to clean them right away and you're not able to go purchase a cat shampoo, Dawn can be a really good option. At about 19 cents per ounce its one of the most
economical options you can buy. And as a bonus, you can also wash the dishes with it. Overall a really budget friendly choice. And then our final recommendation is my favorite cat wipe. So if you want to do regular touch ups, and you don't want to subject your cat to a full bath, maybe your cat hasn't
been grooming themselves as well recently, you just need to touch up their code a little bit, then you might want to consider a cat wipe. It's a nice way to be able to give your cat a little bit of assistance without forcing them to take an entire bath. So Pogi's Pet Wipes are hypoallergenic, made without a
lot of irritating ingredients or ingredients that might harm your cat if licked off, and they contain a few additional ingredients that are intended to help to soothe and moisturize your cat skin. So each wipe is infused with aloe vera, vitamin E and Hawaiian awapuhi, which are intended to safely condition
your cat's coat as you clean it. A couple of things that I like about these wipes is that they're very rugged, you can really tug on them, pull at them and they're not going to rip apart. And also the packaging seems to be pretty good. I've had them for several weeks, and I haven't noticed any drying. It
seems that the package reseals quite nicely. These wipes costs between nine and eleven cents per wipe. So again, a little bit on the expensive side. So that's about it for our list of the top five best cat shampoos you can buy. I hope that you found this helpful. If you're interested in more information on the products
mentioned here, as well as some more details on how to bathe your cat, check out the link in the description or in the cards to visit the written version of this review. Again, it's going to go into a lot more detail and they'll also share some tips on bathing your cat. While you're in the description, you're also
going to find links to all the products mentioned here in case you want to buy them for yourself. Thank you so much for watching this video. If you're interested in more product reviews, buyers guides and information on all things cats. Please go ahead and subscribe to the channel and don't forget to
click the notification bell so you get the news every time we release a new upload. Thanks. Bye!
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