Fortunately for us, cats are pretty good at keeping themselves clean. But sometimes, our mischievous cats can find themselves in places where they get a lot dirtier than they can handle.
If they get something toxic over their coat, such as car oil, you’ll want to clean them up quickly so they don’t ingest any toxins. Without cat shampoo on hand, you may find yourself in a pickle and wonder if your human soap can be used on your cat.
Dove soap is okay to use on your cat if you don’t have cat shampoo. However, dove soap is formulated for human skin, and its use on cats can cause dryness and irritation.
Dove Soap Ingredients
There is a lot more to a plain soap bar than meets the eye. Dove soap has a long list of ingredients. While they all appear to be artificial chemicals, many have natural origins.
The Dove Beauty Bar has the following ingredients:
- Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate
- Stearic Acid
- Lauric Acid
- Sodium Oleate
- Water
- Sodium Isethionate
- Sodium Stearate
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
- Fragrance (Parfum)
- Sodium Laurate
- Tetrasodium Etidronate
- Tetrasodium EDTA
- Sodium Chloride
- Kaolin
- Titanium Dioxide
Dove Beauty Bar claims to be less drying than regular soap, and many reviews substantiate this claim. Still, some ingredients may be concerning for cat skin, such as sulfates and artificial fragrances.
Is Dove Soap Safe for Cats?
Dove soap is formulated to be cleansing and nourishing for human skin. Cat skin, on average, is higher in pH than human skin. Ingredients in human-formulated soaps, like Dove soap, will be overly harsh on feline skin and disrupt the skin’s pH.
Keeping the skin’s pH within a natural range allows the skin to protect itself from harmful free radicals and allergens.
Stripping back a cat’s skin pH with human soap can decrease the protective quality, leaving skin vulnerable to allergies and irritations. Infections can become more common in unhealthy, unbalanced skin.
For a cat with otherwise healthy skin, one use of dove soap won’t cause significant harm. The use of human soap can be okay if it is the only cleanser on hand when a bath is vital. Some other household cleaners may be suitable without proper cat shampoo.
Cat-Safe Soaps
Cat Shampoo
The best option for cleaning your cat is formulated cat shampoo. Species-specific cleansers will be adjusted for the particular biology of said species’ skin, reducing any potential harm. Many cat shampoos offer targeted benefits such as anti-itch or extra moisturizing, so you can choose a recipe that will be favorable for your cat.
The best pet shampoos are carefully formulated to clean your pet without causing irritation. Hepper's Colloidal Oatmeal Pet Shampoo does a great job of this by combining soothing ingredients like aloe vera and colloidal oatmeal. It is also pH-balanced for your pet's skin and free of irritants like dyes, soaps, sulfates, and phthalates. You and your pet will both enjoy the fresh, clean scent, too! At Excited Cats, we’ve admired Hepper for many years and decided to take a controlling ownership interest so that we could benefit from the outstanding designs of this cool cat company!
Water
Depending on what your cat’s coat has become contaminated with, you may be able to simply use water to clean them. Basic substances such as dirt or dust can be rinsed away without using a cleanser. Use a damp towel to wipe away dirt to avoid a full bath. This tactic is not only practical but can easily pass as a friendly pat to your cat! Denser or oily substances may need extra power to lift away from cat fur.
Baby Products
Human soaps are harsh on cat skin due to the pH imbalance. Adult human skin ranges from 5–5.5, while cats are 6.4–6.9. Interestingly, baby skin ranges from 6.3–7.5.
This disparity is why baby shampoos and other skin products exist independently from products formulated for adult skin. But you’ll see that the pH of a baby exists within the pH range of cat skin.
If you are going to use human products on your cat, then baby shampoos or wipes will be much gentler!
Final Thoughts
If your cat needs a bath ASAP and doesn’t have any cat shampoo in the home, you may naturally reach for a human soap. Cleansers made for humans, such as Dove soap, are not suited for cats.
In the absence of any alternative, Dove soap won’t harm your cat but should not be used long-term. In the future, invest in a good cat shampoo for emergencies!
Featured Image: Amazon
