7 Dangers Of Dressing Up Your Cat

It is not advisable to dress up your Maine Coon cat unless they require protective clothing for a specific medical requirement.

Dressing up a cat can cause them stress, and discomfort since clothing may suffocate your cat, making it dangerous to use.

Owners must be responsible and prioritize the cat’s comfort, willingness, and safety first.

Why Owners Dress Their Cats

Some owners adore dressing up their Maine Coon pets and make a habit of building a feline-friendly wardrobe, and outfitting their cats in various costumes!

Below are the reasons why a Maine Coon owner may consider dressing their cat:

1. Wearing a Harness to Go For a Walk

A proper cat harness can provide a safe and comfortable way to take your Maine Coon cat outside on a leash.

It is important that Maine Coon cat owners take safety precautions and ensure their cats respond well to walking on a leash.

Here’s how to train your big cat to walk with a harness.

Due to the Maine Coon’s large size, owners must ensure they use the correct harness size to avoid discomfort or safety issues.

Wearing a harness during an outdoor walk is a stimulating, engaging activity for Maine Coons that provides both exercise and enrichment.

2. Wearing Sweaters To Keep Warm

Maine Coons naturally keep warm thanks to their exceptionally dense fur coats. Their long, thick fur is also semi-waterproof, so they naturally stay warm and dry despite harsh winter conditions.

This cat breed was genetically built for cold winters due to its origins in Maine, where winter temperatures range from 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 to -4 degrees Celsius).

The Maine Coon cat’s body is ideally suited to coping well with cold weather. For example, their wide paws allow them to walk atop the snowy ground. Do all Maine Coon cats have big paws? Find out in this article.

Despite their wide paws, Maine Coons do not seek out cold weather, and they like to be warm.

If a Maine Coon is comfortable in a sweater and it does not restrict them, it may be an effective way to keep them feeling cozy.

3. Protecting Skin Due To A Medical Issue

If a Maine Coon needs to recover from surgery, injuries, or skin conditions, wearing protective clothing may be necessary to help the healing process.

If the vet approves it, a cat recovery suit may be an option to protect Maine Coons from excessively licking incisions or injuries that need to be left alone.

Recovery suits are made to prevent cats from removing bandages, pulling out stitches, or bothering damaged skin.

4. Wearing An Anxiety Vest To Stay Calm

Pressure wraps, also known as anxiety vests, may help cats who experience anxiety during the following:

• Thunderstorms
• Travel
• Other Stressful Situations

Maine Coons may respond well to being dressed in pressurized clothing that presses firmly yet gently on their chests and backs.

This pressure releases endorphins, which may ward off situational fear, stress, or anxiety.

Here are some other common causes of stress in Maine Coon cats, that you might wish to learn about.

If you suspect your cat suffers from separation anxiety, click on the article link below:

5. Wearing Colors For Visibility

It is unlikely that you will lose your Maine Coon cat within the house since their extroverted nature means they are usually by your side!

But, for owners with dark-colored Maine Coons or kittens, dressing them in bright or reflective clothing may bring them comfort that they can always find their cat.

6. Identification Purposes

Some Maine Coon owners dress their Maine Coons in collars for identification purposes, just in case an escape occurs.

Cat collars are a hotly contested subject amongst cat lovers, but those in support of them deem the collar to be a safety measure that provides the owner with comfort.

Furthermore, collars with bells can help owners hear their approaching cats, so they are always locatable.

Should Maine Coon cats wear collars? Learn the pros and cons in this article.

7. Dressing Up For Festive Occasions

Owners of Maine Coons consider their cats family, and it can be a pleasant experience to dress up the family cat during festive holidays.

As long as the Maine Coon is comfortable, it is a way to include them in the happiness and celebrations of holidays or themed events and take photos to preserve the memory.

Reasons NOT To Dress Your Cat

Feline owners of every kind have long debated the topic of cats wearing clothes. Each owner should decide according to the needs and desires of each cat.

Below are some key reasons why dressing up a cat is not advisable:

1. Restricted Movement

Wearing tight or uncomfortable clothes may be unpleasant for cats due to restricted movement.

If cats freeze while wearing clothes, they cannot behave normally, which is distressing for them.

Owners should consider that if clothing restricts their cats’ movements, it should be avoided.

2. Stress And Anxiety

Cats do not respond well to wearing clothes because it is an unfamiliar practice that they do not know how to respond to.

If cats are stressed out and anxious while wearing outfits, dressing your cat in a costume is not worth the discomfort experienced by the cat.

3. Safety And Injury Risks

Putting clothes on a Maine Coon has the potential to be hazardous if the clothing becomes tangled or there are choking hazards on decorative clothing.

If an owner puts a harness on a Maine Coon incorrectly and goes outside, the cat may escape and run into danger.

Cats who wear ill-fitting clothes may be at risk of becoming tangled in them and panicking.

If cats catch their clothing on something, it could become a dangerous choking hazard or lead to injury.

If cat owners cannot effectively monitor cats while they are dressed, they should reconsider attempting this practice.

4. It’s Not Enjoyable For The Maine Coon

Many cats, including Maine Coons, do not enjoy wearing clothes. The strange, constricting feeling may trigger their fight or flight response, causing panic.

Some situations, though, like the need to wear a recovery suit as a veterinarian-directed strategy, may provide cause to overlook a cat’s discomfort to achieve a critical goal.

5. Overheating

Maine Coons are well-adapted to cold climates, and they may overheat in hot climates.

If they wear thick clothes in a warm room or environment, they could begin to dehydrate or overheat.

6. Skin Irritation

Non-breathable materials may cause problems for Maine Coons’ skin.

Clothes may trap moisture and lead to irritation, or make existing skin conditions worse.

7. Restrictive Litter Box Usage

Maine Coons may have accidents or discomfort due to limitations or immobilization caused by clothing.

The Dos And Don’ts Of Dressing A Cat

Before attempting to dress up cats, owners should be educated about a few basic dos and don’ts and what to look for throughout the process.

Dos

• Appropriate Clothing: Choose appropriate clothing specifically designed for cats.

• Go Slowly: Slowly introduce the clothing to the cat so they can become familiar with it before trying it on.

• Stay Positive: Use positive reinforcement techniques during the dressing process.

• Keep Watch: Monitor the cat attentively to watch for signs of stress, like excessive grooming, panting, hiding, aggression, or attempts to remove the clothing.

• Act Quickly: Remove the clothes if the cat is not enjoying wearing them.

Don’ts

• Never Use Force: Don’t force the cat to wear clothes if they do not want to.

• Keep Watch: Don’t leave the cat unattended wearing clothes, which could lead to entanglement or injury.

• Avoid Restrictive Garments: Don’t put restrictive clothing on the cat that stops them from grooming, walking, or using the litter box.

• Act Quickly: Don’t ignore signs of distress.

How Long Can Cats Wear Clothes?

There is no specific timeframe for how long cats can keep clothes on. The answer varies depending on the type of cat and how they respond to the clothing.

Keep in mind that since cats cannot groom their fur when it is covered by clothing, it does not allow for the natural shedding process when they lick themselves.

Also, some cats do not feel comfortable moving around normally when wearing clothes, thereby pausing their normal exercise, eating, and pottying routines.

Unless otherwise instructed by a veterinarian, leaving clothes on cats for a full day or hours is not advisable.

Do Cats Need To Wear Clothes In Winter?

Due to a cat’s natural ability to stay warm in the winter, most breeds do not need to wear clothes to stay warm. This is especially true for indoor cats who live in temperature-controlled climates.

Hairless cats may be an exception, but they may only find a sweater useful when going through a cold climate, not in a heated home.

Cats Freeze When You Put Clothes On Them

Many cat owners notice their cats freeze or go limp as soon as they finish pulling on a piece of cat clothing. Below are a few reasons that explain this phenomenon.

• Unfamiliar Experience: They are faced with an unfamiliar situation, so they freeze while they process the sensation and try to orient themselves.

• PIBI: Cats have a biological response to being pinched on the back of the neck, called inch-induced behavioral inhibition (PIBI) or clipnosis, which causes them to freeze. This may be activated by certain clothing items or harnesses.

• Feeling Restricted: They feel physically constrained and are not sure how to move properly.

• Stressed: Cats may freeze due to feeling stressed out or afraid of the clothing on them.

• Not Comfortable: The uncomfortable feeling of moving or rubbing clothing may cause cats to stop moving altogether.

Do Maine Coons Wear Collars?

Some Maine Coon cat owners prefer to use collars all the time, and some prefer not to use them at all. There are respectable reasons for both perspectives.

Owners of outdoor Maine Coons may decide to use reflective collars as a safety and visibility tool or collars with bells to reduce the amount of prey cats can catch.

On the other hand, other Maine Coon owners decide not to use collars to prevent safety issues if the collar gets caught on something or if the cat’s paw gets caught inside the collar.