Give a bath to a cat

I have had many cats over the years and personally have only given a few of them baths- and only a few times! The only reason I did was because they were flea baths and thought they would be beneficial. One of my cats at the time I did not even attempt because he is so strong. It was very difficult and unpleasant. I felt bad after so I made sure when drying them with a towel to give them a good little massage. I don't think baths are necessary. Like you said, they usually don't smell and the clean themselves. Sometimes if they come in muddy or wet I'll towel them down.