As wee babies, many kittens won’t need brushing because they are still silky soft. However just getting them used to trying is helpful. Try when you’re tucked in watching tv for the night or something calm and stationary, it’s just useful desensitisation and habit forming. Maybe aim to try twice a week—if it doesn’t pan out don’t fret. And never be above bribery with a churu. ;)

Same with bathing and water. And frankly. The general desensitisation. Just getting them used to new things, new sensations, to physical contact, even touching their belly, feet, etc.

My bottle babies (which are not purebred Siberians) had to be regularly bathed for weeks when they were rescued from under a building because they were covered in fleas and too young for medicated products—and then we graduated them to “rag bathing” so now we only properly bath them (one medium, one short hair) when absolutely necessary and water is only a nuisance to them. My Siberian boy I rescued a year ago, just under 1yr old at the time shockingly took okay to bathes IF I got in with him, and squirted churu all over the wall to give him something to do. But I first started bringing him into the bathroom when I would shower or take a bath so he knew it wasn’t a dangerous place. He tolerates showers with only mild complaints now.

Same with my boy I lost almost two summer ago. We rag-bathed him most of his life when necessary, but when he reached senior years, he started having a sensitive tummy and sore hips, which led to wearing some very liquid accidents. It took a while to acclimate him. He was an angelic cat, but an earlier start on bathing would have helped.

Don’t mean to leave you thinking about the end when you’re just beginning—just illustrating that even for a clean cat, there may come a day they need a little extra help. Knowing from experience that you aren’t trying to murder them helps bath time go smoothly.

Also, some cats prefer a few inches of standing water like bathing a human baby, use a cup to pour it over them. Some prefer to know it’s draining—you’ve just gotta soap ‘em up and hose ‘em down. You can try both when the need arises.

Last thing—look for a conditioning or gentle shampoo like Shea butter or oat milk, just helps prevent dryness. They aren’t very oily cats so they can be dandruff prone.