Washing a pet is rarely an easy job. Certainly if you have cats, you’re familiar with the violent struggle you must endure. While a dog is less likely to flail around and take huge chunks of your arms with them, that doesn’t necessarily make the job simple. Make your life easier by using pet wipes between baths to keep your dog or cat clean without the stress of bathtime.

These pet wipes made by Pogi’s Pet Supplies are one of the best selling options out there. The wipes themselves are made of bamboo, which means they break down quickly after being thrown away. They measure eight by nine inches to make quick work of even large pets.

Like shampoo for people, one of the key ingredients in this is awapuhi, or bitter ginger, which is useful for softening and adding shine to hair. Choose between unscented and green tea.

Nature’s Miracle has long been known for neutralizing pet odors. We included one of their products on our best dog shampoo post and one on our best cat litter brands because they excel at it.

Available in Spring Water or Honey Sage flavors in packs of 25 or 100, these will keep your dog or cat odor free between baths. These measure eight by seven inches. Nature’s Miracle also makes Allergen Blocker wipes which will help contain the pet dander in your home.

If, like me, you have a pet with sensitive skin, you may occasionally find yourself battling fungal or bacterial infections. Wipes are excellent for this purpose, too. The chlorhexidine and ketoconazole are both common treatments for disinfecting skin and will kill bacteria and yeast.

If your dog has itchy patches, ringworm, or even just broken skin, these will help you keep those areas clean until they can heal. Of course, these also perform the role of deodorizing. To complement these, Pet MD makes ear wipes to clean inside your pet’s ears. They also make an XL sized wipe, if you prefer.

Another antiseptic, antimicrobial option, these Dechra wipes utilize acetic and boric acids to control fungal spread. These are noted for being especially good for breeds with a lot of skin folds, where yeast is known to thrive.

These are definitely closer to a medicinal solution than a fresh-smelling wipe, but if your dog is itchy, these could be invaluable.

Earth Rated makes some top-notch dog necessities, including the best pickup bags going. They also make these wipes, which are USDA certified to be 99 percent biobased, which makes them compostable. They’re also hypoallergenic and unscented, so you don’t need to worry about whether you’ll like the smell, though you could also try the lavender ones if you don’t want something neutral.

These eight by eight inch textured wipes come in 100 count packs. They’re relatively thick wipes that use shea butter, aloe and chamomile for a soothing experience. These are good for cats, too.

TropiClean is another brand we included on our best dog shampoo post and they might make my favorite daily pet wipe. I especially like the effect of these on my black shar pei mix who has medium length fur. He always looks shiny and smells good when I’m using these regularly. They’re also good value, packing in 100 wipes at this price.

Like their shampoo line, they make a few different options. These are the Deep Cleaning wipes, featuring coconut, aloe, and chamomile. They also have Deodorizing, which features witch hazel, and HypoAllergenic, which is somewhere between the two.

Arava made an appearance on our dog flea & tick prevention post because of their all-natural approach. Instead of harsh chemicals, these wipes use chamomile, aloe, oatmeal, and Dead Sea minerals to deodorize and clean fur. These measure 7.5 by five inches, so they’re a touch smaller than the ones above.

This particular option is means for paws and body, but they make pet eye wipes and pet ear wipes, as well.

Offering your choice of coconut lime verbena or lavender chamomile, these natural pet wipes use only plant-derived cleansers. They measure eight by seven inches, and are on the thin side, so you may want to choose these if you don’t have a lot of pet surface area to cover. They’re very effective for quick cleanups and are safe for sensitive areas.

You could supplement these with Wahl’s no-rinse waterless shampoo to get even more out of the time between baths.

Of course most of us are pretty familiar with Burt’s Bees gentle products for humans, but they also make a pet line. These are probably best used on smaller dogs and cats, measuring about seven by seven inches and focused more on gentle cleanup than heavy duty deodorizing.

The honey will condition fur and is safe enough to be used on the face. Small dog lovers, this is one for you to consider, especially if you don’t like the strong smell of other wipes.

These thick, all-natural wipes are made of a blend of ingredients gentle enough to be used on all parts of your pets — even teeth. Extracts present in these include chamomile, green tea, aloe, tea tree, and lavender.

These have been recently overhauled, with the wipes now measuring 12 by 12 inches, but retaining the honeycomb texture to scrub away dirt. These are lightly scented with aloe, rather than a distinct fragrance being added. It’s a total-animal bath in a wipe. They also now come in a refillable tub, so you can buy the refills instead of a new plastic box each time.

One of the best soothing agents for irritated and itchy skin is oats. Oat kernel extract is just one of the soothing plant-based ingredients in these wipes, alongside aloe, chamomile, and cucumber. The sheets measure seven by eight inches and come in this Lavender scent or tangerine.

These mandarin-scented wipes measure eight inches by six inches and are among the softest available. They’re also a pretty good value, with a very pleasant smell. The 80 wipes are packed into two convenient travel size packs of 40 each so you can easily take them with you wherever you go.

These are again made of plant-derived cleansers including chamomile, tomato seed oil, sunflower seed oil, and cranberry and raspberry seed oils. The company also makes itch relief shampoo for dogs with dry skin.

While most companies make a single wipe for both cats and dogs, Pet Head went to the extra effort to create one for each. The one pictured here is the wipes for dogs, which features aloe and clendula and is scented with orange. The cat wipes are meant to be deshedding, and are pinapple coconut scented. 

Both wipes measure six inches by seven inches and come with 50 per pack. These dispense like cleaning wipes for your household and are a little easier to tote around than a box.

This offering from Bodhi Dog is, despite the name, safe to use on all furry creatures. These are lavender-scented and thick due to being made of cotton, measuring seven by eight inches. In addition to lavender oil and aloe, there is also chamomile for an overall calming effect.

Bodhi Dog also makes a matching shampoo and waterless shampoo. You could also try their doggie breath foam or nose balm.

Expressing your dog or cat’s anal glands is never a pleasant process, but for many animals, must be done regularly. You can make it slightly more tolerable with these wipes, which contain enzymes to quickly eliminate odor.

These wipes, which include aloe and other skin conditioners, can also be used on the rest of your dog to keep them smelling great. Each container comes with 75 six by nine inch wipes.

Unless you're among the population of pet owners who can live with just hosing them down in the back yard every now and again, you'll probably want to bathe your dog at least once a month. Usually this means hauling your pup into the bathtub and watching as they destroy your clean bathroom.

Alternatively, you could bring them to a self-wash place or even a groomer. Both options are kind of expensive, but at least you don't have to clean up afterwards. Either way, finding inexpensive ways to keep your dog clean helps stretch each bath.

Each of my three dogs presents a different challenge when it comes to keeping them clean. The youngest is the most likely to get covered in mud and other debris and is also the largest with the thickest fur. The oldest dog is terrified of water in almost any form, so I have to gently guide him to the tub and keep him from trying to climb out the entire time. The middle dog is a blue nose pit and the most prone to skin ailments, which means he needs to be bathed twice as often as the other two, regardless of how filthy he appears to be.

Adopting the pittie was the thing that prompted me to start using wipes between baths. Because of his thin coat and sensitive skin, I wanted to be able to control the allergen build up to avoid any undue irritation. Once I started using them on him, I figured I might as well use them on the other two. In so doing, I've been able to avoid the oily dog fur feel that occurs between baths — not to mention the advantages when it comes to dog smell.

As for cats, wipes can be useful in removing excess fur, thereby reducing the risk of hairballs. (For more on hairball prevention, try our best hairball remedy products post.) Some cats are lazy bathers by nature, while others may suffer from a condition that makes it impossible for them to clean themselves properly. You can use these wipes to give them an assist and keep their coats fresh.