How to bath your cat?
By rainbow
@rainbow (6761)
February 23, 2007 11:41am CST
I bathed my cat today as she had a poorly tummy a couple of days ago and didn't smell good. She's a persian so she has really long hair.
Then I wondered is my friends bath their cats and if we all know how to do it nicely.
If your cat is infested with fleas, you'll want to give her a bath. Otherwise, wash your cat as neccessary. Since cats wash themselves, they do not often need bathing.
Adopt a calm, positive attitude before and during the bath'it will help ease your cat's anxiety.
Consider trimming your cat's claws beforehand - getting scratched, but only if you know how much to trim.
Bring your cat into the bathroom. Close the door and keep it closed.
Fill the bathtub with enough lukewarm water to cover your cat's paws.
Gently set your cat in the tub.
Give your cat free rein in the bathtub using minimal restraint, but gently hold on to the back of her neck if she tries to escape.
Apply lubricating eye ointment (available from your veterinarian) or a drop of baby or olive oil to your cat's eyes to prevent irritation from the shampoo. I just avoid washing her face
Scoop water in a plastic cup, and pour it over the cat until her fur is wet, making sure to avoid her eyes.
Apply a regular shampoo made for cats, or a flea shampoo if needed, and rub it into the cat's fur. Use caution around the eyes.
Scoop clean water over her to rinse.
Quickly pat or rub your cat dry with a towel.
Comb through your cat's fur to spend quality time together as she dries, then give her a special treat such as catnip or kibble for a job well done.
If your cat's fur is matted or soiled from contact with hard-to-clean substances such as oil, gum or paint, it is best to have the cat bathed by a professional groomer.
Be sure to remove all soap when rinsing, since cats will groom themselves and ingest anything left on their fur.
4 people like this
8 responses
@taramoon (740)
• Spain
23 Feb 07
Ahhh bless i unfortunately lost my persian last week to kidney failure he was a young bab, i never had to bath him but i did brush him a few times a day. I will remember your post for future reference, if i get another long haired cat, my other two a siamese and a miss match sometimes jump in my bath with me...lol...their silly
3 people like this
@rainbow (6761)
•
23 Feb 07
Oh, my goodness I am so sorry! If I had any idea I would not have posted this!
I brush polly a lot too but she still gets knotty, little monkey.
I'm glad your other cats are full of fun, Siamese are so beautiful, is it true their eyes trun red when they are angry?
3 people like this
@taramoon (740)
• Spain
23 Feb 07
Ahh hun please don't apologise, unfortunately it's just one of them traumas that life throws at us, i miss him so so much but i love reading about other fur balls, i just guess i was very unlucky, in a few weeks time i will probably visit our local shelter and adopt an abandon soldier...lol...please give your polly a big cuddle from me, i bet she looks beautiful xx
3 people like this
@rainbow (6761)
•
23 Feb 07
Polly is a scruffy black fluff ball with big yellow eyes, she's 11 now bless her with a limp, she was a very poorly kitten when I found her and ahs never really been good at cat stuff, catching birds,climbing etc but she's a sweety. When I empty the camera I'll post a picture of her for you to see.
2 people like this
@rainbow (6761)
•
26 Feb 07
Cats should be able to keep themselves clean but sometimes they need a hand. Polly has very long hair so she's terrible at cleaning herself - just makes sore places so occasionally especially if she's been poorly - like last week with a bad tummy she needs a hand.
People used to say if you bath a cat is kills it but I've never heard of one dying from a bath..
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
26 Feb 07
Thanks for posting this. I do have a cat but she is indoor and she doesn't like being washed. I only use damp cloth when I clean her up and brush her teeth whenever I can.
1 person likes this
@rainbow (6761)
•
24 Feb 07
Hi Mel, maybe you could get some sort of wipes for your white cat from the pet shop, lie a baby wipe but for cats, remember they ingest anything put on their fur so be careful. I used to get ear wipes for my dog so there may be something for cats, lol. If they are short haired it's far easiey for them to clean themselves, I bath Polly when I have to as she has so uch hair and never seems to be able to clean herself, she just knotts it up till it's matted and I hve to trim it off. The vet says she's a bib licker as she will clean until she's no fur and is really sore or will just knott it up terribly.
2 people like this
@hezoid (2144)
•
5 Mar 07
I've not given my cat a bath yet, i've not had her long and she doesn't smell at all, i'd only bathe her if she got something on her or started to smell. I don't think she'd like it if i tried to bathe her, she won't even go in the bathroom so i reckon she's had it done to her before and not liked it. I'll bear in mind your advice though if she does need a wash! Like you suggest, i think if she got really dirty somehow i'd pay a professioanl to clean her.
1 person likes this
@rusty2rusty (6763)
• Defiance, Ohio
25 Feb 07
I start running the wter in the tub. I get it to war som eis in the bottom of the tub and it is lukewarm to the touch. Than I bring the cat in and shut the door. He will now sit and tolerate me washing him in the tub. I use the shower because I can move it around. The cat doe sreally only tolerate me washing him. Cause as soon as the last drop of soap is off. He jumps out of my tub and shakes the water off. I always seem to get more water on me that way.
1 person likes this
@doncris (637)
• Romania
24 Feb 07
I bathe my cat using special shampoo, and I don't do it because of the fleas. I wash him because his fur gets dirty sometimes and he is pretty lazy in order to wash himself completely. The shampoo gives by the way an extra good smell to the cat's fur, so I guess that's a plus. As for the fleas, a buy special collars which are chemically treated. They work just fine. I also attached a tiny bell to the collar, so that I can hear him whenever he's trying to hide around the house.
@rainbow (6761)
•
24 Feb 07
I'm glad you take such good care of your fur baby. Polly is terrible at looking after herself too. Flea collars make her eyes sore and runny so I don't use them and she can escape anything with a bell, lol. I use a spot on thing from the vets and she never has a problem with fleas, bless her.
