Cats do not generally need bathing because their mothers teach them how to wash themselves while they are kittens. Moreover, cats have a justifiable reputation for not liking water too much. However, there might be occasions when you feel the necessity for bathing your cat.
For instance, your cat might be old or sick, have been in a bad scrap or be infested with fleas. If these times crop up, you will be glad of some tips for bathing your cat, as they can get fairly nasty about it, inflicting serious scratches that could get septic.
This first thing to do is gather everything you require in advance, because you will probably need to hold your cat down. So, you will want the shampoo, a cloth and a towel close at hand.
If you already know that your cat is going to become difficult, bathe it in a bowl either in the garden shed or in the bathroom, where flying water will not cause much of a difficulty.
Otherwise, you could bathe your cat in a bowl on the lawn, but an confined space may help your cat feel less threatened and it will be easier to capture it in an confined space if it escapes your grasp.
If your cat really, really detests bathing and you have trouble holding it, place it in a pillow case with only its head sticking out. You can use a cat collar to keep the pillow case in place.
If you use a pillow case, bathe your cat through the pillow case as you would a delicate, expensive woollen pullover. Use an old collar, because otherwise you might wash out the insecticide that is impregnated in it.
If your cat's fur is matted or clotted with blood, you had better remove the clots and cut away the hair with the cat on your lap before you begin bathing it.
Whilst preparing the bowl, place a non-slip mat or towel in the bottom and only half fill it with luke warm water. The shampoo ought to be mild. In fact, you should bathe your cat as you would a child who does not like getting soap in its eyes.
Lower your cat smoothly but quite swiftly into the water and talk to it reassuringly all the time. It will probably hate what you are doing to it, although some breeds are fairly happy to be in water. Yours almost certainly will hot be though and it will become more than a little afraid, so keep talking to it.
Work rapidly and do what you can. It is better to get most of the work done the first time round and have to come for another go later than to actually stress your cat out with a long session and who knows, it may become used to it after repeated sessions, if they do not last too long.
After you are done, wrap the cat in a towel and be nice to it. If it is in a pillow case, wrap the towel around the pillow case and take it off under the towel. When your cat is pretty dry, you can let it go if it wants, because it will dry itself off anyway.
For instance, your cat might be old or sick, have been in a bad scrap or be infested with fleas. If these times crop up, you will be glad of some tips for bathing your cat, as they can get fairly nasty about it, inflicting serious scratches that could get septic.
This first thing to do is gather everything you require in advance, because you will probably need to hold your cat down. So, you will want the shampoo, a cloth and a towel close at hand.
If you already know that your cat is going to become difficult, bathe it in a bowl either in the garden shed or in the bathroom, where flying water will not cause much of a difficulty.
Otherwise, you could bathe your cat in a bowl on the lawn, but an confined space may help your cat feel less threatened and it will be easier to capture it in an confined space if it escapes your grasp.
If your cat really, really detests bathing and you have trouble holding it, place it in a pillow case with only its head sticking out. You can use a cat collar to keep the pillow case in place.
If you use a pillow case, bathe your cat through the pillow case as you would a delicate, expensive woollen pullover. Use an old collar, because otherwise you might wash out the insecticide that is impregnated in it.
If your cat's fur is matted or clotted with blood, you had better remove the clots and cut away the hair with the cat on your lap before you begin bathing it.
Whilst preparing the bowl, place a non-slip mat or towel in the bottom and only half fill it with luke warm water. The shampoo ought to be mild. In fact, you should bathe your cat as you would a child who does not like getting soap in its eyes.
Lower your cat smoothly but quite swiftly into the water and talk to it reassuringly all the time. It will probably hate what you are doing to it, although some breeds are fairly happy to be in water. Yours almost certainly will hot be though and it will become more than a little afraid, so keep talking to it.
Work rapidly and do what you can. It is better to get most of the work done the first time round and have to come for another go later than to actually stress your cat out with a long session and who knows, it may become used to it after repeated sessions, if they do not last too long.
After you are done, wrap the cat in a towel and be nice to it. If it is in a pillow case, wrap the towel around the pillow case and take it off under the towel. When your cat is pretty dry, you can let it go if it wants, because it will dry itself off anyway.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with feline distemper vaccination. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Distemper Vaccines
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