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Hello guys, I have 9 months old cat. I find it very difficult to give her bath because she makes lots of fuss. Please give me some guidelines for bathing the cat. Thanks in advance.
I move everything out of the way first within a two foot radius around the sink, so that if the cat temporarily gets away he/she can't do any damage. I make sure the water isn't too hot (using your elbow is best), and then put the cat in the sink, and hold her there by the scruff of her neck gently but firmly. Hold cat with one hand, and lather her up with shampoo with the other hand. Make sure to not get any shampoo near the face. When you're rinsing, make sure the water runs clear off the cat; if there are suds and bubbles, keep rinsing! I also have a giant towel nearby, so I can wrap the struggling, clawing cat into it without coming out with war wounds. If your cat is big, or you have trouble controlling it, please get another person to help!
In addition, if you have multiple cats, you might want to shut the bathroom door, leaving the other cats outside. My daughter was bathing Ariel once, and Jasmine came up and bit her!
First - does your health insurance cover cat bathing?
Does your cat have medical or grooming issues keeping her from cleaning herself? If not - step away from the idea please!!!
Agree with this^^
It's been my experience that nearly all housecats are very good at doing their own grooming, and the only odor I've ever noticed on a cat was food breath and maybe a stinky butt once in a while. Outside of accidently getting some foreign substance on them, there's really no reason to ever bath a cat IMO. It's stressful for both parties involved, and unnecessary.
I've lived with high numbers of multiple cats over the past 25 years, and have never bathed a cat, or needed to. Neither did my late wife.
But if you insist on doing it, best advice is to keep a first-aid kit handy.
Why do you want to bathe your kitty? Has she gotten extremely dirty with substances that would be harmful for her to ingest by licking to clean herself?
Bathing is not good for kitties or for the human trying to bathe the kitty. Soap is not good for their skin, fur, or eyes. Bloodletting is not good for yours. This is why cats have sandpaper tongues -- they are self-cleaning!
Only once did one have a messy bottom, and in that case, I wrapped her in a towel and used a scissors to cut off the mess. I put her in one room, and then she took it from there. She came out clean.
If it is necessary to bathe a cat, a hand-held shower head greatly helps. I installed one in the shower for me.
I've only had to bathe my present cat once, and that was only a partial bath. She was chasing a fly and stepped in my paint tray while I was painting floorboards. Fortunately, it was latex paint, which is easy to wash off. She got her paws and legs rinsed, which she hated, but it was necessary.
I didn't have help, so I got the water going, then shut it off with the shower head knob, then held her in the tub by holding the scruff of her neck. I worked fast. It took less then 45 seconds to rinse off the paint. Then I let her go. I didn't try to dry her -- it wasn't that large of an area.
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If your cat is big, or you have trouble controlling it, please get another person to help!
