Bathing Cats

[kado]

I want to bath the cats before i de flea them again. Guinness has a lot of dirt on him. What can you use and which is the easier way to do it. I know kado will let me as he loves water not quiet sure of the others

jane

[Natalie]

i really sorry but I have never bathed a cat in all my life!!!

Just wanted to wish you luck and I'm positive someone on here will give you plenty of tips.

Don't forget to take a pic :D

[Moli]

I have never bathe a cat either.....!

[Mags]

Never bathed Cassie......I wouldn't dare!! :-D

[kado]

Guinness skin is so dry and dandruffy and bitty. I saw some cat shampoo in a pet shop today but it had tea tree in it and i am not quiet sure but i think it can be harmfull too them. I have just put guinness in the bath and with my son holding him gently so he didnt get out. I showered him with warmish water he loved it and didnt bat a eyelid. We wrapped him up in a towel and brought him down stairs and he now is 60% dry. He is just sitting there gloating at the others and i bet he his thinking who is going next ? . Kado will be fine but the others i am going to wait while the OH gets back as i dont want to get bit.

[angieh]

The only time I ever bathed Merlin was when he had been rubbing his back against something horrid and oily. I phoned the vet and they said use Swarfega to get the oil out and then a small amount of normal human shampoo - mind you this was 20 odd years ago. He suffered no ill affects.

[Midnight]

Anyone know what cat shampoo is best to use & where we can get it from please?

[kado]

I wouldnt reccomend anything with Tea tree in. I am sure that its poisonius for cats. I had to bath lucky when we first got him he was realy dirty. We got one from Pets at home Orange/red in colour its especialy made for kittens. Tried bathing him about 5 wks ago to help get some of his fleas off until i could get proper stuff. I would never bath him again he now hates it. OH got stratched to bits i was the sensible one and stood well back

[dandysmom]

I'm amazed that Guinness behaved so well! Unbelievable. I only bathed a cat once when my Mom and I tried to bathe my childhood cat who'd gotten some oil on him ..... the scars eventually faded .....

Good luck with the rest!

[kado]

Kado still sits in the kitchen sink now and loves the tap dripping on him he even does this himself.

[Moli]

I have bathe kittens, and used baby shampoo on them, very watered down though...Never done an adult cat, not that brave!

[Midnight]

I wouldnt reccomend anything with Tea tree in. I am sure that its poisonius for cats. I had to bath lucky when we first got him he was realy dirty. We got one from Pets at home Orange/red in colour its especialy made for kittens. Tried bathing him about 5 wks ago to help get some of his fleas off until i could get proper stuff. I would never bath him again he now hates it. OH got stratched to bits i was the sensible one and stood well back

Ha ha ha,

but poor oh.

[yola]

I use an organic shampoo/body wash which I use on the boys . . . Halos and Horns it's called. Has no tea tree in which as Jane rightly says is very toxic for cats. As long as it's diluted you should be able to use most products as long as they are not too perfumed and personally I would try to use ones that contain as few chemical additives as possible.

[random]

Oh haha I remember bathing Tabs, I was shredded to smithereens! Only one of my others I have ever bathe was Princess quite frequently when she was younger she used to get in a mess in the litter tray before she successfully learnt how to squat with her wee 'peg leg' as wee call it, she was always messy and even bathing from a kitten, she always swore and hated me for a wee while. :mrgreen: But she was notably easier than Tabs was. :shock:

And I always washed her in a tiny bit of baby shampoo diluted in a jug to make soapy water and did her in the bathroom sink.

[jan]

:D I well remember bathing TWO cats together before flying out to work one morning when they came in with engine oil on them! I bathed Max many years ago too - he has very long fluffy hair and my son helped me, lol it was the funniest thing, Max kept jumping out the bath and soaking us and the bathroom. Finally got whatever was in his fur soaped out and opened the door and let him streak upstairs, picture this - one black very irate cat, very fluffy dry head and neck, completely dry HUGE fluffy tail, but the bits inbetween completely flattened and he looked so weird! My other cat sat at the top of the stairs as Max charged up and he reared up in horror at the sight confronting him and fled under the bed! Still makes me chuckle - but do it again, no thanks! :-D Jan x

[dandysmom]

ROTFl, Jan, I can just picture that, soooo funny!

[Gumby Cat]

:D I well remember bathing TWO cats together before flying out to work one morning when they came in with engine oil on them! I bathed Max many years ago too - he has very long fluffy hair and my son helped me, lol it was the funniest thing, Max kept jumping out the bath and soaking us and the bathroom. Finally got whatever was in his fur soaped out and opened the door and let him streak upstairs, picture this - one black very irate cat, very fluffy dry head and neck, completely dry HUGE fluffy tail, but the bits inbetween completely flattened and he looked so weird! My other cat sat at the top of the stairs as Max charged up and he reared up in horror at the sight confronting him and fled under the bed! Still makes me chuckle - but do it again, no thanks! :-D Jan x

:D Can just imagine it, Jan!

As a teenager I fell for a ginger kitten in a petshop and bought him (I know, not wise!) He turned out to be riddled with fleas so my mother popped him in the sink with warm water and a few drops of Savlon. He loved it - must have been such a relief as all the fleas gave up the ghost and floated away! He was rinsed well and towelled dry, with no ill effects. I don't think I'd care to try it with an adult cat though, certainly not Solomon! :-D

[Catkin]

We have bathed our cats quite a few times for several reasons e.g long haired cat getting loads of poo stuck to her back end etc.

My very first bit of advice is make sure you have two people as it would be far more difficult or even impossible by yourself. You preferably need two adults or one adult and an older child.

As for shampoo there are lots of pet shampoo's around, ones for kittens, one for adults and much more. Pets at home do some great ones and so do Johnsons. We have one from them that is called Johnsons Puppy & Kitten Shampoo and it works perfectly and is nice and gentle. We have also used it on adult cats with no problems.

You can also get non rinse shampoo, not ever used it though however it could be good for cats that hate water so much you couldn't hold them down to wash them. You can probably find this in some pets stores and also if you search ebay for example you'll come up with alot also.

If you need any more advice give me a yell as we have done it so many times. Once your used to it it gets even easier and it can be great for there coats. E.g when we did our NFC it helped with her coat condition so much I think we'll do it every few months :-).

[orlando]

:lol: The best way to bath cats; firstly never use anything other than a proper cat shampoo,mainly because they have a low level of soap in their makeup. Always dilute the shampoo,never put neat shampoo on the coat,ratio; 1 part shampoo/5 parts water. The best way to work is to have plastic boxes(stacking variety) filled with tepid water (3) first you immerse cat and thoroughly soak,having clipped cats nails before bathing,2nd box has diluted shampoo mixed into water,immerse cat in this,then go to 3rd box and immerse and rinse through,make sure you completely rinse out all shampoo. If necessary replace water in 1st box and rinse cat again. Make sure you have a good supply of large warm towels and wrap cat in one and rub dry. Then if your cat will tolerate it,use a hand dryer and pin brush to brush dry. Some cats really do enjoy this and then obviously there are those who hate it:evil: Good luck!!

[Phoenix]

I've only bathed Dylan once when he had his wound last time (cat fight wound) on the vets advice. Dylan was very good and let us do it no scratching or biting or anything :-D

[Amber_Leigh1]

:lol: The best way to bath cats; firstly never use anything other than a proper cat shampoo,mainly because they have a low level of soap in their makeup. Always dilute the shampoo,never put neat shampoo on the coat,ratio; 1 part shampoo/5 parts water. The best way to work is to have plastic boxes(stacking variety) filled with tepid water (3) first you immerse cat and thoroughly soak,having clipped cats nails before bathing,2nd box has diluted shampoo mixed into water,immerse cat in this,then go to 3rd box and immerse and rinse through,make sure you completely rinse out all shampoo. If necessary replace water in 1st box and rinse cat again. Make sure you have a good supply of large warm towels and wrap cat in one and rub dry. Then if your cat will tolerate it,use a hand dryer and pin brush to brush dry. Some cats really do enjoy this and then obviously there are those who hate it:evil: Good luck!!

Thanks for this post! really helpful and sounds like a really good way for a beginner like me to try!!

[candyshandy]

I've bathed the 2 boys from kittens for shows and have always used the shower attachment in the bath. I'm not sure they would like the dunking in the bowls method and could possibly freak them out. For a long haired cat you would also need a fair few boxes for rinsing so again much prefer the shower attachment to ensure all soap is removed.

I also use shampoo neat for the best effect but remember I rinse THOROUGHLY, there is no shampoo left in my cats' coats otherwise the coats will be flat and I want it to be floating for the shows.

I have no idea about short haired cats as I've never owned one never mind bathed them, perhaps the box method is one recommended for them?

Amber - Kay will talk you through how to bath Gemma and best products to use;). Here is my boy Barney Rubble, he's 10 months old now:)

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=35117

[Amber_Leigh1]

I've bathed the 2 boys from kittens for shows and have always used the shower attachment in the bath. I'm not sure they would like the dunking in the bowls method and could possibly freak them out. For a long haired cat you would also need a fair few boxes for rinsing so again much prefer the shower attachment to ensure all soap is removed.

I also use shampoo neat for the best effect but remember I rinse THOROUGHLY, there is no shampoo left in my cats' coats otherwise the coats will be flat and I want it to be floating for the shows.

I have no idea about short haired cats as I've never owned one never mind bathed them, perhaps the box method is one recommended for them?

Amber - Kay will talk you through how to bath Gemma and best products to use;). Here is my boy Barney Rubble, he's 10 months old now:)

http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=35117

Thanks Candice :) I had to bath Tigger the other week as he'd had a bad tunny and that was a fun experience! :shock:

I did it in the sink and used a baby shampoo and rinsed very well - at least 3 lots of clean bowls worth of water. I guess if you keep it up they get used to it and each time will improve. Do you do it on your own or have someone to help you? I live alone so I have to muddle through and accept all the scratches :) He's fairly good with the hairdryer though which is a relief!! I'm sure Gemma will be used to it when she comes to me in June! I'm trying to think of a lovely new name for at the moment so Kay can start getting her used to it now :D Barney Rubble is such a beautiful boy!! Very handsome and I hope I am as good as grooming as it really does make a difference as I can see from your pics!!

[candyshandy]

Thanks Amber you wouldn't say that if you could see his curly bib at the mo:)

I do it on my own and got Bam Bam my first show boy about 18 months ago. Until then I hadn't even bathed a cat lol!

Bam Bam is on my website:


I now do Foofoo my older colourpoint girl every 4 - 6 weeks because I have the confidence with the 2 boys.

Definitely try and do the shower attachment in the bath trick, it gives you more room;)

Kay on phone at the mo but said she'll call you in a bit;)