A blogging friend just asked me how I bathe my cats without them scratching the daylights out of me.
Well, with kittens,you start early, at 8 weeks of age. You do it monthly til they are 16 weeks old and leave their birth home here.
Then, as adult cats, it is something they are familiar with, like riding in a cat carrier or going to the vets.
Then, while they don't hold the shampoo bottle for you, they are pretty good about it!
The main thing is to be quiet and gentle, make it more like petting than scrubbing...but they still yell the whole time, but no scratching or biting!
Oh yeah, and it helps to have cats with little or no fur, but I do have one long haired cat, that's Spot and he is good about baths, too...just not about blow drying and brushing!
This photo of him is just after a "spa day". He is a Turkish Van cat, and while you read that they like water, I think it must come from someone seeing a hungry cat in Turkey, swimming for a meal of a fish, because he, even being an old retired show cat and used to baths...yells the whole time and would leap out of the tub if I let him!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
How to bathe a cat
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You're very brave.
ReplyDeleteTeal'c has to take baths sometimes because he gets dandruff. He howls and moans the whole time and tries to escape!
ReplyDeleteI used to get baths when I was a kitten and a young adult, but the vet doesn't want me to get them now. I keep myself very clean, which is one reason I have so many problems with excess floof in my belly.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a perfect method with starting young, but I still had to giggle just imagining the yelling and screaming.
ReplyDeleteYes, Teri C...someone should take a video of it one day, but most of what you would see is my backside, leaning over the tub, saying "Hold still, Stop moving about, etc etc".
ReplyDeleteYes, Sweet Praline,
ReplyDeleteI have to be careful with Spot as he's 15 now and has DJD (degenerative joint disease and spondylosis) and so he doesn't get baths as frequently as the Cornish Rex and the Sphynxs.
Hee hee - Piggy gets a bath at least once a week since he was a wee baby, as well as nail clipping and ear cleaning...he's 7 now and still hates it. After he's done and I dry him off (no fur, thank goodness) he then licks himself for about an hour because, you know, soap and water are so nasty!
ReplyDeleteI wish my mom hadn't read this post! Now she says that she is going to have to give me another bath so that I get used to it while I'm little. I've had one bath and I was the exact opposite of your kitties. I didn't make a sound, but I sure stratched up my mom and dad!
ReplyDeleteHi! We are so glad you stopped by our blog, we love meeting new friends:) Your beautiful Rexes reminded us of the foster mum never wanted to give back, an adult Devon Rex named Evie. We had her for 3 months, and mum fell deeply in love with her. She hated us though, so there was no way we could make it work. She's in a happy home of her own now:)
ReplyDeleteWe have to get baths, because our dad has allergic reactions if our dander builds up too much. Suey's favourite party trick is to poop in the bath and then sit in it. She doesn't quite understand that this has the opposite effect to the one she is going for!:)
Foster...thanks for stoppin' by here, too! Hmmm, bathtime at your house is hard work...at the vet clinic I work at, we call Suey's trick "Sitting on a cupcake"
ReplyDeleteoh my word i have just learnt something new, i had no idea that you bath cats, and it is obvious to see the enjoyment too.
ReplyDeleteSoulbrush,
ReplyDeleteMOL (that's meow out loud)...enjoyment no, but they forgive me later.
Some breeds of cats, especially Cornish Rex, Devon Rex and the Sphynx, because of their very short or no fur, accumulate skin oils that a normal coated cat also has but in them, it keeps the longer fur waterproofed and shiny.
You can sort of compare it to an unhairy human...frequent baths are needed to keep them sweet smellin'.
On my Sphynx, I use Aveeno Body wash as it's soap free and has soothing oatmeal in it. On my Cornish Rex, I use HyLyt, a pet shampoo that is also soap free and has coconut oil in it.
And now to really make you laugh...I take the Sphynx in the shower with me, most of the time, now there's a mental image that'll make you laugh or close your eyes...
Thank you for visiting our blog.
ReplyDeleteMs. P and Cinza
PS Our woman used to bathe her cats before us when they got fleas. She said it was quite the production.
I have never had a bath before. I do not think I would enjoy it. I do have to get my ears cleaned pretty often. They get real waxy.
ReplyDeleteno baths here but mom washes us with warm washies.
ReplyDeleteYou are very brave kitties!
Oh, we hate bathing!
ReplyDeleteOh...we're glad we never get baths...'cept the ones we give ourselves!
ReplyDeleteBathing kitties sounds very challenging. Our most important job is giving ourselves baths...I don't know what we would do all day if Mommy gave us baths instead.
ReplyDeleteI love your kitties! How I miss mine. The only time I bathed them was when they fell into the bathtub with me. Talk about hilarity.
ReplyDeleteI don't bathe my cats, or for that matter my dog. They all do such a great job themselves and we don't get many fleas here in New Mexico. My cats would kill me if i tried to put them in water :-), and my dog hates it too.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would like to have baths, but sometimes Lucy needs one. She hates it and screams the whole time.
ReplyDeleteThe only baths my cats ever had happened when they accidentally fell into the tub while I was taking a bath. You know... being the curious creatures they are. One of those times was when I was pregnant with my son. The cat fell in and I got scratched something horrible.
ReplyDeleteSince you are definitely a cat person and this is my first experience with kittens, I was wondering if you could share some of your knowledge with me. When do we start them on solid foods for kittens and when will they be completely weaned? Thanks!
We would never, ever, never... Humans: Don't you even dare think that thought.
ReplyDeleteHumans: Easy now...
C&O: You'd been warned...