Do you ever wash your cat?

geri1965_2

I've never had to before, but my new cat Jimmy is mainly white (with black ears and tail and one or two black patches on his body).

There is a car yard behind our house and he has started coming in filthy - it doesn't smell like oil, so I suspect he has been rubbing up against the tyres (he did the same thing with my pushbike in the hallway when we first got him!)

I tried rubbing him with a wet toilet wipe but it didn't make any difference. Just wondering if I should try and wash it off with some mild shampoo and water, but have a feeling he may not take too kindly to it...

I don't know if I should leave it and let him groom himself clean.

niklepic

Have you tried the dry shampoo you can get from PAH? I haven't tried bathing any of my cats but remember my mum trying to bath one of hers in the sink when i was little. All she managed to do was get him tummy wet as he had all four claws clinging to the end of the sink and she was just kind of dunking him in the middle. There's nothing more sad looking than a wet moggy.

h007

i use wahls no rinse shampoo if my cats have rolled in something they shouldnt of
it comes out as a mousse and you just rub it on and then 'try' to dry with a towel


i got this from pah

Red_Doe

I once had a kitten, and had to wash her thanks to an accident with a huge vat of home brewed Guinness I made. I had the vat only covered at the top prior to bottling up with a clean towel. The kitten climbed up a nearby chair and before I could stop her, bounced onto the towel, which sank into the Guinness.
One soggy kitten later, I wrung out the towel, bottled the brew (it was fine btw, got lots of people quite happily drunk later on) and looked at the kitten, none the worse for wear but stinking of homebrew.
I dunked her in the bathroom sink with some mild baby bath and one bath later, nice clean, disgruntled still soggy kitten.
She dried out like a mini fluffball though and smelled faintly of perfume.
Lesson learned...cats and Guinness do not mix.
And wear chain mail gloves when bathing a cat or your hands will be shredded. Cats really can almost turn inside their own skin! Little bu*ger....

patchwork_cat

I have on a few occassions. The only one that did 'accept' it we bathed from very young. He just wouldn't clean himself. He didn't like being bathed, but endured it,it was a 2 person job and lots of treats afterwards. You can get special cat shampoo. Thankfully as he has grown he has started cleaning himself! He has a unique 'baby' personality and washing himself was too much of a chore!!

Misstress

I only bath my cats when they REALLY REALLY need it, ie covered in there own !!!!!!!!

Last time i did it, when i'd finished i shut the cat in the bathroom and went down to the kitchen sat on the floor and cried!! with pain!! my arms were shredded and i had several bite!! marks

tara747

Red_Doe wrote: »

I once had a kitten, and had to wash her thanks to an accident with a huge vat of home brewed Guinness I made. I had the vat only covered at the top prior to bottling up with a clean towel. The kitten climbed up a nearby chair and before I could stop her, bounced onto the towel, which sank into the Guinness.
One soggy kitten later, I wrung out the towel, bottled the brew (it was fine btw, got lots of people quite happily drunk later on) and looked at the kitten, none the worse for wear but stinking of homebrew.
I dunked her in the bathroom sink with some mild baby bath and one bath later, nice clean, disgruntled still soggy kitten.
She dried out like a mini fluffball though and smelled faintly of perfume.
Lesson learned...cats and Guinness do not mix.
And wear chain mail gloves when bathing a cat or your hands will be shredded. Cats really can almost turn inside their own skin! Little bu*ger....

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

((((((cats)))))))

Sunnyday

I`ve never bathed any of ours, the only time one of them has got wet was when she was walking around on the edge of the bath when DH was in it. She slipped in and jumped out as soon as she could and ran around the house like a mad thing :rotfl:

DH wasn`t too impressed either as he was shredded

I would be a bit wary of using shampoo etc as at the end of the day some of the chemical residue will be ingested and i can`t imagine that would be any good for the the cat. Have you tried regular brushing?

We brush ours lots and any marks disappear after a few brushes.

HTH

SD

cavework

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9QwK5EHSmg

xx

Apricot

One of my cats jumps in the bath as soon as he hears me take the plug out - I shout at him if he tries to jump in while im still in there!

My other cat is less than impressed with water so I find I need to fill up the sink slightly and dunk her (keeping my body well sheilded - I once had scratched all up my chest and down my back as she scrambled away!)

dizziblonde

I have to on occasion because of how mine reacts if you have to transport her by car - longer than about 5 minutes and you get a ball of vomit, poo and wee covered hissing feline wrath (hence she's now at the vet within walking distance - but still complains). She hates it, I hate it and she normally wins - or I make the hubby do it.

I do have a box of pet wipes in the car mainly for manky dog paws in a vain attempt to save my upholstery which might do the trick, or a rub in and leave shampoo that I use for the dog when he's getting a bit whiffy between baths - there are a few different no-water type products out there.