How to get oil out of fur

Fridaycat

OK, so my Lulabelle is the naughtiest cat on the block and has come home with patches of oil in her fur. This would be bad for any cat, but please bear in mind she is a Snow Bengal, and also that she is a show cat :eek: Thankfully the next show is a little way off.

So I got a grooming wipe and comb as soon as I saw it and removed as much of it as I could to stop her from digesting too much when she licks, but there are still big black blobs in her pale fur.

I've looked on the internet for ways to remove the oil, lots of differening (and conflicting) info on there.

I was out this morning anyway and popped into Pets at Home to see if they had anything, but no - just normal shampoos etc. I did buy a foam, non rinse shampoo as it will come in handy before shows and stuff anyway (and it was on offer :money:), so I thought it wouldn't harm to give it a go.

I've also read that talc is meant to be good for drawing out the grease, so I also bought some baby talc and am going to try that in a moment.

I don't to use washing up liquid as is recommended so much on the internet as this can cause skin irritation for the cat.. though I could be persuaded otherwise if I am persuaded it is the only thing that will work.

Any other thoughts?

rising_from_the_ashes

Ohhhh Friday ..... that naughty wee imp!;)

Generally, I'd agree WUL isn't good to use on pets and certainly not on a regular basis but for things that are really hard to get out, like oil, it's often the only thing that works .... and it's certainly better to get it all out than risk her licking herself and ingesting it.

After all, it's used it on wildlife after environmental disasters as it really does work - as long as you rinse really well as a "one off", I'd certainly use it.

snowman2_2

Fairy Liquid is good for birds and is widely used for cleaning up oil spills. We tend to prefer Swarfega to get the oil off first then a normal pet shampoo to get the last of the residue off.

chez22

Vegetable oil, just rub it in, blot off the excess with kitchen roll and then wash with a mild shampoo.

Fridaycat

Thanks for your reassurances - I'd read horror stories of the damage done by numpties bathing their cats in WUL (as in for a normal bath), but I suppose as a spot on treatment it's something to try, though I might try Swarfega first and see how that goes.

Fridaycat

chez22 wrote: »

Vegetable oil, just rub it in, blot off the excess with kitchen roll and then wash with a mild shampoo.

Mmmm... I might give this a go as well.

By the time she's finished with, she will smell rather weird Good job the next show isn't for another month

spookylukey

I've never had to try it (thankfully!) but have read that fairy liquid mixed with sugar, for the abrasive qualities, does the trick.

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,9393.msg151619.html#msg151619

Fridaycat

spookylukey wrote: »

I've never had to try it (thankfully!) but have read that fairy liquid mixed with sugar, for the abrasive qualities, does the trick.

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,9393.msg151619.html#msg151619

Thanks for the link and the tip

penny_pincha

Fridaycat wrote: »

OK, so my Lulabelle is the naughtiest cat on the block and has come home with patches of oil in her fur.

What sort of oil? It would make a big difference if it was dirty engine oil or veg oil.

If it is just veg oil I wouldn't do anything other than mop / dab off with kitchen roll or other absorbent material. A good trick before a show is the rub cat over with a hypo-allergenic baby wipe, they don't like the smell so they then groom it out. Could try that here, if the oil is suitable for consumption eg clean veg oil. Not however if it is dirty engine oil as there would be all sort of pollutants in that.

If it is dirty engine oil, then using Snowman2's suggestion.

Fridaycat

It's dirty engine oil.

I thought we had some swafega, but can't find it, so I've tried the WUL with sugar - I think it's got some out, but not all - it's difficult to tell when the patch is wet as she has a spotty coat anyway, so you can't tell what's her normal spots and what's the oil. Anyway, I'll get a clearer picture when it's dried out a bit more and then I'll try the other suggestions.

penny_pincha

Fridaycat wrote: »

It's dirty engine oil.

Oh heck!! You just need to find something to emulsify the oil without causing skin problems. I have used Carex & warm water on my cats to clean them when they can't reach (when heavily pregnant) but that is a different mess.

Will keep mulling it over, & post if anything occurs to me.