# how do i give my cat a bath???



## stickyickyicky (May 24, 2003)

i have never tried, but i dont think he would like it, how would you keep him in the bath??

:roll:


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## Tiber (May 17, 2003)

how old is he? and i'd clip his claws first!


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## Bengalsownme (Feb 26, 2003)

yes definately clip the claws first. all you need to do is buy some wash soap for your cats age...if its a kitten you'll need to make sure the soap is kitten friendly. I like to wash my cats in the bath tub. It's bigger and easier for me. I fill it till it is almost touching their belly. Use warm water you can check the temp with the inside of your wrist. Lather the kitty up and rinse. Make sure you dry em off real good so it doesn't get the chills.


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## stickyickyicky (May 24, 2003)

kitty is about 6months old :lol: 

i think i'll trap him in a milk crate and the just give him a shower :lol:   :twisted:


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## Tiber (May 17, 2003)

i usually use some of that johnsons baby shampoo. And just take tiber in the shower with me  yea totally clip his nails  and it helps if you have one of those glass doors on the shower so he cant get away! as well as one of those removeable shower head thingys.. the ones where its connected by a hose... yea that was the most helpful that i found.


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## stickyickyicky (May 24, 2003)

i gave him a bath in the clothes washing sink, and he went skitzo. damm he held the edge of the sink like there was no tomorrow :lol:    :?


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## HelloBeautiful (Jun 4, 2003)

*What I used to do...*

Awww, poor kitty was probably scared! I always talk to mine real sweetly and leave them treats around the sink and stuff while I wash them! My late cat, Oliver, used to make a yowling noise that sounded like he was saying 'ma ma' when I gave him baths. I would have to talk to him and kiss his head to make him calm down. Gosh I miss him so much.


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## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

Just make sure you dont get the gentle kitty soap in their eyes ! But when I gave my cats a shower I definitely leave a collar on them and hold them down near the shoulders so they dont go berserk when they hear or feel the water. My bf helps me hold them and i pour the water and soap them up and everything. Since I live on the 3rd floor, I do it on a day that is particularly sunny and let them lounge around a little bit in the sun to dry off good. Good luck !


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## MRT Lover (Dec 12, 2003)

stickyickyicky said:


> kitty is about 6months old :lol:
> 
> i think i'll trap him in a milk crate and the just give him a shower :lol:   :twisted:


 didn't you get your cat from D.i.c.k Smith ?


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## Wayne (Feb 1, 2003)

The physical strength of a cat is only fully realized when attempting to bathe them. I have had kittens give me such a bad time that it was all I could do to give them a bath. However, now days, I usually take mine to the vets for a bath. They have the facilities and extra hands for the job. 8)


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## Lilly (Nov 8, 2003)

I agree Wayne! They are very strong for being so much smaller than us. 
One other thing is after the bath your cat will be cold and wet, Make sure you have the heat on warm and a warmed towel ready to dry with. They are really unhappy when they are all wet.
I remember once my 3 year old (I think she was around 2 at the time) decided to put vaseline all over her bedroom, toys, walls, and Jerry (my cat) were all in her way. Poor Jerry had to be washed and washed and washed! He was so miserable.


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## lunamystique (Dec 10, 2003)

Lilly said:


> One other thing is after the bath your cat will be cold and wet, Make sure you have the heat on warm and a warmed towel ready to dry with. They are really unhappy when they are all wet.


Mine usually are so distracted licking themselves after their bath ... they do this for about 30 min, such little perfectionists they are! I guess I don't do a good enough job. 

Lilly has an excellent point. I put them in the bathroom or my walk-in closet w/ a space heater on them on full blast to help dry them faster. My sister's cat doesn't mind being blown dry w/ a hair dryer but I would bet this is pretty unusual!


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## Ioana (Jul 12, 2003)

What I do is turn a little heater on. It is especially for Cheerio that is long haired. It takes quiete a while for her to dry!


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## jonsgirl (Nov 7, 2003)

Stix outgrew the sink and gets his baths in the tub now. I started bathing him when he was a kitten so now he just sits there looking miserable until Im done. I see they are making kitty wipes that you can use without water to give them kind of a dry bath...anyone use those? On that note, what kind of shampoo are you guys using? I use Sargeants, but after visiting Lilly's "hartz kills" link and seeing someone post about Sargeants shampoo I am thinking about switching....any comments?


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## Padunk (Oct 20, 2003)

jonsgirl said:


> I see they are making kitty wipes that you can use without water to give them kind of a dry bath...anyone use those?


They're like giant wet naps. (Yanno, the things that you get with ribs or bbq'd chicken.) They're alright if they get into a mess that doesn't justify a full bath. I also bought a powder to brush into them that's supposed to bathe them... that just makes `em smell like baby powder...


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## kittylover (Jan 2, 2004)

*he he he I am soooooooooooooo lucky*

I started Spencer off at 3 weeks old because he followed my dad outside( didn't even see the little bugger) and he climbed in a bucket of transmission oil. Anyways I called the vet and they told me to bath him in Sunlight soap, so I did for 3 weeks straight, and now he loves to bath.


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## maymariya (Sep 27, 2003)

this is how I give my cat a bath-
one of my family members holds him (up) while I wash him.
He was SOOOOO scared at first, I mean there was a long meow for every second ( and my cat is not a vocal one....at all!!!). Now, he just waits it out without a sound. So, I guees they get used to it!


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## halfline (Jul 20, 2004)

I have a kitten and I heard this tip from a friend, which amazingly works.

First, this technique is for kittens, I have not done it with full grown cats...
I hold my kitten like how a mother holds their young (loose skin around neck). They become more or less paralyzed. Two people are better, but you can do it by yourself. One hand grabs the loose skin around back of neck and the other hand lathers and rinses (I use a detachable shower head). It may be a good idea to clip his or her nails beforehand just in case it resists, but I never had that problem. The 2nd time I did this, my kitten was 100% calm and now I think it likes to be bathed since it associates bath with less stink (it was stinky before). Dry him off with a towel and that's it.


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## Frostyangel (Jul 17, 2004)

When I brought my cat back inside from being outdoors I had to scrub her down. My inlaws had this stuff called "Hartz 2 in 1 Luster Bath" its for cats and kittens 12 weeks and older. All you do is rub it directly into the cats fur and wipe it off, it needs no water. (I had to use water though because my cat was nursing kittens, the vet said it was ok to wash her but I had to rinse her off very good, which kinda ruined the whole point of it but still) When I put it on her since there was no water needed she tolerated it very well. She did keep trying to run off (I have no bathtub just a shower so I did it in on my bathroom floor) but when I caught her she would sit there and tolerate me again till she had a chance to try to walk away again. And this was a cat that hadn't been given a bath in about 5 years, and from what I heard hated being bathed when she had been. It was pretty simple till I had to rinse her (I still have scratch marks a week later!), but normally you wouldn't have to because its made to need no water. I think that if u use this the normal way (without water) it is great, cause if I could have skipped the rinse she would have been fine with it.

edit : I saw in catchat alot of ppl don't like Hartz, it has never given anybody I know any problems and Siame was not bothered by it at all (infact her kittylitter is by Hartz too and no probs) , but I am sure that other brands make the same type of thing if you don't like to use Hartz.


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## RarePuss (Jun 16, 2004)

My Marsh is white, and he already had 2 baths, and he's only 6 months old. With him, we don't do anything special, he never bites, scratches or does anything destructive. We just get a sink full of water and start washing, just make sure to get cat shampoo, it lathers up nicely and washes out immidiately. 

good luck


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## mfhutchinson (Jul 16, 2004)

I worked at a vet clinic for awhile and we use to take a leash(cloth kind) put the clip part through the handel then put it around the neck and under one foot. So you don't choke them! It gives you good control over the cat without hurting then at all I promise!!!!!!!  You know it's funny I did not remember this till I read this posting. So good luck with bath time :!:  
I hope this makes it easier for you.


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## Jessicat (Jul 21, 2004)

When I have to give my cats a bath,its pretty simple in my point of view.Ive been giving most my cats baths since they were all little,so they are used to it now.It really helps t start when they are younger so they don't try to get out.


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## yuno (Jul 31, 2004)

from my experience it usually takes two people to bathe a furry b*****d 

one to hold him and one to soap him. haha

i have had many cats, and some of them occasionally needed a bath, some of them needed it often, but there is ONE cat that we have never succeeded in bathing, because she is just so **** strong! shes bigger than most cats, and she is all muscles. And every attempt ever ended in blood, so we just gave up. 

haha


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## pretttykitty (Jul 30, 2004)

Yikes! My first question would be do you really feel that kitty needs a bath? Some cats are better at this then others, my first cat, Samatha, use to get into everything you could imagine mud, dirt, nevery knew where she would find this, but somehow she would... :roll: anyways, since she was a kitten she would get regular baths, and was so use to it that she didn't put up much of a fuss. 

My angel, Penny, however, hated water with a passion...she would turn into "evil kitty" :evil: if even a drop or two landed on her. We once had to give her a bath and it was something I never wanted to repeat!!! There was 4 of us all scratched up and a soapy kitty running down the hallway!!!! 8O 

I've never had the "pleasure" of trying to give my Misha a bath...I'm sure that would be an experience as well...

There are some "waterless" shampoo's for kitties that do get the job done, with not to much fuss and kitty smells nice and fresh afterwards. I have use this on my water-hater cat Penny...

Hope this helps...


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