How do you bathe a cat?

[curly sue]

BF had a Maine Coon Cross who regularly peed on himself and needed a bath.

His bathing went....

Run bath.
Get into bath.
Cat also gets into bath as he wants to know everything you are doing.
Watch as cat slowly floats past. Occasionally nudge him in various directions.

It was hilarious. He had so much coat (double coat) that he just floated.
Imagine an enormous, orange, long haired cat floating lazily in a spa tub (without the bubbles on) not even bothering to swim even though he couldn't touch the bottom. It made me laugh every time.

Ok, this is one of the funniest things I have ever read! Thanks for the laugh!

[Starchasm]

I have two hairless cats (Sphynx) so I have to bathe them fairly regularly.  And they HATE IT.  I've started using kitten wipes every few days with one bath a month.  I fill the tub with about an inch or two of water then I close them one at a time in the bathroom.   I get two washcloths at the ready; one I soap and one I leave wet.  I figured out long ago that trying to keep the cat in the bathtub was a recipe for disaster. 

I take the soapy cloth first and scrub the cat down while they try to run away.  Sometimes I get stymied when they wedge themselves behind the toilet, but that usually doesn't last long.  Once they have been sufficiently soaped I put them in the tub and rinse them with the non-soapy washcloth as best as I can.  I rub them with the towel then let them flee.

The above should work with a hairy cat if you add the step of moistening them prior to using the soapy washcloth, I would imagine.

[Garden Goblin]

Cat 1:

Fill tub about halfway

Throw cat's favorite toy into tub.

Wait for cat to get tired of playing.

Dry cat.

Cat 2:

Don't.

Dog:

Go outside

Turn on sprinkler

Wait until dog is clean

Turn off sprinkler

Try to ignore sad puppy eyes that make you feel like you are some sort of horrible monster for turning off the sprinkler

Try to dry dog before dog jumps on furniture

Do laundry.

[Bijou]

You don't. 

Thanks for saying that.  I was mortified because it never occurred to me to bathe our cats and was feeling a little uncouth.  They always seem to keep themselves clean.  Now that I think about the cat saliva, though......

[snowfire]

Bathing them also helps keep my DH from complaining near as much about being "allergic" to cats.  If he was allergic he'd be dead by now (4 cats.)

Snerk!  My DH claims to be mildly allergic.  When we got married the rule was no cats in the bedroom ever.  Right now there is one cat at my feet, one on the headboard and one curled up between us.  The fourth cat just got in a snit and took off.

On the rare occasions when we do baths, it is a 2 person job.  I prefer to use the sink in the computer room, but at the moment it is full of stuff so it is the bathtub.  DH usually gets the cat holding job while I suds and rinse with the handheld shower.  Only one of the current crop has been bathed as an adult.  My Mom helped me with that one.  We had to suds her up with Dawn in the kitchen sink, she had gotten into some grease.  Mom is 85 and can't kneel at the tub, I can't now either.

I did have one Himalayan that I could give half baths to.  He would get the runs whenever he was given antibiotics so I would just hold him with his hind end over the tub edge and hose him down with the shower.  He didn't like licking all the wet fur, but it was better than the alternative.

StarFaerie, I would have loved to see giant floating kitty!

[Katana_Geldar]

Poor Polly (died last year) once had to be bathed as she had this flea stuff on her back that we had to get off as she was eating it. I held her on top of the washing machine while my Mum cleaned her with a dap cloth. Then we towelled her as dry as we could then eft her to sort out her own grooming,

[HappilyInsane]

We don't bathe ours unless something happens that they really need it, but I've found it's just easier to get in the shower and hold them across my chest as I step under the shower. I hand them off to hubby who is waiting with a big fluffy towel when I'm done.I've only ever had a couple of small scratches doing it that way, whereas trying to put them in a tub by themselves, I come out looking like I was attacked by a mountain lion.

We had one male cat that would "ask" for baths. He would sit on the toilet as I showered. After a week, he would move to the edge of the tub. If I still hadn't invited him in after a few more days, he would just climb in with me.

My cats are all shorthairs except the himalayan. He is currently in need of a good grooming and I'm checking in to a pro for this one. He is so matted on his belly and he does not allow you to touch him there. If he even thinks you are going to try to get a mat out, he turns into a tasmanian devil.

[Nikko-chan]

Poor Polly (died last year) once had to be bathed as she had this flea stuff on her back that we had to get off as she was eating it. I held her on top of the washing machine while my Mum cleaned her with a dap cloth. Then we towelled her as dry as we could then eft her to sort out her own grooming,

This happened to my Mika once. We sprayed her with some flea spray that had tea tree oil in it. She was drooling and everything. I hauled her into the bathroom and scrubbed for all i was worth until I was sure it was gone!

[C0mputerGeek]

My cousin has had to bath her cat. I have forgotten why, but it was not on a whim. The first time she was fully clothed and bathed the cat in the bathtub. She came out of the ordeal rather scratched and bloody. The cat was clean. The second time she stripped down and took the cat into the shower with her. The cat emerged clean and she was without any wounds. She attributes the difference to the lack of clothes. I say it's the shower and the fact that she got in there with the cat.

Both times the cat took revenge by shredding several items in her house. Personally, I would use a professional groomer.

Put cat in a pillow case so that only the head is showing, put it in the bath. Soap and rinse it.

I saw this recommended in a book about cat care. It did not tell you how to get the cat into the pillow case, without sustaining critical injury to ones hands.

Placing kitty treats inside the pillowcase, perhaps?

[squeakers]

My cousin has had to bath her cat. I have forgotten why, but it was not on a whim. The first time she was fully clothed and bathed the cat in the bathtub. She came out of the ordeal rather scratched and bloody. The cat was clean. The second time she stripped down and took the cat into the shower with her. The cat emerged clean and she was without any wounds. She attributes the difference to the lack of clothes. I say it's the shower and the fact that she got in there with the cat.

Both times the cat took revenge by shredding several items in her house. Personally, I would use a professional groomer.

Put cat in a pillow case so that only the head is showing, put it in the bath. Soap and rinse it.

I saw this recommended in a book about cat care. It did not tell you how to get the cat into the pillow case, without sustaining critical injury to ones hands.

Placing kitty treats inside the pillowcase, perhaps?

Naw, same way you get them into a cat carrier: scruff hold with one hand and holding rear legs with other hand, lower into upended cat carrier.  Grab cat as it almost makes it into the next room. Re-scruff and re-grab and lower again into cat carrier.  Bandage fingers.  Retrieve cat from under the couch. Try head first.  Get more band-aids. Try again either way. Have someone else to slam lid shut. Spend trip to and from vet visit wondering how cat will get its revenge. (Never had any trouble getting them back in it at the vet's.. they _want_ to go home.) (Only 2 of them hate the carrier.. the other 2 will curl up and sleep in it like the dogs do in their kennel.)

[MurPl1]

We've washed all four of ours and each required something a little different.  One preferred a towel on the bottom of the sink, one hated that.  But we washed all of them periodically since they were kittens so that probably helps a ton.

We've also taken three of them to the groomers (the fourth turns into a lunatic outside the house).  And they all took that pretty well too.  Although it's become near impossible around here to find a groomer with the certificate to do cats.

DH and I have had the two long hair ones shaved - way hot here in the Dallas heat and they seem to enjoy having the extra hair gone for summer.  We've had them shaved at the groomers and DH is quite good at getting them shaved nicely.  I am not.  I tried to do the one cat while DH was gone for a week last summer.  I saw Squeeky for the three passes with the trimmer I managed before he bolted.  Finally saw him again 5 days later when DH came home.  He was NOT happy with me.  But boy did he look silly avoiding me with a reverse mohawk!  Ha!

[Sophia]

For about the last year of OLK's life (Old Lady Kitty - she'd had another name before but well her name changed).  Anyway, I would literally trim her fur with nail scissors while petting her because her grooming wasn't up to her thick half-Persian fur.  She looked silly.  But, it was better than bathing her.  (for both of us)

[snowfire]

There is a reason I just ordered a set of kitty muzzles.....

[blue2000]

My cousin has had to bath her cat. I have forgotten why, but it was not on a whim. The first time she was fully clothed and bathed the cat in the bathtub. She came out of the ordeal rather scratched and bloody. The cat was clean. The second time she stripped down and took the cat into the shower with her. The cat emerged clean and she was without any wounds. She attributes the difference to the lack of clothes. I say it's the shower and the fact that she got in there with the cat.

Both times the cat took revenge by shredding several items in her house. Personally, I would use a professional groomer.

Put cat in a pillow case so that only the head is showing, put it in the bath. Soap and rinse it.

I saw this recommended in a book about cat care. It did not tell you how to get the cat into the pillow case, without sustaining critical injury to ones hands.

Placing kitty treats inside the pillowcase, perhaps?

Naw, same way you get them into a cat carrier: scruff hold with one hand and holding rear legs with other hand, lower into upended cat carrier.  Grab cat as it almost makes it into the next room. Re-scruff and re-grab and lower again into cat carrier.  Bandage fingers.  Retrieve cat from under the couch. Try head first.  Get more band-aids. Try again either way. Have someone else to slam lid shut. Spend trip to and from vet visit wondering how cat will get its revenge. (Never had any trouble getting them back in it at the vet's.. they _want_ to go home.) (Only 2 of them hate the carrier.. the other 2 will curl up and sleep in it like the dogs do in their kennel.)

With my youngest cat it is - get carrier. Put door side up. Grab cat, shove in carrier butt-first. Slam door, lock securely. Watch cat scream, shake carrier violently and do a really awesome Tazmanian Devil impression.

Reverse is easy - unlock door. See cat for five seconds as he runs for the underside of the couch. Go get treats. Cat reverses direction and becomes your best friend.

[Nora]

I took the plunge! Combined all the advice, and got in the glass-doored shower fully clothed with the cat. She was sceptical, but ok. I put her in the corned while the water warmed up, and then sprayed, shampooed and rinsed that little sucker off. No protests from kitty until the final rinsing when the just lost it and howled pathetically. I turned the water off, and got the first of 3 towels. She let me dry her properly, seemed just as fond of me as before (just barely), and huffed of to sit in front of the aquarium and lick herself.

She did not seem to mind all that much until the end, and though I usually despise reading too much into animal behavior I did get the feeling she understood I was helping her, not trying to torture her. Not a scratch on me, this went swell!