My cat is scared of me all of a sudden?

Question

I had to give my 6 month old kitten a bath last night because my son thought it would be neat to rub lip gloss all over his fur. Now he just trembles whenever I try to hold him, like he is terrified of me...what do I do??

Thank you for all of your wonderful advice.
I will definitely try those bath wipe things next time!
And no, I of course did not hit or yell at him!!
I will vote for best answer in the morning...nighty night folks!!

Answer 1

Aw, poor thing. Just try to give him a lot of attention. If it was his first bath... he probably thinks you were mad at him. My cats were the same way. But I started giving them baths monthly that way they would be used to it. bc eventually your cat will need a bath again, so.. just make sure your giving him lots of loving and showing him that everything is okay and then in a month or whenever.. give him a bath and give him some more loving.

Answer 2

It's great that it was a kitten. If you hadda done that too an older cat out of the blue it would be much harder comeing back from that. *shivvers* So... much ... harder.

One trick that I've found that works very well for me is after the bath swattle the cat in a bath towle and hold him too you like that for at least ten minutes and be as soothing as you can possibly be.

I mean ALL kinds of soothing. Ooooozing with the sooooothing.

Someone else mentioned conditioning your kitty buddy too the whole bathing thing so that it isn't tramattic later on in life. Not bad advice at all. While cats are much much much harder too condition than dogs it can be done.

Too help kitty buddy get over the whole idea of you being a "very nasty peice of work indeed!" another trick that works very well on kittens is every time you see him being dozy and sleepy is too scoop him up and let him rest on you. At first he's going too be a bit nervous that a bath is coming but kitty buddy's natural desire too sleep in a warm lap is going too get the better of him.

Relax. It sounds like you love kitty buddy. He'll come around.

Answer 3

You kitty sounds a bit traumatized by the whole experience, but I think he will get over it eventually. Now that you know kitty doesn't like baths, kitty wipes will probably be better (although my cat likes baths, he even purrs when he get scrubbed, but he's a wierdo). Anyways, try spending some extra time with your kitty, reward him when he comes closer to you with a tasty treat. Try to play more with him, let him know you are not a "bad" person in his life and you can be fun and trusted. He'll snap out of it! Best of luck!

Answer 4

He is just unsure of you because of the "hated" bath. I hope you didn't hit him or anything like that. Just give him lots of petting and loving and maybe some extra treats. Also try a little Catnip.

Answer 5

speak in a soothing voice, give him a treat, cuddle him. gradually, he will calm down. avoid giving him a bath in the future. try these instead:
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=3072&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=bath+wipres&sku=849316MP1&familyID=11818&

my cat loves these.

right now he is associating you with baths because you were the one who bathed him, try to counter that with something he loves, a favorite nap spot, toy or treat.
oddly enough, my kitten is especially fond of blueberry yogurt. just find something he likes.
it wont be too long before he calms down. he still loves you, he's just shaken up from the bath
good luck and i hope i helped!

Answer 6

cuddle and reassure him, talk in a calm, soft voice, offer him tuna or other favorite treats. Dont push him, he has been traumatized and it will take a little time for him to trust you again

Answer 7

When you pick him up, only do it for short periods to show him that you are going to put him down again - it's just temporary anxiety - he'll be fine.

Answer 8

Get rid of it.