easiest way to bath a cat?

Answer 1

Though cat owners may want to depend on a cat to clean herself, there may be a time when you will want to give your cat a bath. The following tips will help you and your cat have a more pleasant experience.

Prior to the bath, you will want to groom your cat. Use a grooming glove, fine-toothed comb, or soft brush for shorthaired breeds and a wide toothed comb and a soft slicker brush for longhaired breeds. Brush your cat thoroughly being especially gentle on the skin because it is thin and sensitive. Also, make sure to brush out any mats you may find - they are much harder to remove from wet hair. This is also a good time to check for sores, abscesses, lumps, and other skin problems. Clean your cat's ears and look for any excess wax or debris in the ears. You will also want to clip your cat's nails at this time. If your cat does not enjoy any of these procedures, wait until your cat has calmed down before starting the bath.

Assemble all the materials you will need before you get the cat. Include a soft towel, soft brush, and shampoos and conditioners formulated especially for cats. If the shampoo is very thick, it is sometimes helpful to dilute it with some water before applying it to the cat. Just prior to the bath, place cotton balls in the ears and apply ophthalmic ointment to protect the eyes. Place a towel in the bottom of the sink or tub you are going to use to prevent slipping. Be sure the area where you give the bath is warm, and your cat will have a warm place to dry off.

Remember that cats do not like to be restrained, so the less it feels like you are controlling her, the better. Speak in soft tones and try to appear calm, since your cat will become more nervous if she senses you are apprehensive. Signs that your cat is anxious include flattening of the ears or whiskers, tail thumping, loud vocalizations, and open mouth panting.

Use lukewarm water. Cats generally dislike sprays, so it is often better to pour water over the cat rather than spraying. If you must spray, avoid hard sprays and spraying near your cat's face. You may want to wrap your cat in a thin towel and wet the coat through the towel, and then apply the shampoo. After shampooing, rinse your cat thoroughly. Rinsing is the most important step. The old adage is: 'Once you think you've rinsed your cat thoroughly, rinse her again.'

Dry your cat gently with a towel. 'Blotting' is better than rubbing, especially in longhaired breeds. Longhaired breeds will also benefit from an additional brush out and a blow dryer on no-heat setting (if your cat will tolerate the noise).

If your cat absolutely cannot tolerate being wet, try using a waterless or powder shampoo, pre-moistened bath towelettes for pets, which have recently become available, or give your cat a 'sponge bath' with a damp towel.

Remember, the younger a cat is when you begin to bathe her, the more likely it will be that she will come to enjoy an occasional bath.

Answer 2

Very carefully. First, clip his claws (just clip off the tips of the claws), put a harness on the cat, then run his bath in a plastic tub in the sink. Cats hate the sound of running water so keep her in the other room until her bath is ready. Keep her face dry-they don't like wet faces. Gently lower her into the tub trying not to splash. I've found what helps to keep the cat in the tub instead of climbing all over is to attach the harness to a short leash with a big suction cup on the end. Attach the suction cup to the nearby wall, or facet even. Now you can wash the cat. ****do have all the stuff you are going to need for the bath right there-the towels and the shampoo.

Answer 3

Cat Bathing As A Martial Art



A. Know that although the cat has the advantage of quickness and lack of concern for human life, you have the advantage of strength. Capitalize on that advantage by selecting the battlefield. Don't try to bathe him in an open area where he can force you to chase him. Pick a very small bathroom. If your bathroom is more than four feet square, I recommend that you get in the tub with the cat and close the sliding -glass doors as if you were about to take a shower. (A simple shower curtain will not do. A berserk cat can shred a three-ply rubber shower curtain quicker than a politician can shift positions.)


B. Know that a cat has claws and will not hesitate to remove all the skin from your body. Your advantage here is that you are smart and know how to dress to protect yourself. I recommend canvas overalls tucked into high-top construction boots, a pair of steel-mesh gloves, an army helmet, a hockey face-mask, and a long-sleeved flak jacket.



C. Use the element of surprise. Pick up your cat nonchalantly, as if to simply carry him to his supper dish. (Cats will not usually notice your strange attire. They have little or no interest in fashion as a rule.)



D. Once you are inside the bathroom, speed is essential to survival. In a single liquid motion, shut the bathroom door, step into the tub enclosure, slide the glass door shut, dip the cat in the water and squirt him with shampoo. You have begun one of the wildest 45 seconds of your life.



E. Cats have no handles. Add the fact that he now has soapy fur, and the problem is radically compounded. Do not expect to hold on to him for more than two or three seconds at a time. When you have him, however, you must remember to give him another squirt of shampoo and rub like crazy.He'll then spring free and fall back into the water, thereby rinsing himself off. (The national record for cats is three latherings, so don't expect too much.)



F. Next, the cat must be dried. Novice cat bathers always assume this part will be the most difficult, for humans generally are worn out at this point and the cat is just getting really determined. In fact, the drying is simple compared with what you have just been through. That's because by now the cat is semi-permanently affixed to your right leg. You simply pop the drain plug with your foot, reach for your towel and wait. (Occasionally, however, the cat will end up clinging to the top of your army helmet. If this happens, the best thing you can do is to shake him loose and to encourage him toward your leg.) After all the water is drained from the tub, it is a simple matter to just reach down and dry the cat.



In a few days the cat will relax enough to be removed from your leg. He will usually have nothing to say for about three weeks and will spend a lot of time sitting with his back to you. He might even become psychoceramic and develop the fixed stare of a plaster figurine. You will be tempted to assume he is angry. This isn't usually the case. As a rule he is simply plotting ways to get through your defenses and injure you for life the next time you decide to give him a bath.


But at least now he smells a lot better

Answer 4

My cat is a very mean cat. what we do, of course we use 2 people fill the tub quarter of the way. one person holds the back of the neck and the other shampoo and conditioner. My baths normally take 5 - 10 min. and keep the doors shut. Other wise try doing it in the sink. you can use the little hose gun/sprayer. I never tried this way though.

Answer 5

have 2 people available , two or three deep buckets or two or three deep sinks right next to each other. Have one with warm water and shampoo in it and the second (and third) filled with warm clean water.
Scruff cat with left hand and hold hind legs with right hand, lower into the first bucket/sink get second person to wash cat while you hold.
Then repeat in 2-3 buckets using them to rinse the cat. Towel dry
OR
Buy no water shampoo Herbal doctor has a no water shampoo which you put incoat and brush through.

Answer 6

It's actually really easy, most cats when they see water they do everything they can to avoid it, so all you gotta do fill up a tub with water and soap, pick up your cat walk backwards to the water so the cat can't see it, and throw it in quickly before it knows what happened, lol. It sounds cruel but its not. The cat will get used to it and calm down the longer you keep it in the water.

Answer 7

If the cat is declawed you can probably bath him/her in the tub or sink without getting hurt too much. (MAYBE)

Otherwise I would take him/her to the vet or a grooming shop, let THEM get bit, scratched, clawed, chewed, mangled..... need I go on?

Of course there is the old standby, put a dollop of shampoo on the cat, lock it in a carrier and spray it with a waterhose.

Answer 8

you can buy wipes meant for cats. and you just wipe them down. its alot easier than trying to wash them in a sink
however, if you want to auctually put it in a sink, then you can buy a screen to put around the cat so she wont scratch you, and it'll just start atacking the screen, then you can shampoo it and stuff

Answer 9

A good article to read:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=213

Answer 10

cats dont like water...