Any advice on cleaning my cat?

"Makoto Taniguchi" wrote in message
om...
"Karen M." wrote in message
...
Makoto Taniguchi wrote:

I have an 8 yr old female tabby who goes berserk whenever we try and
wash her off. We usually get cuts all over our hands and it takes like
an hour or so to complete because of her refusal to be washed. We also
have the inherent problem of her licking herself when we're soaping
her. What can we do?

Do you have allergies, or is kitty getting into something gross? Cats
are pretty much self-cleaning (and if you already know this, forgive me)
so if this is your first kitty, don't worry about bathing unless you
have to. It's not fun, as you well know!

If you do need to bathe her, I'd recommend just doing a search on Google
and you'll find lots of interesting tips. I personally make sure the
claws are trimmed and make sure there are two people to do the job! One
to hold kitty and one to soap up and rinse. Of course, I never bathe the
cats unless I *absolutely* have to. They develop the strength of
Superman when met with water!

HTH,
Karen

1.) I haven't bathed in like a year now

2.) She is starting to smell like sheer hell

3.) Because of her odour, my bed is starting to smell weird

Do you have any idea why she stopped grooming herself? Have you had her
checked out at the vet to see if there is a health problem? Will she let you
comb her? It seems odd that she'll lick off the soap suds but won't groom
herself.

"Makoto Taniguchi" wrote in message



1.) I haven't bathed in like a year now

2.) She is starting to smell like sheer hell

3.) Because of her odour, my bed is starting to smell weird

Okay, here you go. This is what I do when/if my cats get stinky:

First, get some nail trimmers and someone to help you and cut her
claws, being very careful not to cut into the "quick" or vein, or
whatever it is.

Wait a couple of days until she is over that, then place an old towel
in the bottom of the tub or sink. Prepare a lukewarm bath. The water
should come just about up to her belly. (Estimate! You don't want the
cat to have any idea you are preparing her bath! That will give her
time to think up Evil Things to Do to you!) Fill three or four
half-gallon plastic pitchers with lukewarm water and put them in a
place where you can reach them while restraining a cat in the bath.
(The reason for this is that many cats are afraid of the sound of a
faucet or shower massage thing.) Place the kitty shampoo in a
reachable spot. Put a large towel on the floor in front of the tub,
and one nice big clean one on the toilet or within reach.

Swiftly located, pick up, and deposit cat in the tub, holding her with
one hand at all times. Be sure to shut the bathroom door behind you.
Talking sweetly to her, pour one of the pitchers of water over her
from shoulders down, holding her up as though she is standing on her
back legs. Always keep her head up and the water out of her eyes. Talk
to her reassuringly! Her little cat brain is thinking you intend to
drown her!

Squirt some shampoo on her back and gently but quickly lather it in,
concentrating on the butt area and underneath her. Do not apply
shampoo to her face or anything above her neck. Once she is fully
lathered use the empty pitcher to scoop up bathwater to partially
rinse her. Again, keep her head up. When she is pretty well rinsed,
pull the plug and drain the tub or sink, and use the remaining three
pitchers of clean lukewarm water to thoroughly rinse her.

Take her out of the tub and put her on the towel on the floor and use
it to begin drying her. Once she is partially dry wrap her in the
other clean towel and gently dry her better. I usually take my kitty
out to the rocker and sit with her in my lap and dry and warm her. Get
her as dry as you can before you let go of her, as you are unlikely to
be able to catch her for a while!

[If all of this is too much, you can take her to the vet for a trim
and bath. But I am leaning away from trusting vets with my cats unless
absolutely necessary.]

Good luck!

"Makoto Taniguchi" wrote in message



1.) I haven't bathed in like a year now

2.) She is starting to smell like sheer hell

3.) Because of her odour, my bed is starting to smell weird

Okay, here you go. This is what I do when/if my cats get stinky:

First, get some nail trimmers and someone to help you and cut her
claws, being very careful not to cut into the "quick" or vein, or
whatever it is.

Wait a couple of days until she is over that, then place an old towel
in the bottom of the tub or sink. Prepare a lukewarm bath. The water
should come just about up to her belly. (Estimate! You don't want the
cat to have any idea you are preparing her bath! That will give her
time to think up Evil Things to Do to you!) Fill three or four
half-gallon plastic pitchers with lukewarm water and put them in a
place where you can reach them while restraining a cat in the bath.
(The reason for this is that many cats are afraid of the sound of a
faucet or shower massage thing.) Place the kitty shampoo in a
reachable spot. Put a large towel on the floor in front of the tub,
and one nice big clean one on the toilet or within reach.

Swiftly located, pick up, and deposit cat in the tub, holding her with
one hand at all times. Be sure to shut the bathroom door behind you.
Talking sweetly to her, pour one of the pitchers of water over her
from shoulders down, holding her up as though she is standing on her
back legs. Always keep her head up and the water out of her eyes. Talk
to her reassuringly! Her little cat brain is thinking you intend to
drown her!

Squirt some shampoo on her back and gently but quickly lather it in,
concentrating on the butt area and underneath her. Do not apply
shampoo to her face or anything above her neck. Once she is fully
lathered use the empty pitcher to scoop up bathwater to partially
rinse her. Again, keep her head up. When she is pretty well rinsed,
pull the plug and drain the tub or sink, and use the remaining three
pitchers of clean lukewarm water to thoroughly rinse her.

Take her out of the tub and put her on the towel on the floor and use
it to begin drying her. Once she is partially dry wrap her in the
other clean towel and gently dry her better. I usually take my kitty
out to the rocker and sit with her in my lap and dry and warm her. Get
her as dry as you can before you let go of her, as you are unlikely to
be able to catch her for a while!

[If all of this is too much, you can take her to the vet for a trim
and bath. But I am leaning away from trusting vets with my cats unless
absolutely necessary.]

Good luck!

"Makoto Taniguchi" wrote in message
om...
"Karen M." wrote in message
...
Makoto Taniguchi wrote:

I have an 8 yr old female tabby who goes berserk whenever we try and
wash her off. We usually get cuts all over our hands and it takes like
an hour or so to complete because of her refusal to be washed. We also
have the inherent problem of her licking herself when we're soaping
her. What can we do?

Do you have allergies, or is kitty getting into something gross? Cats
are pretty much self-cleaning (and if you already know this, forgive me)
so if this is your first kitty, don't worry about bathing unless you
have to. It's not fun, as you well know!

If you do need to bathe her, I'd recommend just doing a search on Google
and you'll find lots of interesting tips. I personally make sure the
claws are trimmed and make sure there are two people to do the job! One
to hold kitty and one to soap up and rinse. Of course, I never bathe the
cats unless I *absolutely* have to. They develop the strength of
Superman when met with water!

HTH,
Karen

1.) I haven't bathed in like a year now

2.) She is starting to smell like sheer hell

3.) Because of her odour, my bed is starting to smell weird

Hmmmm... do you know why she is starting to smell so awful? Most cats
don't smell (badly) - they groom themselves clean, & smell fine, year in,
year out. Unless there's some reason why she doesn't groom (too fat to
reach all over, illness), or if there's some other, possibly medical reason
that she smells?

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

"Makoto Taniguchi" wrote in message
om...
"Karen M." wrote in message
...
Makoto Taniguchi wrote:

I have an 8 yr old female tabby who goes berserk whenever we try and
wash her off. We usually get cuts all over our hands and it takes like
an hour or so to complete because of her refusal to be washed. We also
have the inherent problem of her licking herself when we're soaping
her. What can we do?

Do you have allergies, or is kitty getting into something gross? Cats
are pretty much self-cleaning (and if you already know this, forgive me)
so if this is your first kitty, don't worry about bathing unless you
have to. It's not fun, as you well know!

If you do need to bathe her, I'd recommend just doing a search on Google
and you'll find lots of interesting tips. I personally make sure the
claws are trimmed and make sure there are two people to do the job! One
to hold kitty and one to soap up and rinse. Of course, I never bathe the
cats unless I *absolutely* have to. They develop the strength of
Superman when met with water!

HTH,
Karen

1.) I haven't bathed in like a year now

2.) She is starting to smell like sheer hell

3.) Because of her odour, my bed is starting to smell weird

Hmmmm... do you know why she is starting to smell so awful? Most cats
don't smell (badly) - they groom themselves clean, & smell fine, year in,
year out. Unless there's some reason why she doesn't groom (too fat to
reach all over, illness), or if there's some other, possibly medical reason
that she smells?

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon