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#11
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Another bath for Billy
Christina Websell wrote:
Any ideas for caring for the coat of a very old cat without distressing us both by bathing her? I'm not really up for being slashed to pieces which is definitely on the cards if I attempt to put her in water. A bran bath works nicely. Get some dry bran (from a supermarket) and heat until hand-hot/body temp in microwave or very low oven. Hot enough to warm, but not enough to scald. Now get the bran in your hands and massage it into the base of the coat as much as you can, and work it in all over but especially on her back and flanks, as much as she will let you, for as long as she will tolerate it. Brush it all out gently. If she will allow, stroke her fur with a soft cloth, chamois or just your hand to smooth and shine the coat.The hot bran absorbs some of the grease and dirt without the stress of a bath. Repeat on a regular basis. This is obviously a bit messy so I think if you can stand her in a place you can sweep, or in an empty bath, it will make life easier! I used this on an elderly foster cat who came in with undiagnosed hyperthyroid and had several layers of unshed fur - several bags of dead fur later and a bran bath, she looked much better! HTH Deb. -- http://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield |
#12
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Another bath for Billy
Pat wrote:
"Marina" wrote Pat wrote: He got poopie stuck in the fur under his tail again. He was almost as good as his sister in the bath. Only difference is he cried a little bit and made a few small moves toward getting out of the tub, but he never put out a claw. You're amazing! When I think of the fight when I had to dip Mir and Cal in the ringworm dip... I never want to have to do that again. And I wasn't even holding them, my sister was, while I rubbed the stuff into their fur. Billy and Lily are pretty amazing, too. I am honored that they trust me as much as they apparently do. I think you and the cats are very fortunate to share each others lives. -- Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart. http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk |
#13
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Another bath for Billy
"Pat" wrote in message .. . "Christina Websell" wrote Any ideas for caring for the coat of a very old cat without distressing us both by bathing her? I'm not really up for being slashed to pieces which is definitely on the cards if I attempt to put her in water. Cats naturally dislike being wet and being forced to do anything, so the trick to bathing them is to make it pleasurable to them, or at least not unpleasant. That means, make the way you handle the cat into a show of affection, and don't scare them with the water. You might try this... one time only... see how it goes. I think if you're sensitive and know your kitty well, it just might work. I have been able to bath almost any reluctant cat this way without being harmed: First of all you must be in the bathtub *with* the cat... Bring her into the bathroom with you and close the door. Sit there (outside the tub) with her while you run about five gallons of warm water into the tub. Hang up your clothes and put a couple of large bath towels on the floor ready to grab, then pick up kitty and hold her like a baby as you step into the tub and slowly sit down. At this stage kitty has no idea there is even water in the tub. The water needs to be off while you are getting in and sitting down. Once you are settled into the tub holding kitty, let her tail dangle into the water a bit. If she doesn't start tearing you to pieces then slowly let her back feet get wet. Ideally you would be sitting cross-legged in the low end of the tub with some little bit of water under your legs, and you set kitty down in that opening in your lap where the warm water is just about half an inch deep. If this works out well, then just play it by ear, grab a handful of water in one hand and hold the scruff of kitty's neck in the other just to steady her as you gently release a little water on her back and rub it in. Keep this up until the kitty is wet to the skin all over with warm water. If you can run more water slowly and quietly into the tub without scaring her, it helps, to keep the water nice and warm, which cats like. The shampoo will penetrate better and be easier to spread around if the cat is already completely wet, too. Don't go on to the shampooing stage unless you're sure you can keep control of the cat. It's pretty easy if you've gone really slow up to that stage and have not let kitty become spooked. If she is a little bit spooked, you can calm her down by talking softly and gently to her and holding the scruff of her neck with one hand and rubbing her with the other hand (working in the shampoo). The end stage is the hardest, you must drain the tub and then pour fresh warm water over the kitty to rinse out the soap. Ideally you would have a couple of one-gallon plastic jugs already filled with warm water and sitting within easy reach of your free hand. Finally, after kitty is well rinses, pick her up and stand up in the tub, squeeze the excess water out of her legs and tail, then set her on one of the towels, still holding the scruff of her neck, and grab the other towel and toss it over her back, then rub her dry. Thank you for taking the trouble to advise me on this. However there is absolutely NO WAY I am going to take my clothes off and get in a bath with Kitty Farmcat to try and wash her. Unless I have an urge to go to the hospital, which I don't ;-) She is semi-feral. My bathroom is upstairs. My cats are not allowed upstairs but they do break the rule sometimes. She would freak out if I took her upstairs - which she thinks isn't allowed - and if I put her in the bath up there and ran water on her, she might have a heart attack at her advanced age. Tweed |
#14
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Another bath for Billy
"Pat" wrote in message .. . "Christina Websell" wrote Any ideas for caring for the coat of a very old cat without distressing us both by bathing her? I'm not really up for being slashed to pieces which is definitely on the cards if I attempt to put her in water. Cats naturally dislike being wet and being forced to do anything, so the trick to bathing them is to make it pleasurable to them, or at least not unpleasant. That means, make the way you handle the cat into a show of affection, and don't scare them with the water. You might try this... one time only... see how it goes. I think if you're sensitive and know your kitty well, it just might work. I have been able to bath almost any reluctant cat this way without being harmed: First of all you must be in the bathtub *with* the cat... Bring her into the bathroom with you and close the door. Sit there (outside the tub) with her while you run about five gallons of warm water into the tub. Hang up your clothes and put a couple of large bath towels on the floor ready to grab, then pick up kitty and hold her like a baby as you step into the tub and slowly sit down. At this stage kitty has no idea there is even water in the tub. The water needs to be off while you are getting in and sitting down. Once you are settled into the tub holding kitty, let her tail dangle into the water a bit. If she doesn't start tearing you to pieces then slowly let her back feet get wet. Ideally you would be sitting cross-legged in the low end of the tub with some little bit of water under your legs, and you set kitty down in that opening in your lap where the warm water is just about half an inch deep. If this works out well, then just play it by ear, grab a handful of water in one hand and hold the scruff of kitty's neck in the other just to steady her as you gently release a little water on her back and rub it in. Keep this up until the kitty is wet to the skin all over with warm water. If you can run more water slowly and quietly into the tub without scaring her, it helps, to keep the water nice and warm, which cats like. The shampoo will penetrate better and be easier to spread around if the cat is already completely wet, too. Don't go on to the shampooing stage unless you're sure you can keep control of the cat. It's pretty easy if you've gone really slow up to that stage and have not let kitty become spooked. If she is a little bit spooked, you can calm her down by talking softly and gently to her and holding the scruff of her neck with one hand and rubbing her with the other hand (working in the shampoo). The end stage is the hardest, you must drain the tub and then pour fresh warm water over the kitty to rinse out the soap. Ideally you would have a couple of one-gallon plastic jugs already filled with warm water and sitting within easy reach of your free hand. Finally, after kitty is well rinses, pick her up and stand up in the tub, squeeze the excess water out of her legs and tail, then set her on one of the towels, still holding the scruff of her neck, and grab the other towel and toss it over her back, then rub her dry. It's very nice of you to take the trouble to explain this procedure so thoroughly, Pat. Thank you. However, you seem to be suggesting that I get into the bath *naked* with KFC and try to bath her. faints at the thought.. Bear in mind that she was feral for years, any handling is on *her* terms and even grooming her can be a challenge. Add to that, she is grumpy most of the time, has at least a million claws and even though she has lost all her incisor teeth now, she still has her fangs and will use them if she is held against her will. Sorry, I'm not brave enough!! Tweed |
#15
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Another bath for Billy
"Debbie Wilson" wrote in message ... Christina Websell wrote: Any ideas for caring for the coat of a very old cat without distressing us both by bathing her? I'm not really up for being slashed to pieces which is definitely on the cards if I attempt to put her in water. A bran bath works nicely. Get some dry bran (from a supermarket) and heat until hand-hot/body temp in microwave or very low oven. Hot enough to warm, but not enough to scald. Now get the bran in your hands and massage it into the base of the coat as much as you can, and work it in all over but especially on her back and flanks, as much as she will let you, for as long as she will tolerate it. Brush it all out gently. If she will allow, stroke her fur with a soft cloth, chamois or just your hand to smooth and shine the coat.The hot bran absorbs some of the grease and dirt without the stress of a bath. Repeat on a regular basis. This is obviously a bit messy so I think if you can stand her in a place you can sweep, or in an empty bath, it will make life easier! I used this on an elderly foster cat who came in with undiagnosed hyperthyroid and had several layers of unshed fur - several bags of dead fur later and a bran bath, she looked much better! HTH I think Kitty might tolerate this if I chose a time she was awake (she sleeps an awful lot now) and started to croon to her and pet her before I rubbed the bran in. She likes being petted if I talk to her in a high silly voice while I do it, like people sometimes talk to babies. It's the only way I can get her to let me groom her. Boyfie will also only let me handle or groom him if I use this voice. There has to be a continual running commentary "Oh, what a lovely cat, just let me comb you, oh, that's so nice, isn't it? what a good boy/girl you are, you are so pretty, doesn't that feel good?" etc etc, make it up as I go along. It is so different from grooming my dogs. I would call one by name and the chosen one would appear. "Stand just here and stay still for a while" I would say. ~so they did, were groomed in a matter of minutes as they were short-haired and returned to whatever they were doing before I called them. So easy! Tweed |
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