Any tips for bathing a kitty without being mauled?

Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

"-Lost" wrote in message
...
Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?


Let her bathe herself. Why do you feel you need to bathe her?

On 25 Sep, 08:46, "-Lost" wrote:
Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

Is there a specific reason for needing to wash her?

All joking apart, I have to do this very occasionally. What I would
recommend is a long pair of welding gloves if she really hates it., so
that you save your fore arms.

It helps if you keep the cat calm. Allow them to relax in your company
& speak in a single tone voice. Have the bath pre -prepared, as well
as a couple of towels too. Explain to her what you are doing & make
sure the bath water height is not too high ( no higher than her chest)
Prepare her by pouring a small amount of what you intend to wash her
with, then gently lower her into the lukewarm water. She might freak,
but she might also enjoy it OTOH. Some of mine have surprised me! As
soon as you can pour some warm water over her back, then rub the
bubbles in, then rinse her as quickly as possible- all the time using
a soft voice if you can. The moment she is rinsed, get her out & wrap
her like you would swaddle a baby ( with no claws out!!) & hold her
until she is almost dry.

Some cats love water, like Turkish vans, but others hates it, like
most cats. That's why I asked if it is really necessary. If it is for
fleas, then you could use a different product that is far less
invasive, like Frontline. Very easy to use too.
Realistically, two people would be best when it comes to washing a
cat, but if you don't have four hands, you will have to settle for
two!
Best of Luck,
Sheelagh "o"

"-Lost" wrote in
:

Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?


Instead of dunking the poor thing, just take an old washcloth and spot wash
the parts that need cleaning, when needed, and not near the sink or tub.
Less stress for everybody. I've only bathed one of my cats once because it
was medically necessary. Otherwise, they do a fine job themselves.

Bobble

On Tue, 25 Sep 2007 02:46:00 -0500, -Lost wrote:

Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?


Yes - here's a tip: Don't bathe her. Get a good brush and brush her
gently. MLB

There is a product called Miracle Coat, it is a foaming waterless cat shampoo.
On the rare occasions that I need to wash him I use this. All you have to do
is rub it on him and then dry him with towel. It is simple and does not take
to long. I got it a PetSmart, but you could probably find it at any pet store.
Hope it helps!

-Lost wrote:
Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?


--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

Wow, thanks everyone for such great advice! I did not expect to
receive so many responses so quickly.

Here are the reasons for bathing:

1. Pet dander for the allergy sufferers in the family.
2. MAINLY fleas.
3. MAINLY she is covered in paint (we do not know where from).
4. MAINLY she had TONS of eye gunk that has stained a path from her
eyes to the tip of her little nose.
5. MAINLY she had crusty poo she could not remove herself.

I said mainly on some because those are the actual reasons I bathed
her. Not so much the pet dander, because we just kind of deal with
that. An occasional sneeze or having to take an extra breathing
treatment once a month or so is worth it to us. Anyway...

Sheelagh "o": Thanks for the great tips on how to bathe kitty
stress free!

Bobble: Never dunked her, but great point about the spot washing! I
never thought of it honestly. I figured it would be easier to have
plenty of warm water on hand for the crusty areas she had plenty of.

Matthew: Kitty wipes, cool. Did not know that one either. I have
been using baby wipes when she needed assistance. (Plain ones.)

dabanana1: DEFINITELY going to check that one out! Thanks for the
tip.

To EVERYONE: This was basically a "what if I have to" question. I
bathed kitty twice the first 2 days she was here because I found her
at 3 or 4 AM on a Saturday. Rather than let her little flea infested
body spread the wealth for 6 or so hours until a pet store opened, I
opted to bathe her. And of course since she was filthy and covered
in pink paint, I went for a good scrubbing.

Now that she is free of parasites, defecating normally, and has no
major cleaning difficulties I allow her to do it.

I did not mean it to sound as if I were bathing her often, sorry
about that. I love having all you knowledgeable people around
because of how specific you get. It helps to offset my poor memory
and understanding.

So thanks again EVERYONE! Have a great day.

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

It sounds like you gave up on the idea of giving Gabby a total
submersion bath. I hope so. My cat Beebe wouldnt like to have a bath
Im sure but he sure loves to fool around when Im in the bathtub and
actually reaches down in the water to grab my toes. He'll play with
anything that moves. Have you tried brushing Gabby daily with a
rubber brush? and then wipping her off with a damp face cloth? I
think the hair can tickle people's noses. When I was last in Panama
I saw a washing machine for cats.

On Sep 25, 3:46 am, "-Lost" wrote:
Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.

Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ingMachine.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ngmachine2.jpg



On Sep 25, 3:46 am, "-Lost" wrote:
Gabby, our new kitty, is NOT fond of water. I mean, she hates it so
much I am surprised we do not have to feed her through an IV.





Anyway, to get her bathed without being mauled I wrap her and a bottle
of shampoo together with duct tape, throw her in the bathtub, and
agitate it with a broom so she cannot get to me. Just kidding!

Seriously though, kitty goes completely berserk at the merest glimpse
of water in the bathtub. The closer you get to the water the more
Tasmanian devil she becomes.

Any tips on calming her down?

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.

Response from honeybunch :

It sounds like you gave up on the idea of giving Gabby a total
submersion bath. I hope so. My cat Beebe wouldnt like to have a
bath Im sure but he sure loves to fool around when Im in the
bathtub and actually reaches down in the water to grab my toes.
He'll play with anything that moves. Have you tried brushing
Gabby daily with a rubber brush? and then wipping her off with a
damp face cloth? I think the hair can tickle people's noses.
When I was last in Panama I saw a washing machine for cats.

Oh yes, most definitely.

I remember seeing one of those things where some guy had invented a
portable one. He wanted to sell them for about $10,000 or so and it
utilized organic shampoo (or something like that) that would not
bother your cat or dog's eyes or sensitive parts. The pet had to go
ENTIRELY in the contraption, not like this one:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7750335

I am going to look for one of those brushes for cats. Quite a few
people mentioned it to me to brush her or rub her with a cloth.

Thanks, honeybunch!

--
-Lost
Remove the extra words to reply by e-mail. Don't e-mail me. I am
kidding. No I am not.