How to Safely Wash your Cat.
If you have owned a cat for any length of time, you know that bathing is not a task regularly required by the owner. However, there are times when a cat may need help with their grooming. Reasons for this may include: An overweight cat that cannot reach all the areas of their body. When rolling in the dirt, once again, becomes a popular past time in the spring, or when a cat becomes older and seems to lose interest in keeping itself clean.
There are of course powders and foams you can purchase for cleaning cats, but they don't necessarily get out all the grease and loose hair and dirt your cat may have accumulated. The best way to make sure your cat is squeaky clean is to use the old fashion soap and water method.
The thought might be scary, but having worked in a grooming shop and bathed many a cat, I can say for sure that there is at least one safe way to bath your aqua phobic kitty, while keeping your arms and face free or at least mostly free, of scratches.
The best place to bathe a cat is in the bathtub, with the bathroom door closed. It's a small room and if the cat gets loose there aren't very many places to hide. You will need several items within arms reach before you begin.
1. Shampoo. (Animal shampoo is best, but human shampoo will work just as well).
2. A cup or bowl. (For scooping water)
3. At least three towels.
4. (optional) A second person. (To help if your cat is exceedingly feisty.)
The first thing you'll want to do is have the cat in the bathroom with you before you fill the tub.
(Getting your cat accustomed to being with you in the bathroom will help tremendously. The more you allow your cat in the bathroom, on non bath days, the more comfortable the animal will be when bath time does come around.)
The second thing is to fill the tub. Lukewarm water is best. Not to hot and not to cold. You will only need a couple inches of water in the tub, for wetting and rinsing.
The next step is the hardest and perhaps the scariest. Placing the cat in the tub. The best way to do this is to hold the cat by the scruff of the neck, while at the same time holding him tightly against your body and slowly lowering your cat into the water. Don't dangle the cat by holding it by the scruff of the neck. A mother cat may do this to its kittens but this action can actually hurt an adult cat. Holding your cat tightly next to you may not seem like the natural (or smart) thing to do when mixing cats and water, but it's the best way to keep the cat calm.
Expect to get wet very wet. Expect some resistance once that first strand of hair hits the water. If you are still holding the cat by the neck, there should not be too great a struggle. You should continue holding your cat by the neck the entire time she's in the tub. This of course means you will be shampooing and rinsing with one hand. If this seems impossible, that second person I mentioned earlier may be able to help with this. If there is no second person to help, there is another option.
Using your cat's collar and an inexpensive cat leash to tie the cat to the tub can be helpful. This will allow your cat more room to move around (and to scratch), but if you keep a firm grip on your cat at all times, this risk should be greatly reduced. Also be careful not to choke your cat.
You will want to wet the cat next. I do not advise getting water anywhere on the head of your cat. You want to avoid getting water in your cats ears at all cost; also, if a cat's head gets wet, they are more likely to freak out. If you believe your cat's head needs a good washing, I would suggest waiting till after the bath. You can then take a damp wash cloth with a little bit of soap on it and rub it over the cats face.
Once the cat is completely soaked, add just a tiny amount of shampoo. A cat may have a lot of fur, but a little shampoo can go along way. Plus the less you use, the less you have to rinse! You will want to be sure and get the belly, legs and tail of your cat, and don't forget about that behind!
When you are ready to rinse your cat, be sure to rinse thoroughly or you may find yourself taking the cat back to the tub sooner than either you or the cat would wish. Once the rinsing is complete, let the water out of the tub. You should still be holding on to your cat's neck at this point. Once the water is gone out of the tub, take towel number one and blot your cat with it. Don't rub the fur dry as this can cause matting. You can use both hands for this as long as you keep a firm grasp on your cat. Towel number two should be wrapped tightly around your kitty. You can then lift the cat out of the tub the ordeal is over.
Hold your cat tightly and speak soothingly to it. This will help keep your cat calm, rubbing the nose will also have a calming affect. Towel number one will no doubt become soaked quite quickly. You can let your cat wander around the bathroom while you remove towel number one and replace it with towel number two. This towel will also become wet pretty quickly. If you don't mind drips of water all over your house, or wet furniture, however, no further drying is needed, your cat can be set at liberty. If you prefer only damp furniture, I would recommend using the third towel, wrapping the cat in it tightly and blotting out excess water. I do not recommend using a blow dryer on your cat; this could be potentially fatal to your health. If however you want your cat to dry more quickly, you can place the cat in a cage with a quiet fan blowing on it. You will need to turn the cat every now and then to get all sides dry.
You can expect your cat to throw hateful glances your way for the next few days, but rest assured that eventually your cat will learn to love you again. In the meantime you can rest contentedly with the fact that you have once again survived bath time with your water phobic fur ball.