Cat bathing... Help!

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

What's the best way to bath a kitten? Needs to be bathed to get rid of horrible jumpy flea bastards and he's quite cat-smelly too :( I don't want to traumatise him or him attack us more than's neccessary but I know he's going to hate us for an hour or two... I've bought him a nice big box of toys for after to cheer him up a bit 😁

[Fluffycloudland77]

Have you got the right shampoos?

I think lining the bath is a good idea with towels otherwise it will be awfully slippy for him.

Let him dry naturally, hair dryers can burn the skin.

[thecatneuterer]

Bathing him won't get rid of fleas. You need a flea product, from a vet, for a kitten. Depending on his weight either Frontline spray (note spray - not the normal Frontline) or Stronghold for kittens. To get rid of fleas in the meantime then a flea comb and a bowl of water is your best bet. And if he's a bit smelly/dirty then just use a damp cloth on him.

If you wash him you won't be able to use flea treatments for a week I think, so it's best to just get the treatment.

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

Should have mentioned we've got flea shampoo for him, hence the need to bath... He's had spot on so only thing they'd give us was shampoo coz it's not on skin long and works instantly whereas others take a while... Then we've got to comb him every day for a fortnight to make sure there aren't any stragglers

[thecatneuterer]

What was the spot on? Was it an 'off the shelf' thing? If so it won't work (and could be dangerous). Flea shampoo doesn't really work either. If the spot on had worked then he wouldn't have fleas.

Don't bathe. Get a flea comb and consult a vet to get the right flea treatment.

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

The spot on was the Bob Martin one and did bugger all and read the other thread about it so the next morning we wiped most of it off with a damp cloth, so could be why it did t work, then went to vet because we wanted him chipped and his eye was swollen. Everything with that was fine, they'll chip him when he's a bit bigger and gave us the flea shampoo to use because he doesn't want any more chemicals staying on him when they don't need to, and he doesn't want him being anaemic so have is the insta kill stuff, I'll look what kind it is when I get home... I was just looking for some advice on how to make it less traumatic for him.

[RubbishMantra]

Good lord, that Bob Martin stuff should be banned, it doesn't work and can kill cats. Probably why his eye is swollen.

Don't buy anything from pet shops or supermarkets. Ever.

Because he is a kitten, I would only be buying flea treatments from the vet at the moment.

If you want to save money when he's an adult, you can buy Advantage online (after ensuring the EXACT weight of your cat), but he's a kitten, so will be nowhere near the minimum weight (4kg) for Advantage. He's probably around 1.5 - 2kg at the moment, so flea and worming should be overseen by a vet, to avoid poisoning your kitten.

I agree with Polter about the deep bath, and towels lining the bottom of the bath. Ensure he's rinsed very well. Then wrap him up in a nice warm fluffy towel, and stroke him dry with it, if that makes sense?

You might want to invest in a flea comb for afterwards, have a cup of hot water close by, to drown them in if you spot any on the comb, which works best when wet. Be v. gentle though, he may be sore from scratching flea bites. Avoid the tummy button area, about half way up their lower body.

[RubbishMantra]

Don't buy anything to treat fleas or worms* from pet shops or supermarkets. Ever.

[RubbishMantra]

Sorry to keep posting, just concerned. You did get this "Insta-Kill" shampoo from the vet, right? Cos I've googled it, and all that's coming up is Bob Martin...

[Lonecatwithkitten]

The best thing for helping bath a cat is to put a cooling rack in the bottom of the bath so they don't slip and have something to grip on. I have to say I wouldn't be bathing a kitten who is too small for chipping, too much risk.

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

Nope defo from vet, it's the same one my step mum (a vet nurse) has used for the last 5 years, don't know name because dm had already started when I got there and she binned the box, it was bright green like really watered down fairly liquid if you get what I mean in a little oval shaped squirty shampoo bottle with a white lid, it did its job anyway will ask what it was called on Tuesday when we get worm stuff and to book him in for getting snipped and chipped :) will never use Bob Martin again he was sick but put it down to change in food but now thinking it could have been the spot on :( he's just under 1kg for the poster who mentioned it (stupid phone won't scroll up 😡) anyway we put some water in a bowl and wet him then lathered him up and waited 5 minutes, pulled maybe 5 off while we were waiting (all dead) and then rinsed him in clean water then but combed him and got 16 more 😷 Then he got some salmon for ring a good boy and not attacking us... He's currently giving me stink eye and plotting his revenge 😁

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

Nit* combed

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

And lone it was the vet who told us to, but im going to ask for a vet plan and step mum can get discounts on products they sell rather than prescribe like flea stuff so she said she'd get me some stuff if it happens again :) I think she said she gets 10% off so while it's not a big discount it's better than paying £25. I think with the insurance thing were going to go with (tesco) we can get worming treatments through that but could be wrong

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

They wouldn't chip and neuter him until he's up to the right weight for his size by the way and they do it at the same time iyswim? So said wait until he's put on a bit of weight and they'll do them together

[Fluffycloudland77]

I'd just do him monthly TBH. Fleas are a pita.

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

even for house cats? Don't want him being an outdoor cat as there's been a lot of cats got hit where I live over the last 6 months, it's a real problem were starting to think someone doing it on purpose, plus we'll be moving house soon (hopefully) to another area where there are cars and busy roads and not too far from a motorway :(

[Fluffycloudland77]

Even for house cats, flea, de worm and vaccinate.

You never know what you'll bring in on shoes. Plus catteries won't take unvaccinated or un-neutered cats.

[Nobodysproblem]

Mines a very occasional toddle around the garden cat, but mainly indoor and I flea him every month, simply because if somehow he got them again I'd not cope with getting rid!

It took me months to get rid of my babes fleas, he was riddled, soon as they were in the carpet it was a nightmare. Washing the carpets, combing him whilst wrapped in a sheet to catch any jumpers daily where I could then boil wash said blanket meant they eventually died but it was hell!

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

Definitely vaccinating him and knew to worm him but never thought about them coming in the house on us or that he could get them from the garden face palm were lucky that we have no carpets downstairs and leather sofas and everything else can be boil washed but dm just text me and said she found a live one so I'm going to be combing a lot over the next week or so if the stragglers don't die off :( it's a catch 22, can't do the house until he's clean and for all we know they're hiding in the furniture waiting to pounce on him :( poor little baby only 10 weeks old and the water came off red so the lady we got him off never even bothered to check him... Meaning her husky and other cats must be riddled too :( we washed maybe 5 off, pulled 5 or 6 off when he was stewing and then combed 16 off him too :( so annoyed with the girl he came from, if she'd have looked after her animals properly he wouldn't be underweight and parasite ridden 😡

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

They were All big nasty black fuckers as well so no way in hell she didn't see them or know they were all over him 😡

[Fluffycloudland77]

Can you use indorex spray for the house?.

[RoystonVaseySmegHead]

Is it from the vets or a shop? Will have to use something that works and does it fast because Ds is 3 and I think he's allergic to the bites :(

[orangebird69]

Get a proper spot on treatment from the vet. Shampoos are rubbish and bathing is stressful for the kitten. Indoor or outdoor, as pp's have said, neutering and vaccinations are essential for kittens.

[orangebird69]

Indorex can be bought from amazon .

[orangebird69]

And I very much doubt any insurance policy will cover worming etc. Although a lot of vets now offer monthly plans to cover all the basics like vaccines, routine checks, flea and worm treatment etc.