I think I might have to bath the cat.

[zisforzebra]

Our cat, who's 13, seems to have stopped washing herself, or her paws at least. She has something really stinky on her leg that's been there for a couple of days now and has made no effort to clean herself off (she's never been the tidiest of cats to be fair).

Should I give her a little bath or leave her to it? She stinks like old fish and it's quite unpleasant to share a sofa with her in the evening.

Any advice?

Dry shampoo or pet wipes?

We used to use a drop of baby shampoo in the water and sit our old girl in it. Then wrap in a warm towel and dry in front of the fire.

Bath her! If my girls smell they get a shower - like it or not. I see no reason why I should suffer for their poor hygiene. Usually its the kick up the bum needed to remind them what they're supposed to do themselves. I even have a choice of cat shampoo depending on which cat is getting -punished- washed today. One for my mangly Main Coon who doesn't know how to groom (de-tangle stuff) and one for Miss Allergic to everything (sensitive tea tree stuff to sooth skin irritation) I only do it once every 6 months - year, they sort themselves out between that time. :)

Our old cat was longhaired and sometimes used to have bouts of diarrhoea and have it down his fur by his bottom (gross I know).
I used to pick him up take him to the bathroom and shut the door so he couldn't escape, get the over bath shower going (he knew what he was in for then!) When it was the right temperature I'd lift him into the bath, hold his tail up and hose his back end down as clean as I could get it. This became a 1 person job after a few goes as he never tried to leap out of the bath (bless him).
He had his own personal couple of towels in the airing cupboard ready for these occasions and I would scoop him out of the bath wrapped in one of these, give him a dry and a bit of a cuddle and he would purr away.
He would then go off somewhere (probably a sofa) and do his own bit of licking and cleaning.
In his own cat way I think he was grateful as he then didn't have a shitty backside that he had to clean himself or one that he had to live with as it was too gross for him to deal with.
Our cat we have now would probably have your arm off if you tried to do that to him!
Get her in the bath or shower I'd say.

Thanks everyone. I've bathed her once previously when she managed to sit in a tray of cold cooking oil (she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer). I nearly lost an arm!

Swaddle her well in a towel and wash her, towel and everything in warm water. She will hate you for about a month.