Smelly kitten

[5inthebed]

I have a 12 week old kitten, we got him when he was 9 weeks old. He is very cute and lovely, but he stinks! He doesn't seem to clean himself very well (was from a litter of 8?) and was wondering if there was a way I could encourage him to do it.

Should I try bath him? Sponge clean him?

Aah! We had a kitten just like this- We put him in the bath- not good idea- got him clean, but unkind in retrospect. So we used a facecloth to mimic licking him like his mum would have done and he gradually caught on.

We got a young kitten and he started copying our old cat.
It was quite cute to see, he was watching her intently, then went to sit next to her and starting cleaning the same leg when she did, then the same paw, then the face etc.

Only once have we seen her cleaning him though - at the grand old age of 15 I think she sees him as an annoyance more than something to be mothered!

I always think kittens should be with mom until 12 weeks, they try to frighten them off eventually anyway when they think the kittens really ought to leave home.

Maybe your kitten just didnt learn grooming in his 9 weeks with mom.

I wouldnt advise bathing such a small kitten, it's a bit traumatic. I like the damp flannel idea.

Bath is a bit extreme but he might not mind, as above damp facecloth or cotton wool pads and he should copy.

my kitten was stinky. She eventually learnt to wash properly, but i changed her food too to dry food - jameswellbeloved kitten food and that stopped it a lot

Thanks everyone. Will try the wet flannel.