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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Best way to bathe Cats without been clawed to death

44 replies

CrazyHamsterdisguisedasatree · 04/08/2013 23:00

Ok so doing a huge flea overhaul tomorrow to get rid of the damn things once & for all .
So im going to bathing my cats all five of them with flea shampoo .
I have a bath & a seperate shower , which would I be best using & how best to hold them ?
2 are long haired & the other three should be easier as they are short haired (sp)

Any tips so im not clawed to death would be great thanks

OP posts:

issey6cats · 04/08/2013 23:48

i would say i wouldnt be trying to bathe them maybe putting the flea shampoo on a damp cloth and wiping it over them followed by a spot on treatment would be less dangerous, or if you can reach over the top of the shower put cat in the shower cubicle with shampoo on him/her and spray with shower head in your hand from above, this is how i used to bathe my nutty cairn terrier who would kill you if you tried to bathe him

Nagoo · 04/08/2013 23:52

Long rubber gloves and thick jumper? I don't think the flea shampoo will work though TBH. The only thing that worked for ours was Stronghold. I suffered for so long before I found that stuff.

notapizzaeater · 04/08/2013 23:52

I once had to bath a kitten in the end I just put her in a pillowcase to protect me and washed her through it. It worked on her no idea about fully grown cats ....

thecatneuterer · 04/08/2013 23:56

I wouldn't even attempt it. Stronghold or Advocate should get rid of the fleas completely in a few days.

GiraffesAndButterflies · 05/08/2013 00:02

I wouldn't even try, they will get seriously pissed off and it's not the most foolproof method. I'd go for treating the cats with spot treatment, wash all their bedding, and then put flea powder in the vacuum and vacuum everything in your house that's not a cat.

VenusSurprising · 05/08/2013 00:04

I wash my cat every month before I use the spot on. (Advocate)
A few days before I clip her claws. And she's happy enough to go into a basin of warm water with lots of suds - she can't see the water this way. I hold her paws, and she sits happily enough in the warm water, until she notices, that is! I don't use a soap on her, just a bit of baby shampoo in the water.

I then rinse her off with warm water I have in jugs already made up earlier.

I wear a big apron, and a big towel over it and when she's coming out(climbing up me) I just wrap her up in the big towel and dry her off by holding her and rubbing her fur gently. She loves this and is very sweet all wrapped up- this step takes a good ten mins. Then she likes to be combed and brushed and likes to sit on the heater in the sun until she's dry. She licks herself all over, and I comb her fur too. Another ten mins.

Bathing five in a row sounds ambitious.

Maybe just use the advocate spot on!?

Don't forget to bomb your house: there is a spray you can get from the vet that works very well.

All their bedding needs to be boiled and put a flea collar in your Hoover also.

bemybebe · 05/08/2013 00:12

Spot on is very effective. Are you suicidal OP?

MumnGran · 05/08/2013 00:19

Flea shampoo is unlikely to be even faintly as effective as Advocate or Stronghold, so I would agree with all the other comments ....and would save yourself (and the cats) the stress and potential damage.
No treatments will be effective though, unless the whole house is treated with a really effective killer (Indorex from the vet is good, though I think the old NuvanTop was better)

Interesting article here

ravenAK · 05/08/2013 00:40

If you really feel you must -I'd have a basin full of warm water ready mixed with the flea shampoo, or a baby bath in the big bath. Running water will spook them.

Wear sturdy gardening gloves & make sure there are lots of old towels ready. Don't expect to do all 5 in one day - after the first two, the others will work out what's going on & hide.

Seriously though, I wouldn't. Flea shampoo is crap - you need proper treatment from the vet. I've previously bathed a long-haired cat who was alive with fleas & also needed her bum giving a good clean after diarrhoea; it would be fair to say that she didn't like it!

Nor did it really shift the fleas - they don't mind water, although you'll manage to drown a few, & the residue of pesticide left behind by flea shampoo might make the cat sick but it won't kill the fleas, or deter new ones from hopping aboard.

Focus on treating the house instead with NuvanTop/Indorex & then get a good flea treatment for the mogs. It's an expensive business but nothing else really works.

colditz · 05/08/2013 01:01

Just don't. I once had to bath a cat who covered herself in emulsion paint. I genuinely still have scars.

pooka · 05/08/2013 01:24

It's amazing how a cat can expand to get a paw on each edge of the bath. Like inspector gadget. Until they realise that with firm application of claws they can use the person bathing them as a handy ladder to freedom.

Second advocate. Works a treat. Combined with indorex.

Don't do it. It's just not worth it. You've got your life ahead of you. Will somebody please think of the children.

GiraffesAndButterflies · 05/08/2013 05:47

Don't do it. It's just not worth it. You've got your life ahead of you. Will somebody please think of the children.

agree!!

Damnautocorrect · 05/08/2013 06:31

I've never bathed my cat in the 12 /13 years I've owned him. Why would you try?! Frontline will be your friend

pinkmagic1 · 05/08/2013 06:45

I once worked in a kennels and cattery with a grooming parlour attached. Occasionally we were asked to wash and groom cats. A wire cage placed in the shower cubicle was the only answer! Good luck!

cozietoesie · 05/08/2013 08:44

I did it once, many years ago, from necessity. (A very pale cat had got up a chimney.) Never, ever again.

Think of your family, OP, and get a decent spot on and household spray.

greenhill · 05/08/2013 09:05

There isn't a best way I don't recommend washing a cat. Use a real flea treatment, as others have suggested.

I once had to hold mine down and shower the rear end, due to an upset tummy and long fur. Even with long sleeves, rubber gloves and a death grip on the back of the neck, I was in a state and he wasn't happy

It was over 20 years ago and I still remember the scrabbling of claws and scratched enamel

Original poster

CrazyHamsterdisguisedasatree · 05/08/2013 09:56

Pooka

I have indorex & frontline & a few flea bombs for good measure

They really do need bathing as the long haired ones have all sorts stuck in their fur , I can probably get away without bathing the eldest as he is short haired .
So I guess I am suicidal, wish me luck

OP posts:

cozietoesie · 05/08/2013 11:19

I'd have the long-haireds clipped (under sedation at the vets if necessary) and then start a grooming regime from fresh. Bathing may not get rid of whatever is stuck on the fur.

cozietoesie · 05/08/2013 11:20

Yes - you're suicidal. (Five to bath!)

Tigerblue · 05/08/2013 15:01

I wouldn't attempt it either, you are going to struggle to get all of them completely washed. I think it would be much easier to give them a spot on like Frontline Combo, Stronghold or Advocate. If you explain to your vet you have a flea problem with all your cats, hopefully they will prescribe one. You should notice a difference with scratching/nibbling within 2/3 days after the irritation of the last flea bite has gone down.

If you have a bad problem, a couple of flea bombs or spraying around the skirting boards in the rooms they use most might be a good idea in case they are in the flooring.

sashh · 05/08/2013 17:12

I'd ask the vet for sedation.

Please film the process

Original poster

CrazyHamsterdisguisedasatree · 05/08/2013 17:59

What would it cost to get them sedated/clipped

OP posts:

JohFlow · 05/08/2013 18:16

I wash my cats from time to time. I talk in soothing tones to them the whole time and try to be 'all about business' so that they are not exposed to the water for too long. A firm but (not restraining touch) helps to reassure. Mine tend to keep still but have a good moan initially. I wouldn't do it with five though unless you had some serious help - too much of a marathon!

Washing is not the best way to treat fleas though. Shampoos are not very strong. I tend to use them as a top-up in addition to Advocate (other good brands have been suggested). The advocate is good because it kills fleas wherever the cats go.

The house needs treating separately too. Fleas tend to hatch round the outskirts of room, near skirtings/radiators etc. Flea bombs, house sprays, U.V flea traps can all go some way.

A good flea combing and trapping what you find on a roll of strong, adhesive tape also works. Again, with 5 this would be time-consuming.

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/08/2013 19:10

I have bathed a cat single handed, Vidal Sassoon wash'N'go if your interested, it wasn't impossible but it wasn't something you looked forward to.

Ring your vet and see how much they want to do it, we had my childhood cats done more than once, one of them was virtually impossible to groom but looked like a little princess.

Original poster

CrazyHamsterdisguisedasatree · 05/08/2013 19:25

Thanks

OP posts:

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