What to do about cat that has stopped cleaning herself

[Nerdles]

I have a cat who is 12 years old.

For the last few months or so she seems to have stopped cleaning herself and I'm not sure what to do. I thought about trying to bath her but she is a rescue cat who does not liked to be touched at all. I don't think I'd be able to catch her and even if I did it would cause her a lot of distress.

I just wondered if anyone had any advice.

thanks for reading

When my cat did this it was because she had cancer in her mouth.

Get her checked out.

Definitely get. Bet check. It might be something simple like arthritis that's stopping them grooming. Bit other we causes need to be ruled out,

Thank you both. I will book an appointment with the vet although that's a whole other challenge with a cat that was feral, she won't allow anyone to touch her without a huge fight!

Good luck

Valerian treats helped calm down my oldest cat who hates being picked up or carried enough to grab her.

Put the carrier in a small room with a door that shuts - I use the bathroom. Then I coax her out with the treats until she is close enough to grab then get in the bathroom with the door shut asap. That way if she manages to Hoodini out off your arms while you are putting her in the carrier she's in an enclosed space and easier to recatch.

I started doing this after she got out as I was closing the cage door and she sprinted under the sofa and climbed up inside the frame. She didn't come out for 7 hours!

I found once all exit routes were clearly shut off she didn't fight it as hard and was much easier to handle. When she could see freedom she'd fight for it.

I found that a dose of Gabapentin worked wonders for getting my nervous cat into a carrier and off to the vet.

Mine also had a mouth tumour when this happened