Old cat grooming recommendations

[fosterfever]

We recently agreed to foster an old boy long term. He’s no trouble at all and is happy with a warm bed and full belly.

He was living rough so is very skinny, 13 years of age so we suspect some arthritis, and has recently had some rotten teeth removed which we suspect contributed to his thinness.

My issue is that he smells. If he were a dog I’d bathe him, but I wouldn’t dare with a cat. He has some knots around his tail too. Any recommendations for a soft brush or cleaning tips to help me help him?

Have had many a feral cat who stinks and have bathed two, just the once each but it helped to get some stink out.

After that I would mix up a warm solution of weak cat shampoo and comb their stinky areas, get it as wet as possible, comb some clean water through and then dry them with a towel and let them find somewhere warm to dry off. I did it once a week and as soon as the worst was off and they picked up self grooming I let them take over again.

I had one whose paws were caked in years old dirt. He really did scream his head off an we had to throw towels away afterwards. He was an old barn cat who decided our garden was a better bet than the farm. He was obsessed with cat milk as his teeth were terrible but he was a wily old dude and we could not catch him. It took a year to get him to stand still whilst I brushed him and so i used the brushing method for months at first. How I ever got him in a bathtub is still a mystery to me. But he almost looked clean after that day, for a short period.

In terms of brushes, I used a soft dustpan and brush brush for the wetting and clean watering and a normal flea comb to try and get the water out.

It's a first step, but you can buy pet wet wipes. I would start with gently using one of those if he tolerates you stroking him. Then you can progress to a flannel and then do as previous poster suggests.

My old boy won't tolerate brushing but will tolerate a wipe/flannel.

Thank you. He is super friendly and demanding of fuss so I think he’ll tolerate a brush. Giving him a wipe down instead of a full bath is a good idea. I think he’s been grooming himself with an infected mouth for a long time as well poor boy.

Aw, you are very kind to give a nice old boy a good home! 🥰