Giving a Cat a Bath

A cat in the bathtub being gently sprayed with a showerhead.

Bathing a cat can be extremely difficult but is necessary from time to time. There are some tips and techniques to minimize the trauma and injury to your cat and yourself. This is a guide about giving a cat a bath.

Solutions: Giving a Cat a Bath

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Bathing Cat In The Shower

When I give my house-cats, Josie and Fuzzybutt, their bath, I love each one up really good first. Then I pick her up and get into the shower with her. I have the water just right for her and have the two separate large plastic cups from a Quickstop with diluted shampoo and conditioner ready on the floor. Pouring this mixture slowly over the animal helps you evenly distribute it through the hair and not get it all in one spot. It also helps it get rinsed out better.

I get to her level and use the hose and sprayer at the softest level and wet her down and soap her up. I turn the water off when I don't need it, and this keeps her from being traumatized. She may act like she hates it, but she really likes it!

Dogs and cats that only get bathed occasionally need skin conditioning just like we do. Their skin can get dry and flaky and cause scratching. Have your towels over the wall or shower rod and wrap your kitty up to calm and soothe them. Absorb as much water as possible before releasing your cat in the closed bathroom. Keep the kitty confined till nearly dry. Change towels several times to dry.

Source: I learned to use my shampoo and conditioner from working at my friend's grooming salon.

By Carlajo from TX

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Tips for Bathing a Cat

My cat, Teddy, is impossible to bathe. Although normally cats do not require a bath, he sometimes seems to get dirty using his litter box and then smells, albeit rarely this happens. This is going to sound harsh, but he really does not cooperate usually, so I put him in the tub and then placed a tall plastic laundry basket over him and held it down, or you could have a helper do that part. Our shower has a hand-held hose, so then I just sprayed him wet through the holes in the laundry basket. He was unable to escape or scratch me. I avoided his ears and face. When he was soaked, I used my old Joy dish soap container with watered down shampoo to suds him, because by this point he had stopped meowing in protest and relegated himself to the whole procedure. I held his back down so he was squat to the tub bottom while sudsing. All the while I chat with him in a soothing tone, then place the laundry basket over him again and spray rinse. Have a towel at the ready, lift off the laundry basket, wrap the kitty and dry. Ta da, done!

By Carrie from N Liberty, IA

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Bathing Your Cat

You may feel like giving your cat a bath is akin to taking your life in your own hands' but it doesn't have to be a traumatic experience. Really!

If you have a short haired cat, consider yourself lucky. They very rarely need a bath. Long haired cats, however, often need grooming help from their owners. Unless you start giving baths when your cat is a kitten, your cat may not be thrilled with the idea of a scrub in the tub.

Prepare everything you need before starting. You'll want a few towels, feline or baby shampoo, and a shower attachment or large cup for wetting and rinsing. If you are planning to use a conditioner on your long haired cat, you will need the conditioner and a wide-toothed metal comb for detangling. You may also want to bribe a friend or family member into helping you give the bath.

A flat-based sink is best, a cat in a curved sink may be wrigglier as she tries to keep her footing on the slick, wet surface. Make sure the room is warm and secure! If there is a place to escape, your frantic wet cat will find it. Fill the sink about two inches with warm water, test the temperature before putting your cat in. Use the cup or shower attachment to wet the fur, then apply a drop of shampoo and work into a lather. Don't let the foam get into your cat's ears, nose, mouth, or eyes! You may want to only wet and scrub up to the neck to avoid any accidents. Rinse thoroughly.

If you are using a conditioner, add a drop of conditioner and use the wide-toothed metal comb to work it through the fur. Rinse thoroughly.

Squeeze the excess water out of your cat's coat by running your hands down her body, legs, and tail. Wrap her in a towel and lift her out of the sink. Rub gently to dry her, you may need more than one towel! After toweling, you will need to comb her to help untangle the hair.

You may want to use a hairdryer set on low to help dry your cat. Don't hold the dryer too close! While you lightly blow the air over your cat, lift and comb the fur to help it dry. Be careful to separate any knots with your fingers, and pay special attention to any areas where the fur tends to mat, on the legs, belly, armpits, and groin.

By Catherine Forman

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Questions

Here are questions related to Giving a Cat a Bath.

Giving a Cat a Bath

I just wondered what people's opinions were on giving cats baths. My cat, Destiny, is an inside short-hair and when I first got her, I gave her some baths, which she hated, of course. As she got older, I had such a hard time giving her baths because I couldn't hold her in the tub and she'd claw me to death, and ultimately, I decided not to give her any more.

She never goes outside, so she doesn't get dirty and I know they keep themselves clean. Anyway, my mom has been having some problems lately and kind of decided it's the cat giving her trouble. I definitely don't want to give up my kitty, I love her too much, but my mom thought perhaps giving her a bath every 1-2 weeks might help with her problems somewhat.

I gave her a bath tonight and had a little more control holding her in the tub and we did get it done (as much as possible), but she really hates her bath - does anyone have any advice or opinions about this? Or an easy fast way of doing it?

Thank you so much!

Stacey from Orem, UT

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Most Recent Answer

By Cricketnc03/23/2011

I'm wondering why you want ti bathe your cat so much? If she's an indoor cat she should never need a bath! Cats are very clean animals and they groom themselves. The ONLY time a cat would need a bath is if it ever got into something dirty or stinky that would take too much for her to clean herself. But beiing an inside cat that should never happen.

So quit bathing her at all! Let her be a cat and do it herself! You and she will be much happier for it!

If you feel you have to do some kind of grooming to her, just give her a good brushing whenever you get the urge. That is the only grooming that you should ever have to give her.

As far as your mom goes, it sounds like she's allergic. Bathing the cat won't stop that. She needs to get meds from her doctor to help her deal with her allergies to cats. There are meds available. Thousands of people are allergic to cats but take meds so that they can keep their pets.

Giving a Cat a Bath

It is hard to bathe my cat, so now what?

By jjaross

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Most Recent Answer

By Anonymous06/19/2012

Have someone help you and both be personally calm and verbally soothing and don't be overly forceful. After the bath wrap your fur baby in a towel and hold him/her close to you while giving praises for being a good sport and then just leave him/her alone while they preen themselves and dry off. After about an hour give him/her more loving praises and a treat. The more you give a cat a bath in this way the less stressed they'll be at bath times in the future.

Bathing Your Cat

How can I bathe a stray cat that evidently got into some nasty smelling stuff, like swamp water.

Thank you,
Cynthia in PA

RE: Bathing a Cat

Bathing cats is a tricky proposition anytime, but with a stray that probably doesn't know you very well... Have some band aids on hand. Here's how we bathe our cat (when he rarely needs it):

Fill the bathtub with water. Put an old shower curtain on the curtain rod (you don't want an angry cat shredding your good shower curtain). Make sure you have your cat shampoo (don't use people shampoo) easily at hand. Also make sure you have an old towel handy too. Pull the curtain shut.

Now, find the cat. Hold him and pet him and talk to him nice on the way to the bathroom. When you get in the bathroom, close the door immediately. Pull back the shower curtain just enough (probably with a foot) to stuff the cat in. From here on, you have to work VERY fast. Plunge said cat in the water. Pour shampoo on him (DON'T LET GO OF HIM!) and lather. If you have someone willing to help you pour the shampoo on, it will make it a little easier. After you've lathered him enough, plunge him in the water again to get all the shampoo off. WARNING: It may take several plunges and strong arms. After he's clean, swaddle him in a towel to dry him off as much as you can.

To minimize the risk of injury (to you), you can try bathing him with elbow-length oven mitts, but I prefer to have my fingers free to get the best grip on him. If you happen to have one of those nice sprayer heads on your shower (the kind like hospitals have that's on a hose), use it so you don't need to plunge the cat in the water. You could also do this in an enclosed shower, but then there's more of you exposed to angry cat claws.

Be prepared for him to sulk under a bed the rest of the day. Good luck!

Camilla (02/07/2005)

By calnorth

RE: Bathing a Cat

Oohhh - you're very brave Camilla! I wouldn't bother - its a cat - they are very clean animals and it will clean itself given time. Just feed it outside until the smell subsides - if the food is there it shouldn't stray again. Scared cats, as I would imagine a stray would be, can scratch and bite very severely - the bites are very deep and usually become infected. Is it really worth it???? You can be kind and care for this cat while waiting for nature to take its course without putting yourself at risk.

Regards

Jo (02/07/2005)

By Jo Bodey

RE: Bathing a Cat

This may sound cruel, but it certainly works. fill the bathtub with warm, tepid water. find your cat and put it in a plastic animal carrier, making sure there are drainage holes in the bottom and sides. Have your cat shampoo handy. You will also need a sprayer like described above, only one that fits on your faucet for your tub. Lower the cat and carrier into the tub. You might want to apply the shampoo before putting the cat into the carrier. Of course this will make him suspicious, so be prepared for the cat to bolt. Shut the bathroom door. You can also add the shampoo to the carrier after it is in the tub. When you lower him into the tub in the cat carrier he will thrash about (kind of like a washing maching agitator). Allow him to "swim" about for a few minutes. You should talk to him and try to reassure him. Oh yes, have a large towel or two handy for when you are all done to dry the cat. Once he has agitated the water in the tub and has therefore "washed" himself, drain the tub. Use the sprayer with tepid water to rinse the cat thoroughly. drain the water out of the cat carrier and tub. I usually rinsed him at least twice. As you are opening the carrier door, have the towel ready to throw over him as he exits. This will slow him down. When you throw a towel (or blanket) over a cat they will usually stop moving until they figure out what's going on so Scoop him up in the towel(wrapping him up tightly) quickly and dry him as best you can. Be sure to talk to the animal throughout this whole process lovingly. Use more than one towel if necessary. Although the cat might sulk for a couple of hours, he will soon realize that because you didn't drown him that he can trust you and will soon come around. Also feed him something he really likes. This worked with a stray I took in that needed a bath. This cat, whom I named Rufus, stayed with me after that for fifteen years and was very well behaved. He was allowed to go out side and could have left at any time. Wait until the cat is completely dry before allowing him to go outside. This sure beats getting scratched up or bitten, or worse yet being defecated on(which cats have been know to do). (02/19/2005)

By sue

RE: Bathing a Cat

when i bath my cat i take her into the laundry sink i fill it up only so it just covers her legs i then hold her by the collar and pat her for a while before doing anything that way she calms down a bit then i poor cat shampoo on her and massage it. Now this bit gets tricky i hold her really tight and turn on the tap and put her under there until its all rinsed of then i put her in a towel dry her off a bit and then let her do the rest. (03/12/2005)

By cinta

RE: Bathing a Cat

Ok, Now i don't know how well you know this cat, but when i bath my cats, i Round up and extra person to help. and i start by filling the bathe tub with about 6 inches of warm water. Also make sure you ahve a big plastic cup ready , have the extra person grab the cats front and back paws, and use the cup to wet the cat. once the cat is wet, you can let him run around the bath room floor( make sure nothing in floor is important.) and shampoo him while he is walking around the bathroom. this causes less stress for both the cat and you. then let the soap sit in for a few minutes, to kill any fleas, then grap your helper again and hold his paws and rinse him off water out of the cup. i have had cats all my life and i have found that if you dont turn the water on in the tub while you bath them that they are less scared. the loud noise from the spout freaks the cats out. good luck (07/28/2005)

By Kimmi