Bathing a cat

This forum is for discussing all topics related to the challenges (and joys!) of keeping your house clean while living with cats. Here you can share tips, recommendations for products and techniques, and more!

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Ginge

the ginja ninja

Purred: Mon Mar 28, '11 10:12am PST


	We gotta bath Ginge, he is filthy, flea ridden and covered in something, heaven knows what. We will be bathing him soon, he didn't go from here like that lol. Oh and he stinks too

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Ginge

the ginja ninja

Purred: Mon Mar 28, '11 11:23am PST


	Well we have bathed him, but all the stuff hasn't come off his fur

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Miss Edith

Oh rly foo?

Purred: Mon Mar 28, '11 12:18pm PST


	What did you use? Use Dawn do you have that where you are? That stuffs good. Dawn dish detergent

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Ginge

the ginja ninja

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 4:49am PST


	We only had Fairy or some cheap rubbish so I used Lynx shower gel, only a tiiiiiny bit to try and get the oil out of his tail, looks like motor oil, something on his back too

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Bumpurr

RESPECT The- Star!

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 4:56am PST


	Groomers Goop

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Miss Edith

Oh rly foo?

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 6:04am PST


	Ive seen those commercials where people use dish detergent to bathe animals who have been covered in oil from oil spills. It might work on big Ginge. Is the cat bath not working yet?

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Harvey

Has been COTD!

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 7:10am PST


	I show Maine Coons, and they tend to have greasy fur. If it's an oil/grease problem, use Groomer's Goop and Dawn. (Any other detergent might do just as well.) Put the Groomer's Goop (like Goop, but for animals, and available over the Internet--I don't know about pet stores) on the cat's DRY fur, rub it in well so it penetrates to the skin, and let sit for a few minutes. Rinse it off, preferably using a hand held shower head. Then use the detergent. You're supposed to dilute it, but I'm too lazy to do that, and so I just squirt an appropriate amount on the fur the way you would with shampoo on your own head. Lather well and long, all over the body. With the Goop and the detergent, pay special attention to the dirtiest areas, and also the tail, the base of the tail, behind the shoulders, and behind the ears, areas that tend to get greasy. Again, make sure that you're scrubbing (gently) all the way down to the skin. Rinse well for several minutes. If no bubbles come out when the water hits the fur, and you can no longer smell the detergent, that's probably enough. The fur should feel "squeaky clean." If it doesn't, repeat the lather and rinse routine. If you don't rinse off the detergent thoroughly, the fur will act as a dirt/grease magnet. A finishing rinse of white vinegar will help get rid of the detergent and act as a clarifier. This also should be rinsed off until you can no longer smell it. Since your kitty has gotten into something nasty, you may have to give more than one bath. Don't use human shampoos--they aren't designed to cut grease the way dish detergent is, and may have ingredients that shouldn't be licked off by the cat. And don't use a conditioner--it will just get your cat greasier. Happy bathing!

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Ginge

the ginja ninja

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 7:40am PST


	Thanks for that Harvey, I will use some washimg up liquid next time, it looks like he will have to have another cos of filth on his tail.x

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KuJu Ku

Bobtails Rule!

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 12:22pm PST


	We used groomers goop the last two times before our bath.. OMG, that stuff made us soooooo soft, then we used our regular F1 soap (for oily fur) and then the Snowburst.. I still feel amazing weeks later.. mom just loves my soft satiny fur. When I was judged at my last show, the clerk didnt see me in the white cage i was so brite. Just like Bump, they had to put their shades on.. MOL We purchased a huge TUB of groomers goop but dont know if we will use it that much anymore since we are done wiff da shows.. it will probably last me years !! Edited by author Wed Mar 30, '11 12:25pm PST

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Bumpurr

RESPECT The- Star!

Purred: Wed Mar 30, '11 4:22pm PST


	When washing a kitty, you want to rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse some more. Like Harvey said, if you don't get all the shampoo residue out, it acts like a dirt magnet. I highly recommend, you DO NOT use Dawn full strengh, it really should be diluted, or it drys out their fur and skin, and it will take you just that more longer, to rinse it out. You also want to dilute the white vinegar, 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon water. I pour the vinegar in a gallon of water, let it sit until the final rinse, then pour some in a plastic cup, and pour over the kitty, all of it, the whole gallon, and make sure you don't forget the tummy, and between the back legs when rinsing. Then ya gotta rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse some more. Rinsing is the key for show kitties, mol, Bump is 3 hrs, start to finish. He just sits there. Show kitties, as Harvey and Kyande can tell you, have several steps and a "formula".