Bathing Your Cat - A Battle Of Wills?

The Bath

And now to the bathing process (don't forget to make use of your assistant).

Get the cat into the bathroom and then close the door - you don't want a wet soapy cat running around your home. Gently but firmly place the cat on the rubber mat. Use a low stream of warm water from a hand-held nozzle or a pitcher. Make sure that the water is neither too cold nor too hot. It should be at about the cat's body temperature.

Thoroughly wet the cat's coat, avoiding the face area, and then lather some shampoo on the wet coat and gently rub it all over the cat's body. Finally, rinse off the shampoo, taking care not to leave any on the coat. As you wash, keep the nozzle close to the cat's body to muffle the sound of the water.

Wet the washcloth with some warm water (but no soap) and gently wipe the cat's face. Never spray water directly at the cat's face and definitely never dunk the cat's head in water!

Get the cat out of the tub and wrap it in the towel. Keep the cat in a warm and draft-free room until she is completely dry. Some owners use blow dryers to dry the cat, but if the cat shows signs of alarm just leave her to dry naturally. If you do use a blow dryer, use the lowest setting and do not get it too close to the cat. Never blow air directly at the cat's face.

Above all, if you want to try to bathe your cat, remember that the key word here is patience. Be very gentle and talk to the cat throughout the whole procedure in a soft and soothing voice. Never shout or lose your temper. Your cat is probably frightened enough as it is, so you don't want to upset it even more. If your cat is calm and you have a lot of patience, bathing the cat may not be such a nightmare after all.

Anne Moss is the founder and owner of TheCatSite.com. She is a cat behaviorist and a member of the Cats Writers Association.