For the past few weeks, my kitten (about 16 weeks old) has had diarrhea at least once a week. We took him to the vet and the vet told us he's a healthy kitten but to keep him on a combination of dry food and wet food. So, we feed him a can of wet food (it's about 3 oz) and we always have fresh water and dry food available to him. And he's been really good all week but last night he had diarrhea and it was all over him.

I cleaned him up a bit with a wet towel. I didn't want to give him a bath because it was night and i didn't want him to catch a cold or something. So, this morning when it was nice and warm in the house, i tried to give him a bath. I used the bathroom sink. I filed it with luke warm water. It took me about 3 tries to get him to stay in the sink but in the end he did for about 10 seconds and i tried to wash the remaining poop off of him. But unfortunately they were really stuck to his fur (he's a long haired cat) and it was really difficult to clean him.

He was struggling and fighting me the entire time. I think I ended up more wet than he did. There's still poop stuck to his fur :( How do you guys wash your cats? Any tips would be great.

I find using the bathtub a lot easier to bath a cat. Charlie's 1st bath was in the kitchen sink and he screamed to be heard in Canada!

After that, we wash him in the tub with no problem. You want the water warmer then just lukewarm - that's kinda cold if you have wet fur. I'd put him in the tub with a mat and just wet and wash the back end with quality shampoo. Then rinse really really good and wring out as much water as you can.

Wrap in a towel and since he's a longhair you will have to blow dry him so the fur doesn't tangle. Start getting him used to a hair dryer being on when you dry your hair - close the bathroom door and keep him in so its not so scary after awhile.

You might want to consider trimming the hair under his tail shorter so its easier to keep clean.

Ummm, I pray to anything holy that I never have to bathe Trout:paranoid:

Ummm, I pray to anything holy that I never have to bathe Trout:paranoid:

:lol3: yes it isn't a lot of fun :clap:

Send Trout to me - haven't had a cat yet that I could not bathe! I don't take any stuff from torties - I've had them and know how to deal with their attitudes :)

Very carefully!!! :lol3: :lol3:

I just grab the cat and bring it into the waiting tub and wash; whether it likes it or not. Don't let them fool you, after they are clean and dry and fluffy you will see a smile on their faces from whisker to whisker.

Ummm, I pray to anything holy that I never have to bathe Trout:paranoid:

Bathing one Tortie - not a problem

Bathing two Torties at the same time that don't like each other and that one of them is terrified of water - a bit more challenging :smshfrk:

How in the heck can you wash two cats at the same time...unless you have two people. I've done a litter of kittens before. Had a line up - I washed/rinsed and my ex took a towel and dried the kitten off and turned him/her loose. But I did them one at a time :)

You start with a bathtub with sliding doors. Then you jump in there with the cats. You try to keep them seperated, remember they hate each other. You learn that one has a Major fear of water when it leaps claws first onto your back. After carefully washing the cats, lovingly hand them to a waiting husband who (of course) will have towels ready for the wet cats. After the cats are lovingly dried off, then you may proceed to the first aid cabinet or emergency room. :rolleyes:

I use the kitchen sink and have never had any trouble. Sometimes you just have to go with whatever works though! :) Use a rubber mat in the bottom of the sink or bathtub. Have a bucket or tub of rinse water ready next to you so you don't have to run water. Talk to the cat while your bathing it.

You may want to consider having a groomer do a sanitary shave on your cat. It's just shaving around the privates and that helps to keep it cleaner.

i used to have a long haired himi, and she would het poo stuck to her back end. i found it easiest to take her to the groomer every so often to get her trimmedup on the back end. it made things soooo much easier.

as far as bathing cats, ive always done it in the tub. ive found talking to the and just staying calm always seemed to keep my kitties relaxed...

lol, but my himi always hated the blow dryer. before she passed on, she had gotten somewhat used to it, but the look on her face was priceless... i swear it was a look of death! :blush:

Had a line up - I washed/rinsed and my ex took a towel and dried the kitten off and turned him/her loose. But I did them one at a time :)

That's what I do, if I have to bathe them alone complete one and get the next.

I don't put water in the tub, just use a hose attachment to wet them down, shampoo/condition then rinse, rinse, rinse to finish.

i find the warmer the water, the better (minus the fact that you dont want to scald yoru cat!) my persian loves warm water, and i bath him in the kitchen sink, where we have an open kitchen in a condo, so he can watch TV too... he finds it more comforting if my boyfriend and i are going about regular things, and he can watch TV too... i just fill up the sink, stick him in , soap him up, and then rinse him off! (dont even worry about the tap running!) make sure i have a towel close, as he does get cold very quickly.... and then i blow dry him.. i get my boyfriend to hold him, and then he seems ok after a while, just lays there as i dry him....

That's what I do, if I have to bathe them alone complete one and get the next.

I don't put water in the tub, just use a hose attachment to wet them down, shampoo/condition then rinse, rinse, rinse to finish.

I don't always run water in the sink either. But with the poo stuck on the butt it's easier if there is an inch or two of water for him to sit in and soak that poo off!

My mom normally washes the cats in the kitchen sink and I usually wash mine in the bathtub. He has done a lot better lately and it's just easier for me to keep him in there. I don't know how my mom manages the other three in the sink. :lol3:

I usually fill the bathtub up halfway with warm water. She fills the sink up half way to use to start wetting, shampoo and rinse in opposite side of the sink.

I clip my kitten's nails first, right before the bath, then I clean the floor and cover the cat box (so he can't go in it after the bath. >_>), then I get all the supplies out. At that time, he knows what I'm doing, so I have to shut him in the bathroom with me while I get the water to the right temp. I remove his collar and scruff him, then bathe him scruffed. It's a bit difficult to hold him if he wants to get away, but with his nails trimmed, it's not to bad. =)

I haven't bathed him in a while...I think he'll be better behaved when I bathe him next week, since he's been having so much fun in the sinks and bathtubs while the water runs. =3

Hello all, long time reader, first time poster. Anyways, We give our kitten a bath in the bathtub, and after his first time, he faught, and screamed, he now loves it!! I fill the tub up, and he swims around like a little child, and when I leave the water running, he runs under it, and gets himself all wet!! I guess we are lucky to have such a water loving kitten!! Now drying, thats another story!! hahaha:nod:

I don't. A wet paper towel or some dry shampoo is much safer for both me and the cat. Kittens especially are at risk for getting sick if you soak them even in a warm house. Bathing them everytime they get into their food or other things is not a good idea. Wipe off the worst and they'll usually learn to clean themselves up within the week. Unless it's something toxic I don't resort to a complete bath.

One thing about the diarhea especially if it's not constant anymore is take a good look at your house. My sister actually found their 2 kittens were getting diarhea from licking dishes in the sink that were soaking or had already been cleaned with dish soap. There's always a cause for diarhea and it may be something in your house he's getting into. Otherwise with weeks of diarhea I'd be looking at a new food.

Tiger's pretty good with bathes. With Angel though, the little demon, my husband would hold her by the scruff because she has that kitten-limp reflex, while I quickly bathe her. We both towel dry them real good and let them lick themselves 'clean' again. :lol3: Oh, we always make sure the apartment's warm too whenever we do this because Tiger takes a while to get dry with his long hair and we don't want him to shiver. We usually put it to about 75-80. And then after they get over their "I can't believe they bathed us" attitude, we brush them. By then, they hate us and sulk around for the next 30 minutes or so. :lol3:

with the poo stuck on the butt it's easier if there is an inch or two of water for him to sit in and soak that poo off!

Which is why I have shorthairs :lol3:

All the best answers have already been posted. Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed some of the comical moments shared in here.:lol3:

Which is why I have shorthairs :lol3:

And very cute short hairs at that! :)

If you start when they are young they do pretty well. Our cats get a bath once a month and they all do fairly well. Stuart is the most trouble but he is getting better. Enzo and Leya will both just stand there and wait for me to be done.

Send Trout to me - haven't had a cat yet that I could not bathe! I don't take any stuff from torties - I've had them and know how to deal with their attitudes :)

I promise...you would not be able to bathe her. She would slice and dice you in no time. Once I tried putting her in her carrier, and she sliced my WRIST from one end to the other.

Bathing one Tortie - not a problem

Man oh man, I wish you lived closer..I would let you try;)

haven't had a cat yet that I could not bathe!

Obviously you never tried to bathe Kalona. Wait I haven't either.... That would be because just petting Kalona wrong will lose you some blood. It took me 15mins to stop the bleeding once and she even came up, rubbed on me, and meowed to be petted. I just didn't do it right. Picking up Kalona unless she was really in the mood would cost you a few fingers. Took 2 years for my fingernail to grow properly again. I'm sure putting Kalona in water may result in death from loss of blood before the ambulance arrives to get you. :rolleyes:

Some tricks I've learned, mostly through bathing a very very angry calico. And that's before she realizes she's being picked up.

* Two people. One person bathes. The other person wears gloves and plays goalie.
* Fill the tub with 4 inches of warm water ahead of time. That way, their belly gets wet as soon as they hit the water.
* Fill up pots and pans with hot water to rinse with (the water will cool while you bathe). Cats hate the sound of water splashing into the tub. You want to prevent having the faucet on as much as possible.
* Have 3 towels laid out ahead of time, criss-crossed so that you can dump the cat on it and wrap them up. Wrap tightly!
* Wring out the kitty before toweling. You won't believe how much water they can retain.
* Sneak up on unsuspecting cat in the middle of naptime. Pray you make it to the bathroom before they wake up. If cat detests being picked up, bring towels.

My last cat got bathed about twice a year and I found the element of surprise was the best thing. I'd fill a washbowl with warm water and pluge her in there before she knew what was happening and once she was wet she kind of thought resistance was futile! She was a pretty easy to handle cat though. I've only washed the two six month old kittens once, I just held them over the bathtub and used the shower head to dampen then, then shampooed and rinsed and them, which they put up with remarkably well - they didn't even really sulk after!

My late cat would barely tolerate the blow dryer, she'd let me do her back, but not her bottom.

I have a long-haired kitten who had diarreah when she first came home. If we didn't catch it in time it would dry and we'd have to just cut it off (gross, I know). She's pretty good about keeping herself clean for the most part though I guess. Last time, I caught her in time and was able to use one of those kitty wipes (you buy them at the pet store, they are alternatives to giving your cat a bath) and I just cleaned her a little that way.

I will probably not ever give my cats a bath, they are going to a groomer. The older one (white/grey) would be ok but would be super grouchy. The kitten would NOT be happy. Her foster mom gave her a bath before I got her and it did not go well. She doesn't like being held even when there isn't water involved, she has too much energy. (she's a dilute calico)

I've bathed numerous cats - including older-stray-out-door-tom's (oil and grease in fur). Short haired, long haired, you name it. While some haven't minded being put into actual water, most would stress out about it, and show their disapproval in numerous ways, and sometimes for multiple days. :lol3:

For the first time(s), I will run hot-tish water into sink / tub / pan - whatever I'm using for the bathing. I do this before approaching the victim...err....bather. I also lay out the towels for afterwards, so that everything is in reach. I then soak a washcloth, and apply a little kitty shampoo to it. THEN I go get the cat. :)

I place the cat onto the towels, so they have secure footing. I then use the soaked washcloth to rub over the cat, grabbing up more water as needed. It's been my experience that altho a lot of cats don't like water being poured over them, or the sound of running water, or being put into water.....a wet cloth being rubbed over them almost qualifies as being petted....and so there aren't usually too many objections. Perhaps it's a return to their kitten-hood, and being washed by "mom"?

Once soaped up....I use a fresh cloth to "rinse". The trick is to use very little soap, and "rinse" with the fresh cloth several times, to remove all the soap residue. Once well-rinsed, time to bundle up in a towel and dry off, as the cat permits.

Once I've gotten a cat used to this method of bathing....I can usually progress to them either actually being in water, or accepting cups of water being poured over them, to rinse off with. Depends on the cat. I've had some cats go into a snit over the bath - but love the towel drying. I've had others that are very meek during the bath - but will fight tooth and claw over being towel dried.

Oh - I also always reward a bath with a special food-treat afterwards! I try to keep one type of treat reserved for just bath day....whichever type or flavor that particular cat likes best.

As for how often to bathe - on my indoor cats - I'd say usually every couple of months or so. I've found that it helps cut down on shedding - so when I notice the cat starting to shed more noticeably, I'd take that as a sign that it was bath time.

Altho....I had one cat....a siamese mix - who would let me know when it was bath time. Whenever he wanted a bath, he would jump into the sink - and then yowl to get me to come in. Telling him I was busy was not acceptable! :clap:

Shemarie

After reading some of the posts I have a new appreciation for my boy Sprite and how he behaves in the bath. Sprite is a 2 yr old siamese mix and I have been giving him baths since he was 8 weeks old. I have always used the tub and he has always seemed to enjoy the bath. He loves water so when I pour the bath he will come and look over the edge and I just plop him in. I think it helps to get them used to it when they are young, but I guess some cats will never like it. I have yet to give my new baby Elf a bath but I look forward to seeing how he reacts.

I am lucky because Riley actually enjoys his baths. He has a rubber ducky he likes to play with and he sits quiet and lets me wash him. I do have to make it quick though, because he gets bored easy and once he does, he wants out.

If only he was as easy to brush as he is to bathe! I do trim the fur around his backside though, because he has the same problem of not always getting clean back there, hence the bi-monthly bathing :lol3:

I have never had to bathe any of our cats. If they do get dirty, I will use those pre-moistened oatmeal wipes on them. That's what I did with Emma when I brought her home because she was really dirty but I didn't want to stress her out with a bath.

I never bathed any of my cats. Even the one's who go outside. They never need it. They keep themselves clean and unless they came home physically with mud on them or dirt or something that they cannot or should not lick off, then I will bathe them, but the need never came up.

I am lucky because Riley actually enjoys his baths. He has a rubber ducky he likes to play with and he sits quiet and lets me wash him. I do have to make it quick though, because he gets bored easy and once he does, he wants out.

If only he was as easy to brush as he is to bathe! I do trim the fur around his backside though, because he has the same problem of not always getting clean back there, hence the bi-monthly bathing :lol3:

I guess we can't have it all! :lol: At least he doesn't mind the bathing!

If I had short haired cats I wouldn't bathe unless they got in something. But it really does help to keep long, thick haired cats more manageable as far as mat free and a bit less shedding.