Bathing kitten!

spoiled22

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I got my kitten two weeks ago. He's almost 10 weeks old. I havent bathed him yet but I did try to shampoo his bum and belly once and he went CRAZY on me. He's normally very friendly but he absolutely went nuts! it took me an hour to do that and blow dry him since he has looonggg THICK fur (he's a himalayan) Is there a way to do it that eases the process on him? I cant afford to take him to the groomers. I'm worried if I shampoo him his hair wont be fluffy and pretty the way it is now. because when i washed his butt the fur kind of got ugly and looks greasy right now. What do I do?
 

tuesmall

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Aaaahh i remember bathing my first long haired cat...still have the scars to prove it
What i did however was when i had a bath i had the cat in the bathroom with me. She soon ventured up to the rim of the bath tub. Slowly but surely i put little cupfulls of water on her untill she was comfortable with being wet < i did this on really warm days mind you i didnt want her catching a cold!>In a couple of weeks i had her soak and wet with little or no reaction at all to water! I would dry her of with a towel after every soaking and soon she could handle quick baths
with very shallow luke warm water.Remember though cats dont usually trust water so you may want to buy some wipes at the pet store to clean her up < i soon realized with long haired cats that sometimes they get a case of the "clumps" back there that need too be cleaned...not my favourite job to say the least!>
 

lunalover

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luna hates baths, but she is happy to jump in the shower and get a little bit wet when i'm having a shower. so one day, i hopped in the shower, picked her up and hugged her, and stood under the water. she was scared, but ok with getting wet while i was holding onto her. so now if i need to bath her, we both go in the shower together, and i lather her up with the shampoo and rinse her off all while i'm hugging her, and she's ok with it!
 
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spoiled22

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I think ill try it tomorrow. any last minute advice?
 

missymotus

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Make sure the coat is free of tangles first, getting tangles wet will make them worse.

Dry as much as you can with a microfibre towel, and then complete with blow dryer. Since it's not for show you may be able to let him air dry, the dryer will fluff him up more than natural drying.

I think you are supposed to comb as you blow dry in sections.
 

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this isn't helpful, just an anecdote but...

My first burmese used to walk around the tub and 'accidently' fall in. Would look very distressed etc

She had me taken in until about the 5th time, then I realised she was enjoying herself!
 

mrblanche

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Originally Posted by Okuda

Leather gloves and welding mask
And a suit of armor.

I'm not brave enough to hold a cat in the shower without my clothes on!
 
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spoiled22

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lol thanks everyone. I just brushed him for a food 7 or 8 mins and washed his bum and cleaned around his eyes. Now he's looking clean and fluffy. I think i'm going to put off the bath for a bit. I dont think he needs it right now, plus i dont think i'm emotionally and physically ready for it. Oh and the thing that makes this even harder is that he doesnt really scratch or bit much when he's wet, he just cries which breaks my heart. he looks back at me and gives me a glance of those gorgeouse sad blue eyes and i melt. So as long as he's clean and doesnt smell.... i think i'll wait. but thanks again everyone!
 

benoz

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I've never bathed a cat in my life, that's the cats job - and they are quite good at it.
If you are going to bathe him you probably want to start young because he isn't going to get happier about it!
 

forensic

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Make sure the water is warm, the door is closed, and you're wearing long sleeves and that his claws were clipped recently (but not so recent as to be jagged, I suppose).

Disa just hunkers down and stares at the wall, providing the water is warm. He's peeved, but doesn't bolt or attack.
 

kalikat

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I've had Blossom since she was 3 w/o & during the rearing process I had to bathe her rear end a few times. She wasn't too bad as a tiny kitten but try & do it now & she goes nuts. She's semi-long haired & if she has a loose motion she dirties her bottom. I've found the best way to deal with the problem is to keep the fur trimmed in that area.
Many, many years ago I had a persian that needed regular bathing & he didn't like it but wasn't too bad as long as I had a good hold of him. He had fleas & back then there were no spot on flea treatments.
 

zephyer78

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Hi, my cat scratch was long haired and he did need several baths on occasion. Luckly he wasn't too scared, but what I did was put and old towl on the floor of the bath so he had something to sink his claws into (besides me)!I also had a sprayer shower so I only put the water on long enough to wet him and rinse him..hope this helps
 
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spoiled22

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thanks so much for all the information everyone. i still havent bathed him. i havent found it in me yet, plus he's not so bad. i usually have to shampoo his bum once or twice a day and his chin sometimes gets crusty because he dips his chin in his soft food, plus i have to regularly clean his eyes because they run sometimes. yup... high maintenance kitty. but he's so worth the trouble.
 

tigger_2801

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Our cats are both short hair, but when we rescued De she had really bad diarohea and used to get her back end, feet and tail covered every time she went. Obviously we had to clean her up, and she would scream and fight like crazy. It upset OH loads and he tried to do it gently and calmly, but in the end it just took longer and de ended up more distressed and wet all over. When I did it I grabbed her by the scruff so she didn't fight, quickly put her in and washed her and then out again. Obviously she was still upset, but only the dirty areas got wet and it was much quicker. I find the same works when cutting her nails.

Don't know if that helps, your little one will probably be fine with it. Although I don't know about putting it off. Grooming etc should always be started early to get them used to it.

Vicky
 
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spoiled22

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Thanks for the info, I'm not sure how to grab him by the scruff so i should probably watch a video on how to on youtube first, i dont want to sufficate him. I still havent bathed him. he seems clean other than his ear hair, they seem to have gotten greasy. otherwise i shampoo his bum when he gets dirty and brush him daily. he still hates that, when i pick him up and walk towards the bathroom he knows whats comming and curls up and clings to me and starts meowing. it breaks my heart! i'm taking him to the vet tomorrow for his shots so i should be able to get some pointers on cleaning him and his ears too. Thanks again!!
 

chapperice

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Simon's a short hair, but he absolutely loathes baths..So what I do is I sit on the edge and hold him in my lap and it seems to calm him down. He probably scratches a lot, but he has covers on his claws to keep from doing that so he can claw at me all he wants without the added stress of my screams of pain. He calms down after he realizes it's bath time and sits like a good boy with the occasional yowl.

So if you can, maybe hold your cat out of the tub somewhat? I only put simon in the tub to get him wet and rinse him off, keep him on my lap the rest of the time. I also do it when I'm about tos hower myself, so I don't have to worry about getting myself soaked.

I don't blowdry him (don't own a blowdryer) but I put the heat vent on, and hold him over it until he's damp, then let him lick himself the rest of the way dry. I use this because it's quieter and he doesn't mind the heater.
 
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