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Bathing fobia

post #1 of 31
3/22/10 at 12:01pm
Thread Starter 
One of my cats has a very bad bathing fobia. I mean he seems to really have some kind of panic attack if I (try to) wash him, he starts panting with his mouth open, tries to grab anything, climb on walls and yowls as loud as he can (the neighbors propably think I'm skinning him alive..) The thing is that he has long hair and I need to bathe him sometimes and it would be nice if he wouldn't be so stressed about it. I tried to adjust him to washing when he was a kitten (he's now almost 3) but he's always hated bathing more than anything. Does anyone have any advices? Would Rescue Remedy help in this kind of situations or other similar products (if there are some)?

(I just gave him a bath after almost a year, I'm still alive..which is a miracle.)
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post #2 of 31
3/22/10 at 7:15pm
Why are you washing him/her? Most cats don't need to be washed. If you feel the need, wipe him/her with a warm, damp cloth.
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post #3 of 31
3/22/10 at 8:49pm
yes rescue remedy can calm enough to make this less stressful .. but I second the above ... I have only washed a cat after it gets into something like oil
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post #4 of 31
3/22/10 at 9:30pm
Why does everyone have to post that? iirc -the OP breeds/shows.


I assume you have a decent set up for bathing since you have to do the others - but do you have a screen/mesh in the bottom sink/tub of the to help keep the cats claws snagged? (sounds bad said that way, but better in that then in skin!)

For my really scaredy cats I've run the water first and used a wash cloth to wash them. Of course, there's always a cat that just can't handle it. My mother had a cat like that many years ago - an indoor/outdoor cat that decided to coat her back in grease. I was very lucky not to get worse scratches than I did.
If at all possible, someone helping can make things easier sometimes or at least help speed things up. With cats like that it's best just to bathe at few times as possible, ever, and get the bath done quick.

Is the kitty in question one of the unaltered ones you have? If so I can definitely understand why you'd want to give him a bath now and then.
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post #5 of 31
3/22/10 at 9:48pm
Did you bath him with warm water instead of cold one? Perhaps you need ppl to help you when comes to bathing him. One hold his legs and one of you bath him. It works for me with my cats...last time it's like going to battle when comes bathing...hehe.But now she's not as stressfull as she use to be.
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post #6 of 31
3/22/10 at 10:14pm
I feel your pain! I just got my first longhaired and had to wash him.... omg. lol.

I read some info about this, and one idea sounded really good: On day one fill the sink (or whatever you bath them in) just barely... just enough that his feet get wet. Give lots of treats and lovings, as soon as he calms down take him out and let him be. Do this every day (or every few days) and gradually increase the amout of water you use.

One thing that helped me was taking him out of the sink & letting him stand on a towel while I worked the shampoo into his coat. Oh, the number one best thing that helped me was to keep a leash on him. Sounds crazy, but it really helped since it's hard to hold on to a wiggly soapy cat. I held onto his scruff almost the entire time (only way I wasn't going to get scratched) and used a cup to pour the water over him. He was standing on his back legs with his front legs holding onto the sink, which was ok, he refused to put all 4 feet into the sink, lol. The few times he wiggled free I just grabbed the leash before he ran.

Don't use the dryer until he is ok with a bath... unless he is already ok with it.

I hope something in here helps, I feel your pain! I do not show, but I always want my cats in tip-top shape. I very rarely wash my shorthairs, but the longhaired gets greasy so he will require baths every once in a while.
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post #7 of 31
3/22/10 at 10:21pm
Have to add: Do you know of any grooming powder for cats? Like something to get rid of the greasyness? I have a book wrote by a vet that says baby powder is ok, but I don't know about that. I rather use something made for cats. The same book said corn starch was ok to use too, you just brush it out after 20 mins. That I might try, bathing is NOT fun, lol.
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post #8 of 31
3/22/10 at 11:08pm
Have you tried different ways of bathing him? If you currently fill the tub with water, try using a shower hose attachment with no standing water - or the other way round.
I was mine in the laundry trough, I find it easier than using the bath.

RR (or similar) might help, at least it's worth a try. Some websites will make up a mixture for your specific needs.
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post #9 of 31
3/23/10 at 4:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanietx View Post
Why are you washing him/her? Most cats don't need to be washed. If you feel the need, wipe him/her with a warm, damp cloth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
yes rescue remedy can calm enough to make this less stressful .. but I second the above ... I have only washed a cat after it gets into something like oil
I agree with these. I don't see any reason to put a cat through such stress unless he is covered in something bad.

I don't care if she "shows". Cats should be more than just for show.

Perhaps if this cat has to be washed to be shown, and washing causes him such terrible stress, he shouldn't be used in shows.

My opinion.
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post #10 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
I agree with these. I don't see any reason to put a cat through such stress unless he is covered in something bad.

I don't care if she "shows". Cats should be more than just for show.

Perhaps if this cat has to be washed to be shown, and washing causes him such terrible stress, he shouldn't be used in shows.

My opinion.
Long haired cats often need a bath to keep their coats in good shape. Some long haired cats can't/don't do enough grooming to maintain their coats.

My Maine Coon gets oily after awhile and he needs a bath. However he doesn't mind the bath and does not get stressed. I'd be tickled pink if he never needed a bath, because I don't enjoy it at all. It takes forever to get him completely rinsed and then dried.
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post #11 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:53am
For me, it's the reason the bath is being given. A cat who needs a bath for his own good, even if he hates it, is one thing. Though, still, unless the cat is covered in oil or some other muck, there are other alternatives.

( and yes, I have had long haired cats who needed grooming help, and no I did not immersion bathe them. Ootay (5/09) being the most recent)

A cat who can't be shown unless he is bathed, and who suffers such stress when being bathed, should not be put through it, in my opinion. A cat's life is too short to be forced to deal with things that cause so much stress, on a regular basis.

It's just something I feel strongly about.
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post #12 of 31
3/23/10 at 6:43am
That is standard behaviour for a cat in water in my experience

At the shelter, we have deep sinks they can't get out of and put a towel in the bottom. I find that shower hoses rinsing them seems to scare them even more so I switch them between the double sinks prefilled with warm water. One to wash in and one to rinse in.
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post #13 of 31
3/23/10 at 6:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
A cat's life is too short to be forced to deal with things that cause so much stress, on a regular basis.
My cat completely freaks out when I clip her claws or bring her to the vet. By your reasoning I should stop doing that
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post #14 of 31
3/23/10 at 7:10am
Quote:
Why does everyone have to post that? iirc -the OP breeds/shows.
To the original poster, I'm sorry if I misunderstood. I assumed because you didn't mention that this was for showing purposes that you were just bathing your cat. I didn't realize that you were showing your cat, so I can see where the bath phobia would be a concern.
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post #15 of 31
3/23/10 at 7:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbbysMom View Post
My cat completely freaks out when I clip her claws or bring her to the vet. By your reasoning I should stop doing that
Not at all. You took my comment out of context. At the start of my reply I said:

Quote:
For me, it's the reason the bath is being given.

Nail trims and vet visits are necessaries for a cat to have a healthy life.

As would be bathing a cat who is filthy for whatever reason.

Bathing for showing purposes, in my opinion, is not necessary to a cat's health and quality of life, can in fact be detrimental to the cat's quality of life, if these baths cause him so much stress.

from the original post:

Quote:
One of my cats has a very bad bathing fobia. I mean he seems to really have some kind of panic attack if I (try to) wash him, he starts panting with his mouth open, tries to grab anything, climb on walls and yowls as loud as he can
If the cat was covered in muck, this process would be necessary for his health. Since we have been told (albeit by another member not the OP) these baths are for showing purposes, in my opinion it is detrimental to the cat's quality of life.

.
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post #16 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbbysMom View Post
My cat completely freaks out when I clip her claws or bring her to the vet. By your reasoning I should stop doing that
Sometimes we have to do things for cats for their own good, even baths. There are some people on here that don't even see the point in clipping claws and don't put their cats through it - I'm sure they think the rest of us are a bit odd.

Just to be clear - I don't know if the OP shows this cat. But if you've read her posts and looked at her cat pages you would know that she's not just an average cat owner. If this is one of her unaltered boys, and long haired, of course he's going to need bathing sometimes.
Maybe she should have asked in the breeding corner to get more positive help?
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post #17 of 31
3/23/10 at 2:52pm
Maybe Sam could help since she shows and breeds long haired cats.
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post #18 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 
Too many messages to quote, so I'll just skip that.

Yes, I show cats but not this one. His fur texture is very close to a Persian fur and he needs to be bathed sometimes to keep the coat from matting etc. He used to get a bad 'stud tail (and lower back)' and back then I tried the 'little bit more water everyday'-thing, didn't work out. He's neutered now, but does still get a bit greasy sometimes. I don't have a bath tub and he doesn't fit in a sink () so I wash him in the shower, water temperature warmer than my hand so it's as close to his body temperature as possible. I've tried with a smallish bath tub, but he definitely prefers the shower over it.
I've tried some of the powders, but I can't keep using only them. When he was a kitten I tried to make him play with water by putting some toys or treats to a dish filled with water, he was interested but not enough to stick his paw in there.

As I said in my first post, I just washed him after almost a year because I had to do it sooner or later, so I don't think I'm doing it 'too often'. I sure could use some bodybuilder to hold him down while I wash him, he weights almost 7kg (15 pounds) which is quite a lot when compared to myself (45kg=99 pounds)...

Ironically my other british longhair loooves water, a bit too much even (her coats gets all curly and horrible looking if I'm not there drying her up)..
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post #19 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
I can't add a pic to my previous message(dunno why) so I'm adding it here. This is the cat I'm talking about, Utu is his name:
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post #20 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:40pm
He is gorgeous

Honestly, putting a towel or something down in the bath/sink for traction does help, for me at least as well as having a second person to hold while I wash
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post #21 of 31
3/23/10 at 5:42pm
What a beautiful boy he is. Thank you for taking the trouble to explain more clearly what you are dealing with, with him.

Perhaps he would do better with a professional groomer when he needs help getting clean and removing his mats?
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post #22 of 31
3/23/10 at 11:41pm
Hrmmm... Maybe a medium sized Rubbermaid bin with tall sides?

LoL, this is almost crazy... but maybe try Rescue Remedy, Classical Music (cats like it), a loooong play session before the bath, and whatever else has been mentioned.

Also, maybe you could get something from the vet similar to the Rescue Remedy.

I sure hope that my new longhaired doesn't require anymore baths, LOL. But I am doubting it since his hair is already stringy again, I am going to try grooming powder soon.

I hope you can figure something out for him/you.
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post #23 of 31
3/24/10 at 6:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
Perhaps he would do better with a professional groomer when he needs help getting clean and removing his mats?
Unfortunately we only have dog groomers here, we're still a bit behind in the cat businesses in this country.. Luckily I can get the matts taken care of myself and they are not that bad as I do groom him few times a week.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KatKisses View Post
LoL, this is almost crazy... but maybe try Rescue Remedy, Classical Music (cats like it), a loooong play session before the bath, and whatever else has been mentioned.

Also, maybe you could get something from the vet similar to the Rescue Remedy.
Utu actually prefers Iron Maiden I do not know why, it's not one of my favourites.. Maybe I should try that next time with the rescue remedy.
I'll also ask the vet if they have something similar. Until now I've just been talking something to him with a calm voice.

I do keep towel under him when I wash him but I need to get something better.

Thanks for the advices everyone.
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post #24 of 31
3/27/10 at 6:47pm
I have long-haired cats too. Before I moved, I had a shower with a shower hose and a stool for them to stand on. Now I just have a tub with a normal spray thing, so I just sit in the tub with them o.O I know it's weird, but if I'm that much closer to them they feel a bit better.
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post #25 of 31
3/28/10 at 5:57am
I've only owned one cat (my first one and he was a shorthair) that was terrified of water. He was a stray and I believe someone tried to drown him or something.

I usually gave him a "waterless" bath with a special shampoo, but keep in mind he was shorthair. The one time he had to be bathed, I had to stand him in the tub with no water and have a bucket in which I used a wash cloth to wet him down and then do the same to get the soap out - took forever, but he was less stressed.

I also got him more used to water being on his fur by dipping a comb in water and keep doing that to comb him till his coat was pretty wet.

With longhairs its more difficult but you could try the wet comb for awhile and see how that does in getting him more used to being wet and hopefully he will learn to tolerate a bath.
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post #26 of 31
3/28/10 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
The one time he had to be bathed, I had to stand him in the tub with no water and have a bucket in which I used a wash cloth to wet him down and then do the same to get the soap out - took forever, but he was less stressed.
I've had to do similar with Tomas. He's not that terrified, but settles down better this way.

As crazy as it sounds, I have an outdoor cat that liked to be gently hosed down in the summer.
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post #27 of 31
3/29/10 at 1:01am
^^^LOL @ that! You HAVE to get pics of that!
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post #28 of 31
3/29/10 at 5:54am
Riley had a bath just yesterday! Like your kitty, he has long fur and sometimes just needs a bath. Xander seems to keep himself cleaner, but Riley's fur seems to hold in odor more and he tends to get a bit greasy, especially now that he's on long-term medication.

It does take two of us to bathe him. The 2nd person is really just to make sure he doesn't jump out of the tub. I've noticed that with Riley it helps to run the water ahead of time, and have a bunch of cups and bowls to rinse him with. The running water scares him more than standing in it. We also put some children's floaty bath toys in there to help distract him
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post #29 of 31
3/29/10 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KatKisses View Post
^^^LOL @ that! You HAVE to get pics of that!
Of soggy MewMew? That will have to wait till around July when the temps get up over 100F (most cats will tolerate a bit of water on them in that weather). For some reason I've never through to get a picture.
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post #30 of 31
3/30/10 at 9:15pm
I have a long haired big boy and he does require a bath now & then. He doesn't like it just like my 8 year non furry child doesn't. But he loves to role in stuff and his fur is like a dust mop so it is required. I have been doing it since he was a kitten and he does ok. I have always found less restraint works best with most cats.

Now I do also agree if it stresses the cat out too much look for alternative methods of cleaning.
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