Kittens first bath?

Hello all

Some of you may remember i have a litter of 2 lilac point persians. They are now 7.5 weeks old and are absolutely adorable.
Today i have decided will be bath day, as it's quite warm out, so i will be washing all my cats
However wondering if it's ok to wash the kittens at this age? I want to get them used to being bathed at an early age in preperation for their new homes when they're older. Also is ok to do mum now too?
With the kittens playing with food and litter constantly they're starting to pong a bit now
This is my first litter so could do with some help.
Any advice?

I don't feel I'm knowledgable enough to give you advice but I can say I sure wish I could get my hands on one of those kittens! Do you have pictures of them?

I am curious why you would wash them at such a young age? Isn't the mom in the picture to do the cleaning and grooming for you?

Hissy, Persians will need to be washed on a regular basis, with my cats the hair is so long they are literally walking dusters, not to mention when they go toilet, i frequently have to wash their behinds.
If the kittens aren't washed at a young age, then future owners will have a hell of a difficult time trying it for themselves.
I know this as i have a cat which i brought at 16 weeks, which had never been bathed before, and he is an absolute nightmare to wash. It ends up being extremely stressful for both cat and me.
If a persian is not washed, the fur gets oily, and will matt readily.
Furthermore some of these cats are shown and so WILL have to learn to be bathed.

The mother is doing a fine job of cleaning them, but these kitten have almost white hair, and with it being long, combined with their mishevious playful nature.. well it isn't going to be perfect.
I'm simply asking other breeders out there if this is the right age to give them a bath or to wait longer?

Mzjazz2u i will have pics up in a week or so, a friend has borrowed my camera for a while!

While I don't breed persions, I think you might want to wait a couple of more weeks to give them a proper bath.... For now perhaps just get them wet and dry them. Again I don't breed persians.

I start bathing my kittens when I start feeding them solid food. At this time the moms tend to stop the careful cleaning due to a change of "flavor" of the bowel movement. This is around 5-6 weeks and continue to bathe then every week until their eating habits improve enough that they aren't covered in food around 12 weeks.

You must make sure to dry the kittens with a blow dryer of some sort. I use a shop vac that I put on blow. It works wonders.

I gave Gizmo and Scooter a bath or two when they were young, after they saw the vet. I did this to get rid of the old smell, so they were clean. The vet had no problem with me doing that. I havent given Winnie and Minnie one though.

Thankyou Tigger and Dragonlady, a breeder friend of mine also starts washing her cats when they start to eat solids, i just wanted to make double sure.
And you are so right Teresa about all their faces getting mucky, it seems they have to dip their whole face flat into the food!

Jasmine-

I had no idea that Persian kittens were such high maintinance. I was simply concerned at the prospect of bathing such a young kitten. I know they get chilled very rapidly and could become ill.

Good luck with your cats.

MA.... Persians & Himi's are probably the Highest Maintenance cats around. We had one, that we had gotten from a breeder, more or less rescued it as it was very ill. We brought it back to health and in the process learned a great deal about what it takes to take care of one. My respect goes out to those who care for them... it's a laborious job! Let's not forget the breeders... AH! what a task!!

I meant no disrespect (if any was taken) I admit to not being knowledgeable about certain breeds of cats, as my calling seems to be with the strays. I have nothing but respect for the ethical breeders who are trying to keep certain lines alive and well-maintained. I have had to bathe small kittens in the past, and well remember how anxious it made me because they stay chilled so long.

Again, I hold nothing but respect for the people who open their homes and breed these high-quality cats for the betterment of the breed itself.

MA..
None taken....

As matter of fact, your post didn't sound disrespectful at all..

No worries....

MA no disrespect taken
Infact before i kept persians i too would never have dreamed of washing a cat, let alone a tiny kitten,so i understand your initial concern.
They are high maintenance cats, and i always warn people of the work involved with keeping their coats matt free. They are definately not for the faint hearted or who cant stand cat hair absolutely everywhere.
And don't worry about the chill, i have the radiators on full blast after a bath

I give my kittens their first bath at 8 weeks. Even though we live in a warm climate, I ensure that the room is warmed with a heater first and dry them with a hairdryer, which most of them hate the sound of. They soon get used to it. My white persians get bathed at least every two weeks, but usually every week, especially during show season. Yes, persians take a lot of time to groom, but a combing every single day keeps them matt free. They love the pampering. I have attached a pic for you.....

Oh my God Krissi what a beautiful cat!
Look at that big ball of white!

Am not brave enough to venture into the world of whites
Gorgeous cat

Thank you, but you better believe he knows he's a stunning boy! He has the most wonderful nature too. Loves to make eyes at you as if to say, "Am I magnificent or what?". Very special baby. He is really hard work though as he is the grubbiest eater. Because his ruff is so long and his nose so flat, he slants his face when drinking water, so his ruff gets sopping wet. Then he eats some food and lands up with his Royal Canin dangling from his ruff like Christmas decorations!

Krissi,
He is so majestic!!
I helped out in a grooming shop for a while some years ago, we did a lot of persians. I was amazed at how they all seemed to love a grooming. They are high maintenance, but look how beautiful he looks.

Hold thumbs for him. He is in a show on Saturday! This is his last show as a kitten. Oh, he is wonderful, isn't he?

We start bathing our kittens as young as three weeks, Persians are extremly high mantinence and sometimes they get dirtys rear ends so must be given a dip in warm water and then blow dryed, We start properly bathing them at about 6.