Is it OK to bath a very old cat?

Hey guys, I have a thread here about my 18 year old kidney cat.  She's doesn't seem able to clean herself properly, and has begun to kind of smell.  I'm wondering if it be OK to bath her?  I worry about her being wet for too long, if she can't clean herself after.  And my husband worries about her health if we don't clean her up.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Sandra

With her age, I'd not bathe her, but you could wipe her down with a warm damp cloth or kitty cleaning cloths.

Personally, it can go either way, just depending on how you can get her dry.

She may really like how it feels to be fresh and clean again, cats are true groomers as they like having their coat at it's best, and just because she physically is unable to groom as desired doesn't mean she doesn't care.

If your home is nice and warm, you might be able to gently blow dry her, if she will tolerate the sound.

Always have your hand in between her and the air though, to prevent her being burned. You have to constantly move the blower around, never keeping it in one spot for even a second.

You will see if/when you do, and how your hand will feel super hot very fast

They also make blow dryers with cool settings.

If there are problem areas, like if her rear is more problematic, I might opt to gently wash parts of her rather than drenching her completely (which would make her cold). If overall her fur condition isn't great but it's not enough to warrant a full bath, I second a wipe down with a warm damp cloth and some extra brushing.

You definitely don't want to stress her out, especially if she's not familiar with being bathed, so test things in small patches like wetting her fur with a cloth and even test her with the noise and sensation of the hair dryer.. Better if you have a warm setting. It might still get warm enough to burn, but better than hot or cool which might be going to the more uncomfortable temperature extremes for a wet cat.

Thanks guys... I think I will try the wash cloth and see how that goes.  Her tail is kindof gummed up and her fur in general (on the rest of her body) is clumpy (for lack of a better term). If that doesn't work then I'll consider trying something more.

I appreciate your advice!!

Sandra

You can always take her to the groomers, unless she is pretty high strung.  We used to take our last kidney cat to the groomers.  Oddly enough, he LOVED it!  He LOVED getting a bath, and even liked getting blown dry.

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Have you tried adding some Cosequin or Dasequin to Jasmine's food to see if that gives her a little bit more mobility?  I used to give that to my last kidney cat and it helped him out quite a bit. 

I can't say what's best, but when my older cat had jaw cancer, she also wasn't able to groom herself anymore. She was a tuxedo, so it was quite noticeable on her black fur. I just got the pet wipes from petsmart and used those to wipe her down. She didn't really like that either, but I had the same concerns as you. She was just fine.