baths

how often should i give my 7 year old cat and 5 month old kitten a bath i mostly want to know about the kitten becuz when she comes up to my face she smells bad.

Is it her fur that smells or her breath?

her fur

Hmmm...Ok, I wouldn't worry about washing your older cat unless they actually smell. Cats are pretty good at washing on their own.

With the kitten, I would get some animal shampoo and do it in a deep tub that she can't easily jump out of. Make sure the water is warm, but not too hot and not too deep. It is easier if you have another person to help you as they can hold the cat while you wet her down and then shampoo and rinse her off.

I would use a cup to pour water over her, and don't do the head area, just from her neck down. Make sure you rinse REALLY well, as you don't want any residual stuff for her to lick off later.

Make sure you dry her really well, and then have her in one room until she is completely dry.

Good luck!! And be prepared, because she'll most likely fight you like crazy!!

If she begins to smell again, then I would go to the vet to try and work out why. Cats generally don't smell unless they have rolled in something particularly disgusting!

there also is pet wipes that you can use in place of a bath. i use them on Prue after she has played in my dogs food or gotten into something she shouldnt,lol. They work great, and are cheap, like $4 for 10 wipes. You can find them at Wal-Mart and your local pet stores. there easier then doin the whole bath thing if you dont have help or the time

when i gave her a bath the first time she didnt fight she tried to get out but then she got the idea that i wasnt letting her out and she didnt fight when my nieghbour gave her bath

Maybe her fur smells bad because she's in need of dental hygiene. If a cat has bad breath, when they clean themselves that smell can be transferred to the fur.

We wash Huggy and Taralen but not our other two. We wash them well when they smell. taralen has more baths as she seems to get more Poop caught in her fur. thats the normal reason for ours smelling

absolutely have a helper. what a scene it was at my house. The pet wipes are kinder but if she needs a full bath, get help.

What cute signatures!!

I used to give Abbigail baths whenever her fur would start to look "greasy" on her back and on the top of her head and also when she had dandruff but using the towelettes works very well and she loves it b/c she gets brushed afterwards (she LOVES getting brushed). Since she has been in her older years, her coat seems to need more attention. But now that I'm giving her about 1/3 can of wet cat food every morning, her coat has greatly improved!! It is like it was when she was young, so soft and beautiful! So, IMO, towelettes are a lot better and alot less stressful!

Originally Posted by Liza24

there also is pet wipes that you can use in place of a bath. i use them on Prue after she has played in my dogs food or gotten into something she shouldnt,lol. They work great, and are cheap, like $4 for 10 wipes. You can find them at Wal-Mart and your local pet stores. there easier then doin the whole bath thing if you dont have help or the time

Click to expand...

Just a little hint for you. Baby wipes are even cheaper and are basicly the same thing, only you can pick them up for $1 for like 50 wipes. I use them on my Sphynx between baths.

Diet can have a lot to do with how a cat smells. Making sure their food is nutritionally balenced generally helps the smelly problem. The only time I've had to give Kanoe and Toulouse baths was when my s/o decided to rub them down with codliver oil.

They were both really good in the tub. Having another person help you when you're giving them a bath can help as one person can hold and the other person wash. Do make sure the water is warm enough (test it on the inside of your wrist, like you would for a baby) cause I've found they don't fight as much.

Another alternative is just taking a semiwet washcloth and rubbing them down. I've found this works very well.

I have weird cats who like being bathed Magnum will ask for a bath once a month (in fact they had their baths today).

Personally, I find one person works better as they get upset if too many people are handling them and they trust me by myself. Mix the animal shampoo on a sponge or in a jug of water and not as you would shampoo your own hair as it will get in some spots and not others.

Make sure you dry them well and give them a good brushing after (and keep them toasty until they are completely dry). I often find the drying harder than the washing

I never wash my shorthaired cats, but when I take my longhairs in for their shavedowns and dentals, I'll throw them in the tub right away. They're sedated so they don't mind. I don't wash them any other time, they're pretty clean, although I have athsma and have also been getting itchy eyes occasionally so I think I'll have to start at least wiping them down with a damp cloth every few days to keep the dander down.....

For a kitten you need a shampoo specifically for kittens for sure! I bathe my cats in the kitchen sink and use a rubber mat on the bottom to stop them from slipping and skidding. Skidding around is one of the things that scares cats the most. When you rinse your kitty, use a couple tablespoons of vinegar in the rinse water to restore ph balance of the skin and it also helps get all the shampoo out.