kitty shampoo...

I would like to give my kitten a bath tonight, cuz he's been scratching himself, and I think he may need a bath, or he's just got dry skin. But I cant get to the tore tonight for kitty bath stuff.

Any ideas on what I could use instead?? Or should I just wait untill a couple days when I can get to the store.

What about just plain warm water?

A bath might make things worse! Cats usu. don't need baths. You could call the vet & ask what they recommend - your kitten may be having some sort of allergy reaction. Once my daughter's dog kept scratching (he was having a reaction to flea medication put on by the vet) and she took him to the groomers, who bathed him & by that night, the poor dog was REALLY suffering, and developed itchy lumps all over - he had to go to the emergency vet & get a shot (like Benadryl, I suppose), and meds to help control his distress at the itchiness. Your poor kit - I hope he feels better soon! You might PM someone like Hissy, who has more experience with these sorts of things. Good luck!

diluted dawn (NOT ultra) works well on cats, but if he's scratching, it's either fleas or dry skin, and in eithercase, washing him probably won't help.
get him some flea treatment (the kind provided by a vet, not the kind at the regular store) and see if he stops scratching.

time for a trip to the vet to find out why kitty is scratching..
Please dont buy otc shampoo ...

what are you feeding your cat? that can make all the difference sometimes.

My cat gets dry itchy skin and she has to be bathed with Hydrocortizone Shampoo. If she doesn't get a bath with that once she starts scratching she'll pull her fur out and make it bloody. Since the hydrocortizone baths she's not pulled her fur out and has been much better!

Originally Posted by Jen

what are you feeding your cat? that can make all the difference sometimes.

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He's just eating Purina kitten chow, and sometimes he gets wet kitten food on top of the chow.

Originally Posted by sharky

Please dont buy otc shampoo ...

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I didnt know the OTC shampoo was bad. Where should I get shampoo then? The vet? Do they carry kitty shampoo? Or the groomers?

Originally Posted by SillyJilly

My cat gets dry itchy skin and she has to be bathed with Hydrocortizone Shampoo. If she doesn't get a bath with that once she starts scratching she'll pull her fur out and make it bloody. Since the hydrocortizone baths she's not pulled her fur out and has been much better!

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Where did you get this hydrocortizone stuff? Because Im pretty sure my kitten just has dry skin, he doesnt itch ALOT, he just itches sometimes, and he acts like it's bothering him, when he does itch.

There is no pulling out fur or anything, sheesh, that must be horrible.

I am just going to take him to the vet anyhow.

Your vet would be able to tell you if he needs the hydrocortozone. They do seel it OTC at like petsmart but check with your vet first especially if he is just a kitten. they can tell you for sure. They may also offer you a hydrocortizone shot instead!

Thanks so much. He's going to the vet this weekend sometime. I think he's ok, I'm just a wreck about everything. Especially when it comes to my kitty. He might not even be scratching as much as i think he is, but I just like to know what's wrong all the time.

Maybe I should become a veternarian. lol. I always wanted to be one, I just couldnt stand seeing all those animals in pain.

I would advice the vet... I dont put otc shampoo on me to many chemicals and I cant see putting it on a small creature like a cat ... I use a baby wipe for quick clean ups and a foam that has ingrediants the vet okayed... My cats are adults..

I would also look into higher quality food, I prefer no by products grd corn or chemical preservatives ... I use Nutro natural choice ... but there are many look for a food with at least 3% omega 6 or linoliec acid.. this will help the coat greatly currently I beleive kitty is getting 1.4%

I also would quit feed them such a poor quality food. Buy a brand like Nutro or Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover Soul or something like that. Bad food = problems like poor fur/skin, more waste in the litterbox and more vet visits.

It is like eating McDonalds everyday all day. Your skin and hair would probably be a big mess if you did that, not to mention many other things.

I use just a regular baby shampoo on my Sphynx, that's what the breeders used and reccomended. I usually don't bathe my hairy cats, but in the past when my longhair gets stinky I've used ferret shampoo. It's mild and conditioning.