bathing, what soap/shampoo?

My young, predominately white kitty, has been playing in the basement. He is filthy! black paws, belly, armpits, and I think it is too much for he and his brothers to clean off him since he has been this way for a few days. I am going to have to give him a bath. I only have some old mycodex for fleas, so I don't want to use that since he doesn't have fleas, but I don't want to buy anything either, since I rarely give baths to my cats, and they are indoors only. So would it be ok to use my viva shampoo, a bar of soap? Any other suggestions? I do have some baby wipes, how about those?
thanks

A little bit of dawn should be okay to use. NOt a lot but a little.

what is that, dishwashing liquid? I use Lemon joy. Is that ok? dilute it with water and then rub it on him?

I think it should be fine. Check the label and make sure it says non toxic.

Also make sure to rinse really well. It will make him sick if he ingests the residue.

A good trick is to fill the tub (the amount you would to bathe a toddler) and then add the soap to the water so you have slightly soapy water, instead of dumping soap on the cat. Then just rinse the cat off with brand new water.

Easier said than done in my experience.

I bathe my cat occasionally; when I can see that she's getting oily-looking. It definitely helps keep some of their body oil off the furniture.

I bathe her in the kitchen sink. I fill up a couple big plastic cups & set them aside beforehand. I get her wet & do some rinsing with the moveable sprayer attachment in my sink, and do a final thorough rinsing with the water in the cups. The sprayer makes things a lot easier (well, as easy as bathing a cat can be!)

Well, I wiped him down with some unscented baby wipes and he looked really good until I got home from work today, and apparently it was return to basement romp because he is filthy again. I'm glad I didn';t go thru all the aggravation of giving him a bath. I will just wipe him down as needed, and hopefully he will calm down with the dirt as he ages.

You shouldn't be afraid to give your cat a bath. And maybe keep him out of the basement where he gets so dirty. I don't know if the stuff they have on the baby wipes is all that good to keep wiping into their fur. It might be ok once in awhile, but not all the time.

All of my cats got at least a few baths a year and those that were shown were washed before every show.

I/ve bathed cats before for flea infestations but they always hated it and it was difficult. I can do it if I have to, but do not want to do it if it isn't neccesary. This guy is only 6 months old, and is climbing into areas that are nothing but dirt. His older brothers never get as dirty, but then again they are not as white. The basement is mandatory because there are mice down there that need to know to move as soon as the weather gets warm. Fragrance free baby wipes may not be the best choice, so I will research some more. I did wipe him down with a wet paper towel afterwards, hoping to remove any residue.

Dawn dish liquid is ok for bathing. Athough I always use rinse water with a couple tablespoons of vinegar afterward. It helps to restore ph balance of the skin and minimize drying out the skin. Sounds like you're doing a fine job though!

I always use baby shampoo.