I gave Snickers his first bath. Yay!

[ladylonewolf]

I've been debating about giving Snickers a bath for days. I've been tired of looking at all the grime all over his feet from being a stray. I've also been mortified of the thought of a cat gone psycho in the bathtub!

I don't know what got into me this afternoon, but I had a moment of Super Nerve and just decided to see what happened. I got a nice warm tub full of water ready, a jug full of soapy water, and a bucket of clean water. (He really needs to be scrubbed, but I didn't want to make it last too long the first time.) I bribed him into the bathroom with a bag of treats, picked him up, and deposited him in the tub. At first he froze. I thought he was going to freak out. But I just held him by the scruff real lightly and kept talking to him as I washed him off, telling him what a good boy he was. He eventually just stood there and let me. By the time I was rinsing him off, he was like a wet noodle and I didn't have to scruff him anymore, just hold him. He didn't like the towel-drying part at all, but as long as he let me wash him, I figured that was the big hurdle.

I am now a mix of proud of myself for doing it and guilty I made him so soggy.

He did purr a few minutes ago when I went to rub the sides of his face, so I'm guessing he isn't too mad at me.

 

[othie]

thats wonderful! I tried washing a cat once (he was medhair and had found the horses behind our house, I'm sure you can guess what happened then) and I swear he took half my skin off, got out of the tub three times and finally the only way we could do it was with three people

I wish he had been that easy

 

[ladylonewolf]

Oh I thought for sure he was going to freak out and remove all the skin on at least one of my arms. I'm fairly sure he's never had a bath before this. I'm SO glad he was a lot calmer than I expected him to be!

 

[cocoa cream]

Hooray for you! Sounds like you did a good job of preparing to make Snickers' bath the least stressful experience possible! And he certainly deserves alot of love for behaving so well for you! I have 3 6mo. old kittens who get monthly baths, and it is not our favorite thing to do. However, they are fairly cooperative, and very, very forgiving!

 

[pushylady]

Aww, I'm glad he was so well behaved. Perhaps he knew you were only trying to help him. Now he's nice and clean for some extra lovin'.

 

[angelwing]

Heheh. I give my cats baths all the time (once a month or so). What kind of shampoo did you use?

 

[ladylonewolf]

I didn't have any kitty shampoo, unfortunately, so I diluted some of my son's baby wash in some water and used that. I figured that was gentle enough not to hurt his skin.

Now that I know I can bathe him, some shampoo will be on my next shopping list.

 

[krazy kat2]

You are a brave soul. I have never bathed a cat, and hope I never have to. Snickers is a real cutie!

 

[meowers]

I agree, you are very brave! Havent tried to myself yet.

 

[angelwing]

Originally Posted by LadyLoneWolf

I didn't have any kitty shampoo, unfortunately, so I diluted some of my son's baby wash in some water and used that. I figured that was gentle enough not to hurt his skin.

Now that I know I can bathe him, some shampoo will be on my next shopping list.

Oh no, yeah definitely get a shampoo that is made for cats as human shampoo (baby or not) is not suitable for them. If you can find the Nature's Specialties brand I would recommend that. Never use a tar and sulfur based shampoo on your cat. Good luck for next time!

 

[persi & alley]

Originally Posted by LadyLoneWolf

I've been debating about giving Snickers a bath for days. I've been tired of looking at all the grime all over his feet from being a stray. I've also been mortified of the thought of a cat gone psycho in the bathtub!

I don't know what got into me this afternoon, but I had a moment of Super Nerve and just decided to see what happened. I got a nice warm tub full of water ready, a jug full of soapy water, and a bucket of clean water. (He really needs to be scrubbed, but I didn't want to make it last too long the first time.) I bribed him into the bathroom with a bag of treats, picked him up, and deposited him in the tub. At first he froze. I thought he was going to freak out. But I just held him by the scruff real lightly and kept talking to him as I washed him off, telling him what a good boy he was. He eventually just stood there and let me. By the time I was rinsing him off, he was like a wet noodle and I didn't have to scruff him anymore, just hold him. He didn't like the towel-drying part at all, but as long as he let me wash him, I figured that was the big hurdle.

I am now a mix of proud of myself for doing it and guilty I made him so soggy.

He did purr a few minutes ago when I went to rub the sides of his face, so I'm guessing he isn't too mad at me.

Congratulations!

If I ever do give my cats a bath, I will have DW standing by to take pictures. Even though you did not include pictures, I can just imagine the whole scenario by your vivid description.