Anyone ever tried bathing a cat?!

Mrs Cowasaki

Mrs Cowasaki

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Has anyone ever tried bathing a cat or three?!

To our chagrin, I noticed the other day that one of our three moggies had fleas! Of course if Sidney had them, then the other two would as well, and sure enough, when I checked them with the flea comb, they all had them. I researched the various methods of flea treatment and we are in the process of an all-out war on the little critters, including flea bombing and powdering the house and washing everything in sight - and of course the cat treatments.

Much of the advice I found online advocated giving the cats a bath, with either cat shampoo (which is a flea repellant) or baby shampoo. The pet shop didn't have any cat shampoo so I bought the baby shampoo. I attempted to give them a bath today and I can honestly say it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. Giving them tablets is easy by comparison, and that's saying something! Needless to say, none of them liked the water and each of them in turn tried to get out of the bath by whichever method they could, which of course involved Chloe and myself getting slashed for our efforts. The bathroom was drenched, as were we, and I can't exactly say that it was successful. Sidney would not even let me get his front end in the bath. He was soaked from the waist down. In the end, I managed to get him wet all over by pouring water with my hand onto him as he lay shaking on the bath mat (out of the bath). I didn't bother with the shampoo as I knew there was no chance of rinsing him afterwards - but I did comb him lots and lots. Moo and Pearl (who are usually much less cooperative than Sidney) were a little better, and I did at least manage to shampoo them, and (sort of) rinse them, but it was not a huge success and they were extremely traumatised afterwards (in fact Moo has gone missing somewhere in the house - we can't find her anywhere!). I've combed them to within an inch of their lives and I'm not finding as many horrid little critters as I was doing.

I dried them off as much as I could (but didn't dare try the hair dryer as they wouldn't have tolerated that as well), then they licked themselves "dry" for about half an hour. When they were dry I put the Spot-On flea treatment on them. The trouble is, that although they're not supposed to be able to lick it off themselves, somehow they manage to, and the little one is now drooling at the mouth. I remembered then that she did that the last time I put it on her. That's possibly why they got fleas - if they're licking off the treatment every time. The packet says to put it between their shoulder blades, which is exactly what I'm doing. Perhaps I need to put it a bit higher up.

If anyone has some advice on a really good flea treatment which doesn't involve bathing the cats, or something better than the spot-on type treatments, then I'd love to hear it, thanks.
 
Don't Frontline do one for cats ? much stronger the Spot on bit more pricey but it works. (y)
 
I'll look at that thanks. My only concern is that if it's stronger and they lick it off, then they may get ill. But it's worth a look thanks.
 
Get frontline from the vets. You drop it on the skin on the back of the neck.
Fairly easy and painless and none of mine ever got ill from it.
 
I use Frontline Spot On...not on me...on my cat. If I apply it to the back of her neck when she's dozing, she doesn't even try to lick it off.
 
Sounds like Frontline is the one to go for then. We'll speak to the vet tomorrow. I must be putting too low down if they can lick it off, although the packet says between the shoulder blades. If I put it higher up, ie at the base of the skull, then in theory they shouldn't be able to lick it off themselves.

Thanks for the advice peeps!
 
We use a six-monthly Program injection for each of our five cats. Works a treat.
 
Bathing a little domestic cat always makes me realise how powerful a Leopard or a Lion must be! Scary thought.

If you apply Frontline onto an area of skin at the base of the cats skull they cannot reach it there.
 
Can recommend Frontline as we have three dogs which have been treated regularly with no effects over quite a few years. As it is applied at the "scruff" of the neck they cannot reach it.
Very expensive from local vets but there are vetinary suppliers on the web who supply a little cheaper.
 
Mickwreay said:
1.
Get a wheelie bin :LOL:

2.
............

p.s.
we have 2 healthy well looked after cats, before you try & kill me ;)
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I'm VERY glad you added that!!! That was a truly horrible thing she did to that poor cat. Glad you were only joking. :)
 
Col said:
Can recommend Frontline as we have three dogs which have been treated regularly with no effects over quite a few years. As it is applied at the "scruff" of the neck they cannot reach it.
Very expensive from local vets but there are vetinary suppliers on the web who supply a little cheaper.
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Indeed, eBay are great for things that are too expensive at the vets!
 
Go to the local vet and ask for their own flea spray. It is rather pricey at around £20 for a can but damn it does work! Much better than the rubbish Dr Martins stuff you get at the local supermarket.
I did that when I first got my black cat, Chad - a rescued stray - seven years ago. He started picking up fleas the moment he settled in at home, so I popped into the local vet and got this flea spray. You spray it in places where the cat normally sleep (not on the cat itself!) . . . and that was it, not seen a single flea for years even in high summer as it gets to the source of the flea problem - the eggs themselves. Didn't even have to treat the cat not once, and I never put a collar on him (he absolutely hated it!).
 
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ours got infested a few years ago , i had to virtually strangle the poor thing to get it soaked in the bath , absoloute nightmare , my arms were scratched to bits , i wouldnt care i was only trying to help the stoopid animal ( its my cat and i will miss her when she curls her toes up :shake: ) , since we moved we have had no problems at all with her :)
 
Ian D J said:
Go to the local vet and ask for their own flea spray. It is rather pricey at around £20 for a can but damn it does work! Much better than the rubbish Dr Martins stuff you get at the local supermarket.
I did that when I first got my black cat, Chad - a rescued stray - seven years ago. He started picking up fleas the moment he settled in at home, so I popped into the local vet and got this flea spray. You spray it in places where the cat normally sleep (not on the cat itself!) . . . and that was it, not seen a single flea for years even in high summer as it gets to the source of the flea problem - the eggs themselves. Didn't even have to treat the cat not once, and I never put a collar on him (he absolutely hated it!).
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That's interesting! Thanks, it's definitely worth looking at too. I really don't want to see them that traumatised again. They won't come near me now. :crying:
 
Yes - our old cat tipped a glass of Baileys over her... she was not amused.

angel3.jpg
 
Tried it once and lets just say the only way I would do it again would involve a soapy bath, tying a brick round the cat and lobbing in a handgrenade to agitate the water, with me staying safely behind a kevlar shield outside the bathroom.
 
I don't suggest buying flea treatments from ebay as there can be some very dodgy people selling very convincing fakes, for vet type treatments try this site- www.vetuk.co.uk reasonable prices but peace of mind that they're the real thing.
The best spot on treatments are prescription only but the vet will probably want to see at least one of the cats first, stronghold seems to be the vets favorite at the mo.

As for bathing the cats, if you still need/want to do it, put the cat in an empty bath, then slowly add the water. Cats don't like being dropped into a bath full of water, but most aren't so bothered if you put them in first, then add the water. Or use the sink if having a smaller area for them to wriggle around in helps.
To get cats to let you bath them it needs to be started from kitten really, as they don't tend to build up the fear, and some then go on to enjoy swimming :)
 
Briony said:
Don't Frontline do one for cats ? much stronger the Spot on bit more pricey but it works. (y)
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I would concur, been using Frontline on dogs and cats for years now and it works a treat. My skin reacts badly to flea bites so have to keep them away and front line is the one. (y)

Oh, and you can now buy it from the pharmacy counter in Tescos, so dont even need to visit the vets.
 
Mrs Cowasaki said:
I'll look at that thanks. My only concern is that if it's stronger and they lick it off, then they may get ill. But it's worth a look thanks.
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We frontline ours every month or so - if you put it right between the shoulder blades cannot lick it off - so i am reliably informed..............
 
You've been setting about it the wrong way....

How to bath a cat
  1. Thoroughly clean the toilet.
  2. Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water and have both lids lifted.
  3. Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
  4. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids (you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape). CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for anything they can find. The cat will self-agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from your toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.
  5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power wash and rinse" which I found to be quite effective.
  6. Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.
  7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can and quickly lift both lids.
  8. The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet and run outside where he will dry himself.

Sincerely,
The Dog

:D
 
ive got 3 cats, we use frontline, but not sure how yours has managed to lick it off from between the shoulderblads, are you sure its not an Owl?
 
when we got our first one he was too young for frontline and had to have a tablet, needless to say he did not want to eat it and I spent 45 minutes battling him to swallow the dam thing I felt terrible forcing him to swallow the thing and think I only managed to get about half the tablet down but after 15 minutes you could visibly see the fleas falling off!
 
another vote for frontline, we always put it more towards the base of the neck than between the shoulders.

watch out for when they flick their head after you put it on though, that stuff stings when it hits your pupil..

as for bathing your cat.. it very much depends on the temprement and how easily distressed your cat is.. we did shower (from a tap powered hose not a power shower) our old cat after he got covered in oil while being under a car, but he was very dosile.
 
You should be able to get frontline online, I actually get it from a country store type place for farmers etc, and if you buy 6 or 12 sachets at a time, it gets cheaper. They protect fully for around 2 months officially against fleas - there are fores and againsts of monthly and 2 monthly dosings, but certainly worth a look :)

Dr martins and such is ok perhaps if (like me) you only do frontline around once every 6 months, it can be used as a top-up inbetween, not really strong enough to be much use on it's own.


In case you're not aware, you'll probably have to treat the whole house.
 
Can't see the problem, just set the washing machine to 30 degrees and make sure you stop it before it gets fully into the spin cycle.....

If you haven't got a washing machine just make sure the wicker basket is tightly shut before you fully submerge it in the bath......

If you haven't got a bath just put a few bricks in the same bag as the cat and punch a few holes in the bag before you lob it off the bridge.....

If you're not near a river put the cat in a bird cage then hose it down with a pressure washer.....

Only joking, I've got two cats of my own and love them to bits, even when they claw the furniture, rip the wallpaper or hawk up on the carpet. :D
 
As seashaker says tablets can be fun too!

I was given the following advice by a vet for giving cat's tablets of any kind. Get yourself an empty syringe body, fill the syringe with water and then place tablet and syringe in corner of cats mouth and squirt in some water. The cat cannot fail to swallow as it's a reflex action. Job done, I've had no problem since, easy innit. :)
 
Mmm bathing a cat, always fun....

The easiest way that I have found, is lock them and yourself in the bathrfoom after filling the bath to about the height of the cat's tummy, so it's deep but not too deep. Talk to them, cuddle them etc and make sure the water is warm - and the bathroom is also warm. Hold the scruff of their neck when you get them in (easy, just kinda plop them in lol) and be fast but calm. So long as there's not much sound and the water and room are warm, my 3 aren't too bad. I wrap them up in a towel and cuddle them afterwards, rubbing them to dry them as much as I can, then brushing them, but they sharp go and lie by the radiator.

The spot on treatment, for our cats we found that we had to put it on the back of the neck, near the shoulder blades - cause that was the only place they couldn't reach!
 
Do NOT use Bob Martin products on your animals.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews55781.html

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews-all-55782.html#tabs-menu

I'm not normally one to believe everything I see on the Internet but that's too many reviews from different people all saying the same thing to just ignore it.

As for fleas, ick! Had to put up with that for months in my last place, due to the dirty oik that I lived with who refused to acknowledge the problem, with HIS cat. In my own place now flea free but that put me off pets for life...

If you don't get the house sorted very quickly the flea lifecycle will have begun and it will be virtually impossible to stop it without stripping the carpets and soft furnishings in the entire house and having them washed down.
 
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