Content
- Advice before starting the shower
- Bathing the cat step by step and some advice
- After bath
- Other recommendations
When you first think about bathing your cat at home, the question arises: Do cats bathe? And here comes the false belief that you should never bathe a cat, which is totally false. The cats you can take a shower, if they like it is another story. However, if the cat is a house animal and has never had any "accident" playing with soil, oil or any other product that seriously soils its fur, with its tongue, the cat can live perfectly without having to bathe.
But cats are playful and we may find ourselves in a situation where our cat suddenly presents itself with large patches of dirt on his body, something he alone will not be able to clean and that is where he needs help. Cats, like dogs, should not bathe before 3 weeks of age, bathing at this age puts their health at risk as their defenses are not yet fully developed.
Then, in this PeritoAnimal article we show you some rules and advice about how to bathe your cat at home.
Advice before starting the shower
Before bathing your cat, it is important to follow a few steps, they are:
- Cut your cat's nails. To minimize the damage that the cat can cause in a time of fear or stress, it is recommended to cut its nails. If you have never done so, it is preferable to have them cut by a professional, as the experience can cause damage to the feline, even make it bleed.
- Brush your fur. The fur of our feline can have knots, and it will always be easier to undo the said knots with the fur still dry, thus avoiding pulling during the bath and making the bath experience as relaxing as possible. Take special care behind the ears and neck, they are often more prone to creating knots in the fur.
- All ready and at hand. During the bath, we should not leave our cat alone in the bathtub, not even for a moment. It is very likely that when you find yourself alone, you will get scared and may escape, so, before starting, we should make sure that we have everything within our reach: shampoo, towels, toys, treats, brush, dryer...
Notice:Shampoo must be specific for cats, it would be very harmful to use human shampoo or shampoo for dogs. - Bath or container already filled with water. The sound of water falling through the pipe can scare the cat and stress it, which is why before bringing the cat to the bathroom, you should have the bathtub ready for bathing.
The water should be warm, not too deep (the container or bathtub), so that the cat can be standing or sitting, and the water does not come near the neck, otherwise it will startle.
At the bottom of the bathtub we should place a non-slip mat and on top of this it is recommended to place a small towel for our cat's paws. That way, if at any point he gets scared and pulls his nails out, he can hook them onto something and relax again. - some toy in the water it will help the cat to associate bath time with a toy and we can bathe him quickly and easily.
- Finally, relax! You already have everything ready and everything at hand, all you have to do is go to the cat. But if, when going to him, the cat notices that he is tense, scared and afraid, it will be useless to have the bath prepared, since your cat will notice this tension, which will be contagious.
So, take a deep breath, relax and go happily with the cat, as if you were going to play with him. The cat will notice the positive and cheerful energy and will happily go to the bath.
If your cat has fleas, see our article on tips for bathing a cat with fleas
Bathing the cat step by step and some advice
To bathe your cat, follow this step by step:
- Cat entering the bathtub. You better than anyone else knows your cat, so you'll know what fun tricks you can use to get it into the water (toys, treats, some game, etc). Experiment and try to get your kitten to enter the water naturally.
If you don't get this naturalness, you can take it and let it in little by little, without pressure, without obligation, without fear.
One trick to be able to catch the cat in a relaxed way is to catch the fur behind its neck, called the scruff.When picking up this region, the kitten lets you move wherever you want. - Wet the cat very slowly. Once in the water, start to water it little by little, without haste. If the cat is scared, it doesn't matter, let her relax as long as it takes. It is better not to bathe him this first time, but have had this first contact, than to make him feel obligated and scared and never be able to bathe him again.
If everything goes correctly, we continue with the bath. It should never get wet above the neck, the head should never be introduced under water, that would be too scary for the cat.
If you already have the body well wet, get the shampoo for cats and with gentle massages wash your kitten in the direction of hair growth. After being well soaped, gently take the warm water and rinse with tranquility and patience, without leaving any traces of shampoo.
Be especially careful not to get shampoo in your eyes, ears, nose or mouth. This could cause some infection.
Now we're left with your face, since we don't get you wet during the shower, but don't worry, you can wash your face with a damp cloth, that's easy. Our feline companion will not resist these caresses with a damp, soft cloth on his face.
If your cat is an adult and it's your first time bathing, check out our article for tips on how to bathe an adult cat for the first time.
After bath
Finally, when the shower is over, you should:
- dry it with a towel. Take a towel and drain all the water you might have on your fur, gently and with movements similar to the caresses you normally give.
If your cat is short-haired and is in a region where there is no cold draft, at this point, it can finish drying itself. - Dry with the dryer. But if the hair is long or semi-long and you are not afraid of the dryer, you can take it and with the air in a soft and warm function, start by drying your hair with the help of a brush while combing it in the direction of the growth of the hair. fur.
On the other hand, if you don't accept the dryer, you should continue drying the cat with the towel as much as possible.
Other recommendations
Below we describe some recommendations for maintaining your pussy's hygiene:
- Alternatives to bathing. If our cat flatly refuses to bathe and there is no way to convince him, there are alternative ways to clean the cat, for example using dry shampoo that can be applied with a cloth and that way you can wash your cat.
- Frequency of baths. We can bathe the cat whenever we want but it should not be done more than twice a month.
- Routine since puppy. If you've had your kitten since a puppy, although you don't need to because it's very clean, you can get him used to bathing from a young age, it's easier to teach a kitten not to be afraid of bathing than an adult cat.
- Rewards. Reward your kitten always: with treats, caresses, pampering, with words, whatever, the positive reinforcement for having behaved well will make the bathing process easier, more pleasant and more fun.
