Cat Bathing Tips: Safely Wash Your Feline Friend

Cat bathing isn’t often necessary because cats groom themselves quite frequently. Thus, they don’t require frequent baths. But occasionally, they become much dirtier, and there isn’t anything else you can do besides bathe. Thus, taking a bath is crucial at that time. Additionally, even if the cat is not particularly dirty, bathing can be done twice a year. Water is disliked by cats. Thus, giving your cat a bath could result in a brawl between the two of you. So in this article, we will share a few tips with you on how to properly bathe your cat. 

Cat Bathing: Materials You Need to Properly Bathe Your Cat

1. A hand spray or mug
2. A rubber mat
3. Cat Shampoo (can be found on pet shop or pet clinic)
4. Towels
5. Human Drier
6. Cat’s favourite treats

Cat Bathing: Steps to Follow for a Proper Bathing Process

Engage in a tiresome activity with the cat: Most of the cats do not like water, so bathing will turn into a wrestling match no matter how hard you try. Also, as we cannot bathe them often, at max we can bathe them 2-3 times per year. As a result, we cannot make this a habit. So first of all, we need to engage them in an energetic event like playing, climbing or walking before we get them to bathe. This will tire them, and they will resist less.

Bath duration: As mentioned above, cats do not like to bathe. So you need to make sure that the duration of the bath is short and quick. The longer you take, the harder the cat will resist. 

Clip their nails: While bathing, as they are scared of water, they will most likely try to scratch you. So before you get them to bathe, clip or trim their nails. Learn how to properly cut your cat’s nails: 

Put cotton in ears: Make sure to put cotton in their ears so that the water cannot go inside of them. 

Use a rubber mat: You can put a rubber mat or anything else that will make sure that the cat does not slip in the bath. 

Use cat shampoo instead of human shampoo: Cats’ skin is sensitive compared to humans. Human shampoo makes the cat’s skin drier. So instead of using a human shampoo, try using a cat shampoo that suits the cat’s skin better.

Mix shampoo with water: Then take one part of cat shampoo and five parts of lukewarm water and mix them well with each other. If you did not get this, this means water should be five times more than the shampoo you used.

Wet the cat: Using a hand shower, or spray or mug, make sure to thoroughly wet your cat from head to tail. Make sure the water is lukewarm, not hot or not too cold. It should be somewhere in between a proper balance. 

Massage the cat: Then, using the solution we created with shampoo and lukewarm water, gently massage the cat in the direction of the cat’s hair growth from head to tail. Make sure not to leave any part of the body instead of the eyes, ears or sensitive parts. 

Do not take the shampoo off instantly: After properly massaging the cat with the solution, wait for two or three minutes so that the solution properly adjusts to the cat’s body. Rinsing of the solution instantly would not provide a very good solution, so waiting for a few minutes would be a good way. 

Brushing: You can also use brushing while bathing and after applying shampoo to remove any loose or dead hair from the cat’s body. Brushing, along with bathing, works best for the cat’s health and better circulation.

Rinse the shampoo: After waiting for a few minutes, rinse the shampoo from the cat using the hand shower, spray or mug. Make sure not to hurt any sensitive part of the cat or leave any kind of shampoo on the body of the cat. 

Dry the cat: After rinsing off the shampoo, try to dry the cat on a towel in a warm place, and make sure not to leave any water in the cat’s body, as it may lead to cold or coughing problems. If your cat is good enough, you can use a hair dryer to properly dry it. After bathing, the hair dryer works best to properly dry your cats. 

Provide treats: Throughout the bath, make sure to provide treats to the cat to make it happy. Providing treats will also reduce the cat’s resistance. Also, after finishing the overall bathing process, ensure that a lot of treats are provided to the cat. 

Note: It is also quite possible that you cannot properly bathe your cat even after following these steps. If so, do not try very hard. You can find a professional caregiver for cats; take the cats to the professional for their bathing if you cannot bathe them properly. 

Happy bathing your cats!!