Stinky, sick cat

MsFifers

Don't ask me how this happened - but my cat came in this morning covered in slurry. I reckon she got out of the garden somehow and got into the farm next door but she was covered in it, and it was caked into her.

So, I had a fun time this morning trying to clean it off. Got her in the bath and got most of it off eventually (only losing the skin off one of my arms in the process). She still stinks to high heaven however. Any ideas on how to clean her up without inflicting the trauma of another bath on her?

BTW - I have her booked into the vet now because she keeps vomiting, the poor thing. I don't know if its just the smell, but I think she might have ingested some of it by licking herself dry after the bath.

I can't believe this! :rolleyes:

This_Years_Love

Ask your next door neighbour for the name of the stuff he uses on his farm. The vet would be able to treat the cat much better if you were able to him what that stuff was.

The Sweeper

Take her to the vet first definitely, and if they want to keep her in see if they're willing to wash her while sedated so the problem doesn't worsen.

If they're happy to give her a strong course of antibiotics and send her home, the easiest way I have found to wash a cat is to involve no running water whatsoever. You'll need a couple of baby sponges, a bottle of cat-friendly shampoo, and two large containers of warm water - one for soaping, one for rinsing. If you have a shower, put the cat in the shower (water off). They often hate the bath, even with no water on it. Alternatively, put three or four towels on the bathroom floor, and just do it on the floor.

Use the sponges to work up a lather with shampoo and wash the cat, and then rinse her with a different wet sponge. She won't love it, by any means, but I find the sponges are much easier than running water and you can really wash and rinse a cat quite effectively using wet sponges with relatively (and that's important - it's relative, it's not perfect) minimal freak out. You put the rinsing sponge against the cat and then squeeze it so they don't even get the sensation of water being run onto them - they take to it easier than a hose, shower head or jug.

mymo

Hope the kitty is ok.
I once had my lovely orange cat fall in a bucket of bright green paint :eek:
Only way I could break the invisible force field keeping the cat from the water was to use towels. Wet one towel and wrap cat up in it then run shower over towel while rubbing cat, after a few minutes turn off water, add shampoo(used baby shampoo all I had) to the outside of the towel(unless you're very brave) and massage. The foam will soak though enough to clean cat, then rinse and repeat until clean. Took me almost an hour and 3 towels to clean cat. It wasn't a happy kitty and think he would have happily killed me if it wasn't for those towel containing him.

MsFifers

Thanks guys! She's grand now. She didn't need any treatment at the vets, think she just got it all out of her system by getting sick. She's bright as a button again and seems to have forgiven me for the bath thing! She got another rub over with a wet cloth and once she dried off the smell was gone.

Now just have to figure out where the gap is in the garden security system so she won't get out again!!!