Washing the cat

Buddhapadge

Hi,
My cat came into the house yesterday afternoon smelling like animal droppings. She must have stood or rolled in some, the smell was really terrible. Is there anyway to safely wash her fur, or is there anything else I can do?

blondie7

My OH has had to wash the cats a couple of times and its not SAFE! Seriously they hate it!! People claim you shouldnt wash them but sometimes you just have to (mine were covered in diesel) Anyway if you have a bath its a bit easier but cover up cos they cr*p out of you! And it makes quite a mess in the bathroom. You can get lovely Cat/Kitten shampoo in any of the big petstores and it makes them smell lovely and it treats fleas Just make sure the house is warm and keep him in over night so he doesnt catch a cold. Good luck with it

Buddhapadge

I went to the local pet shop and they had this dry shampoo stuff, but it looks like it's a bit toxic really. I reckon I might just give her a little bath. The bathroom will be like a warzone!

MsFifers

The best thing to do is wrap her up tightly in a towel so her legs are tucked in & cant scratch you - prob a 2 person job. Then wet the towel/massage some soap etc and rinse off.

Alternatively, you can wet a cloth & wipe it along her to get the worst of it off.

Overall, though, cats are pretty good at cleaning themselves so as long as you get the worst of it off, they can finish the job themselves:D

Buddhapadge

The auld wet cloth-n-wipe sounds like the best option. She must know what I'm planning, there's no sign of her out in the garden.

MsFifers

My own cat had the same problem at one stage last year - came in from the fields completed covered in slurry - don't have a clue how that happened! She was retching from the smell of herself!

I only managed to wipe the worst of it off her - lost quite a bit of skin from my hands doing even that, but she managed to sort herself out within a day. I was afraid it would make her sick & the vet offered antibiotics, but it wasn't necessary in the end.

Buddhapadge

I'm happy to report that she seems to have managed to clean herself off, and is back to her rightful place, purring on my bed.