Giving a cat a bath

An easy way for one person to bathe a cat without getting scratched.

Bathing a cat can be a tough job, but with these steps a single person can safely and easily bathe a cat with only a small amount of fuss.

1. Assemble the basic ingredients:
  • A clean sink or bathtub.
  • Cat shampoo - very important (the cat may lick the remnants of the shampoo from their coat after the bath, so the shampoo must be formulated to be non-toxic for feline ingestion). Available at pet stores.
  • Two to three towels.
  • A cup (normal drinking glass) and a bowl (preferably a mixing bowl that can hold enough water to rinse the shampoo off the cat).
  • Cat treats for you to feed to the cat after the bath.

    • 2. Prepare the ingredients:
  • Fill the sink/bathtub with lukewarm water. The water shouldn't be hot to the touch, but it also should not give the cat the chills.
  • Pour a good amount of the cat shampoo into the sink water as well, making it a soapy bathwater. 
  • Fill the cup with lukewarm water and mix it with the cat shampoo.
  • Fill the bowl with clean lukewarm water (this will be used to rinse the cat after shampooing).
  • Lay out a towel beside the sink (for drying the cat after the bath) and take the other towel and lay it out on the floor.
  • Gather the cat into the washing room (usually the bathroom) and shut the door. If the cat escapes, this way you will not have a wet cat running around the house.



    • 3. Readying the cat for the bath:

        Pet the cat and have it lie on the towel on the floor. While the cat is stretched out on the towel, wrap the cat tightly in the towel, making a "cat burrito" as veterinarians call it. The cat should only have its head out of the top of the towel wrap; its feet should be safely and comfortably contained in the wrapped towel. (Wrapping a cat in a towel is a method often used by veterinarians to contain a cat while giving it shots.)
    4. With the sink full of water, hold the cat facing you and away from the water and slowly lower the cat burrito into the water. The cat should not see the water while you are placing it in the bath.  Make sure to hold the cat tightly in the towel so that it cannot wiggle out.



    5. The cat may not notice that it is getting wet for a few moments; if the water temperature is right it may be comfortable to be petted for awhile. Once the cat realizes that it is wet it will try to escape.  Hold the towel tight around the cat and press down upon its shoulders. The cat should be able to be restrained with one hand by keeping pressure on its shoulders.

    6. Soak the cat in the water, holding it down with one hand. Never allow water to get near the cats face, especially its eyes. After soaking for a while loosen the towel of the cat burrito and use your one free hand to massage the soapy water in to its the hind legs and stomach.



    7. Loosen the towel so that the cat's back is no longer covered and pour the cup of soapy water onto the cat's back.

    8. Pull the plug on the sink/bathtub and drain out the soapy water.

    9. Pour the clean water in the bowl over the cat and be sure to get all of the soap rinsed out of its coat. If the cat doesn't get too upset, you can turn on the faucet water and rinse the cat some more with that water.

    10. Take the cat out of the bath and wrap it in the second towel, leaving the "burrito" towel sitting in the sink.

    11. Help the cat dry off and give it treats.  If you have a space heater you can place it in front of it, or if your cat doesn't mind you can try to dry its coat with a hair dryer (some long haired cats may require their coats being dried with a hair dryer).

    Comments


    Anonymous

    If you feel you must wash the cat..

    Be sure to put some ointment in the eyes first. No cat bath will ever go smoothly and when their eyes are wide open in fear, water and shampoo will get in there.
    We used a screen at the clinic. Yep, a window screen. They grasp that with those outstretched claws and don't want to let go, leaving both your hands free.
    Really, unless the cat has been rolling in poison oak or ivy,(unlikely but they do walk under it) there is no need to bathe a cat. It is a vanity for the owner and no, they don't enjoy bathing. Unless they are Turkish Vans that is...
    the RVT stands for Registered Veterinary Technician..

    Feb 1, 2009 12:01 PM
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    bkchm91

    How to REALLY wash a cat

    1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

    2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the
    bathroom.

    3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both
    lids. You may need to sit or stand on the lid.

    4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet; the cat is actually enjoying this.

    5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power-wash"
    and rinse".

    6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there
    are no people or valuable objects between the bathroom and the front door.

    7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both
    lids.

    8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will happily dry himself off.

    9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.

    Sincerely,

    The Dog


    Last edited Jul 18, 2009 2:20 AM
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    Linda Louis-VanReed

    A Note or Two on Soaps

    Have washed many a cat in my day. Glad to see I am not alone. Although cats do tend to be relatively fastidious in grooming themselves, cats that live indoors or (as do mine) get to go outside on occasion have too many opportunities to get substances on their coats that are better handled by human intervention: irritants, like poison ivy, insect repellants, weed and seed, fertilizers that have been in/on the ground for some time, and much more toxic things like radiator fluid, brake fluid, steering fluid, gasoline, motor oil, etc. It may seem strange, but when my cat comes in, the first thing I do is hug her, to welcome her, then I use the opportunity to run my hands over her coat to feel and sniff for these things. If I come in contact with them, they may be safely removed by using Dawn dishwashing detergent (yep, heard me right...) -- safe and easy to use. Vets use it on distressed fowl and animals victimized by oil spills. Excellent. Also, Johnson's Baby Shampoo is an excellent alternative to cat shampoo, if you have none or don't wish to pay a lot for a product -- safer than the 'poos with pesticide for killing ticks and fleas, and easy on them -- doesn't wipe the natural oils out of the coat. Always rinse well with all shampoos.

    Last edited Sep 22, 2008 9:28 PM
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    Heather Hedgepeth

    Forgot an ingredient!

    It is always best to have another person to help hold the cat in the water, while you wash your feline. There is less chance of getting scratched or becoming soaking wet if you have help.

    Last edited Aug 13, 2008 10:09 AM
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    Eduardo

    Why bother??

    Cats clean themselves and don't smell - so why are you washing your cat anyway? I can see the burrito technique might be useful for worming etc., but giving cats a bath just seems to be an unnecessarily stressful act for both cat and owner...

    Last edited Feb 1, 2009 12:17 AM
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    Anil Reddy

    good one!!!

    This is a very nice article..Well told, and to the point.
    Our own experience with bathing our pet cat[not a complete bath actually..just a cleaning of its coat with water] was pleasant..It didnt run away, and seemed to enjoy the light bath..After a while, we let it free, and it licked all over its body to dry its coat..it then looked like a jasmine flower!!so cute!!

    Last edited Aug 7, 2008 11:24 PM
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    Justin Garofoli

    claws

    If you haven't trimmed the cats claws in a little while (even a few days), take a moment to do this before starting the bathing process.

    Last edited Aug 7, 2008 4:11 PM
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    Josh Miller

    Untitled

    Not a bad way to die, if you like that sort of thing. Cats and water rarely mix. The towel burrito is a good idea, but most cats will freak when they get the chance.

    Take my advice and let the cat be dirty and/or cover it with tuna juice so that it cleans itself. Oh, and by the way, you have been featured on Noteworthy Knols...

    http://nwknols.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-get-scratched-to-death-in-10.html

    Josh

    Last edited Aug 7, 2008 2:07 PM
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