White persian who hates to be bathed

Hello all,

I have a seven-month-old white-(ish) persian kitten. I feed him raw/home-cooked food, which I make pretty soupy. His beard (for lack of a better term) gets in the dish and gets discolored and greasy. I switched to a raised dish, but the problem remains. He grooms himself well and is otherwise clean. The beard is the problem area. I have tried pet wipes and damp washcloths, to no avail. The only solution seems to be bathing him.

His breeder bathed him regularly in the first eight weeks. I have been bathing him once every 2-3 weeks ever since. I have read the bathing thread and tried the rubber mats, handheld shower attachment, treats, and everything else that was suggested. We still have a full-out war every time. It is nearly impossible to bathe him without a helper. What worries me most is that he seems terrified throughout the bath.

Any ideas would be much appreciated. I love the little guy and hate traumatizing him with baths.

Does he eat the meal all at once? If so, you could modify a baby bib. Just a thought. Haven't tried it. You'd have to make sure (like a collar) the bib wouldn't catch on anything?

Thanks for the idea! I will try the bib. He doesn't eat it all at one sitting, but I could try to get the bib on him when I see him eating. I tried using a coffee filter (read about it on a web site about showing Persians). It took him all of two seconds to shred it.

You might need to try something like a miniature apron. That way you can tie it behind his neck, run it down between his legs and tie it around his waist so the bib doesn't dip into the food and drag it across his fur. Of course, we want to see the video of you putting it on him. :lol3:

The apron sounds like the perfect solution. I will have to make him a nice manly one

I will ask my husband to post the video of me putting it on our kitty. I doubt that I will survive or remain sufficiently intact to post things, especially if I forget to trim his claws beforehand. If I survive, I will post a recording of him wriggling out of it. We are talking about a kitten who has managed to wriggle out of his collar every single time I tried putting it on him. Luckily he is an indoor kitty, so I had the luxury of giving up on the collar.

He is really vivacious. I called to check on him after he was neutered a few months ago. The vet told me that he is doing well, and is actually "unusually active" for a kitten who just had surgery

silverpersian said:

The apron sounds like the perfect solution. I will have to make him a nice manly one :lol3:

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Tell him it's a BBQ apron. You know, the kind guys use for grilling outdoors.

Here's a few suggestions:

1. Cut his chin hair. I know he won't be oh so very pretty, but just pretty is good enough, right?

2. Get ear cleans or eye cleans wipes. They are very cheap and have special solution that dissolves dirt on contact, instead of washing a whole cat.

Thanks! I tried the big pet wipes, but they don't do much. I think they are intended for wiping down dogs or shorthaired cats. I have the eye wipes too - they seem to have more solution on them and it makes sense that they would work better.

I need to try out the barbecue apron [emoji]128516[/emoji]

Are there any cat groomers in your area? A professional cat groomer can do the job for you.  You may even be able to find a mobile cat groomer or a house call cat groomer.

Some cats really do object to being bathed, though I find that cats are more likely to hate the blow dryer than the bath.