Ally scared out of her mind about getting a bath

[lawguy]

Ally has never been easy to bathe. I've tried bathing her in a shallow tub, the shower, and the sink. Yesterday I gave her and Ollie a shower and I got just an idea of how scared she really is. She urinated on herself when I put her in the shower.

Now, maybe it was just the running water, but I think she's scared witless of baths. As time went on, having Ollie with her, and seeing him not freak out allowed me to get her clean, but at no point in time has she ever been calm about bath time.

Has your cat ever gotten that scared about getting wet? It seems atypical to me - but I don't know enough to really know for sure. I don't expect her to love it, but urinating out of fear doesn't like a normal response to something she should realize is harmless by now.

 

[strange_wings]

I had a cat, and a dog

, that did that. Both went outside and both got themselves filthy from time to time and needed baths. The cat wouldn't struggle but occasionally she'd pee. All I could do was try to make it quick and try to get her to enjoy the scrubbing part a bit more. (And yes, you have to wash used motor oil off of a cat. I didn't have a choice when she'd get stuff like that on herself)

Your two are house cats, though, and I don't remember you mentioning allergies. Is there a reason Ally must be bathed? And since she's so easily spooked, never have her confined to an area with loud running water. Cats usually dislike water and the noise is like a sensory overload for them. Cats, for all the times they seem clever, are still an animal of instinct and victim to them. Water = danger to Ally and always will, she's just too frighten to learn anything during the baths.


Long time no see, btw.

 

[lawguy]

Mainly it's just because after 3-4 months without being bathed, the two of them manage to smell like a third world public outhouse. All the licking in the world couldn't get rid of that smell.

It's been a while, yeah. Ironically, since getting a smartphone I find that I use the internet much less these days. Who would have thought?

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by LawGuy

Ironically, since getting a smartphone I find that I use the internet much less these days. Who would have thought?

I'm on my actual computer less.

Though I don't really get at my PMs unless I'm on my computer since it's a pain on my phone.

They shouldn't get smelly like that. I don't bathe mine unless they get something nasty on them. My back just can't handle leaning over a tub for the amount of time it takes to thoroughly wash a cat.

There's only two logical explanations for it in both cats: Their teeth/breath is causing this or they're picking up smells from their environment.

Are you using covered boxes? What's your scooping routine? Litter type?

I don't know what your current living arrangements are... is it just you? Any chances they're napping on your dirty clothes often?

 

[ducman69]

Quite sure its normal for cats to be frightened of baths, I know both of mine absolutely hate getting their paws washed which I had to do for a while during a bout of loose stools that they'd occasionally step in. A domestic cat that got its coat completely saturated in water would have a pretty good chance of dying if it didn't get it dry before the cold nighttime.

And, well, fearing something that can kill you is a pretty good predisposition and in my experience cats rely a lot more on instinct than thinking.

My suggestion would just be to keep the water shallow, luke warm, and make sure the bath is already filled and everything is nearby on hand so the bath can be as short as possible.

For an indoor cat, IMO regular old baby wipes are good enough. If your cat is an indoor cat and stinks, then IMO that is reason enough to bring em to the vet. That is not normal and I'd think a sign of an underlying health issue.

 

[hissy]

Why bathe a cat? They have all the equipment to get it done themselves. If they are muddy and wet, wait till they dry and brush them, they will take care of the rest.

 

[stephanietx]

I've owned cats for 12 years and I've never bathed them. I do clean them up if they get something on them or something like that, but never give them a bath. They really don't need it.

 

[bastetservant]

Some of my cats I've had for almost 20 years, and they never had a bath. They never needed one.

If your cats smell bad, something is not right. Cats usually smell very nice - with just doing all their "bathing" themselves.

Robin

 

[lauren_miller]

I bathe my cats and everyone who shows their cats bathe them too. I use this hose attachment in my shower to do mine:http://www.amazon.com/Rinse-Ace-Show...4419297&sr=8-2 The key with bathing cats is not to let go! Keep a hold on their scruff. I like that shower system because the water shuts off when you let go, I can quickly spray them down then it shuts off while I put the soap on and scrub, then I can rinse. If the sound of the water bothers her, I would definitely buy one of these shower sprayers.

Pandora will pee in the tub if the temperature changes, like if I wash her in warm water then I put cool shampoo on her it will cause her to pee. So I mix the shampoo before I start with warm water so that it's the same temperature and it solved the peeing problem.

 

[ducman69]

The reason you have to scruff a cat though is because they HATE it. So my opinion is why stress an animal if not necessary? My cats are half white, and their legs and bellies/chests are always very bright white on their own, and the only odor is only on their butts if they haven't licked down there after going recently yet and there are specs. Overall they smell like pretty much nothing... and I definitely know cuz they love to squish themselves onto my face when I'm on the couch heh.

 

[mnjulz]

I'ave had a cat my entire life and only bathed a cat once. She got sprayed by a skunk...cats do not need baths and if they smell, take them to a vet something is wrong or clean the environment they live in. Giving a cat a bath every 3 months is cruel. IMO

 

[twobananaz]

we bathe for allergies, and for grooming purposes, since i'm able to use a zoom groom to get a lot of loose hair off my kitties while washing them. my saki kitty, her fur tends to start to look oily and sort of stick together if she doesn't get a bath once every couple of months. Isis, when we first got her, just had this funky smell that wouldn't go away, and took a few months and a few baths to get rid of. I dunno what it was, but it was a strange smell. Isis is scared of the water, and does the typical climb frantically over any human to get away, until you can calm her down and get her wet and warm, and then pet her while someone else washes. Saki just stands there and cries while she gets bathed, never puts up a struggle, and is just pathetic. I know a lot of people believe in doing everything the "natural" way, ie. no bathes, raw diet, etc., but to each their own I say.

 

[turks rule!]

I have the opposite problem - keeping my cat OUT of the bath

He loves to watch the bath fill up, drain and is fascinated when people are in it. He will on occasion dive right in. Happiness to him is sticking his head under the shower!!!! He is pretty easy to dry off, as he is a Turkish Angora and has no undercoat.
I would not however bathe him to clean him. When we found him, he was covered in motor oil - he was found trapped in a car engine. I took photos of him and took them to the vets. I was very concerned about the oil and thought that i would have to bathe him. The vet told me that under no circumstances should i bathe him, just wipe the worst off with a cloth dipped in warm water and the kitten would do the rest. Within three days he became a clean fluffy bundle.
I know that show cats have to be bathed, but dont understand why you would want to bathe a house cat. Smelling strange sounds a little odd - i would definately arrange a checkup at your vets.

 

[feralvr]

If your cats are getting that stinky after a few months then I would look inward, so to speak, instead of outward, i.e. their skin and coat. What are you feeding your cats? I thought I wanted to start bathing my cats awhile back and started a thread on bathing. I decided not to bathe them because I groom them so often and they are on an all wet, grainless diet and their coats are gorgeous and they smell so clean all the time, and the shedding is minimal too. I don't think I could even hold Perkins or Perla to bathe them, I think they would freak

 

[strange_wings]

When Sho was a young cat he would sometimes smell awful. A cheesy soured smell. Come to find out my DH was taking off his socks after work and leaving them on the floor beside the bed (his side, not mine

). Well, Sho seemed to think this was a perfect bed and would make himself a nest in those dirty socks.
Sho was completely healthy, though I've never been sure that DH's feet are…

Likewise I've had cats smell from the litter box. No, not of poop. I made the mistake of trying Scoop Away close to 8 years ago, the heavy perfumes permeated Sho's fur and everything else in the room. When I used chicken feed the cats would smell grainy after a fresh change.

My bets, since Lawguy does take good care of his cats and because both smell like an "outhouse" is just that it's litter box related. Either the litter isn't doing it's job or it's a covered box/box in a small space like a closet.
Of course there's always the chance that, like my DH, he's not picking up his dirty socks.

 

[lawguy]

Wow. A lot of criticism of bathing my guys.

They do get check ups at the vet and they were just there in February for shots. I'm pretty sure there is nothing wrong with them, but I can ask the vet if this is something to be concerned about.

Food wise, they eat Wellness brand Indoor Cat formula dry food (unlimited supply), Wellness brand canned food (1 can per cat per day), and for water they have a Drinkwell Platinum that I change the filter on twice a month at least. For treats, they get Crunchlovers Chicken and Seafood flavor treats.

Also, it's important to mention that stinkiness is just one reason I bathe them. I'm extremely allergic to pet dander - that's another, and a much more important reason.]

As for the few who have gone almost as far as to imply that my bathing them is akin to animal cruelty - I find that extremely offensive considering the lengths that I go to in an effort to make sure that Ally and Ollie are as happy as two cats can be.

 

[catmom2wires]

I have to bathe my wirehairs occasionally. They put off a musky type odor, and tend to get oily. Interestingly, my smooth wirehair never needed a bath.

What works best for us is to have a large bucket or container of some sort filled and ready in the tub. Dip kitty into that bucket, then let her stand in the tub on a wet folded towel, so she won't be slipping. Do the actual soaping there, then do a soaking dip back into the tub of water.

Work quickly, and have some nice warm towels ready to wrap/hold her in afterward. If you avoid wetting the head, things will go better. You can always wipe her head with a warm damp washcloth later.

Good luck.

 

[mnjulz]

LawGuy - I apoligize I didn't mean cruelty in the sense of mistreating or not feeding your cats. It seems cats are either fascinated by water or absolutely hate it. I apologize.

Cats just normally don't stink unless there is something wrong. Have you tried any of those dry coat cleaning products? I haven't but anything is worth a shot. Once again I apoligize for offending you

 

[just mike]

Originally Posted by LawGuy

Ally has never been easy to bathe. I've tried bathing her in a shallow tub, the shower, and the sink. Yesterday I gave her and Ollie a shower and I got just an idea of how scared she really is. She urinated on herself when I put her in the shower.

Now, maybe it was just the running water, but I think she's scared witless of baths. As time went on, having Ollie with her, and seeing him not freak out allowed me to get her clean, but at no point in time has she ever been calm about bath time.

Has your cat ever gotten that scared about getting wet? It seems atypical to me - but I don't know enough to really know for sure. I don't expect her to love it, but urinating out of fear doesn't like a normal response to something she should realize is harmless by now.

Outside of having to dunk specific body parts into water to remove caked on <insert whatever here>, I've never given any of my cats baths. True, people that show their cats bathe them all the time so they might be able to give more advice on the subject than I. But I've found that an occasional wipe down with those moist baby wipe things for cats is quite sufficient in my household. All 4 of mine are indoor only cats.

I would be concerned about the smell though. You might rule out any physical problem that might be causing the odor. If it's nothing physical it could be the cats diet or perhaps the litter that might be causing some of the problems.

 

[darkmavis]

Hmm... about your kitties smelling bad every once in a while.. I'm going to ask, do they roll around in the litter box? Genever goes through phases where she does that. It is so gross. I dont see her doing it now that we moved and the litter boxes are in the spare room (used to be in our bedroom), but she comes out with litter all in her fur. Usually she is good enough about grooming herself afterwards so she doesn't stink, but there were 2 times where she just stank. And I wasn't about to wait for her to take care of it, it was too gross, so into the tub she went. And out of the tub, back in, jumped out, in, out, etc. I did eventually get her soaped and rinsed, and I was as wet as she was.

Sorry, as you might imagine from the above story, I have no advice on how to best bathe a cat, especially a really scared cat. But i'm just thinking about the smell, since people are bringing that up as a possible internal problem. I'm wondering if it's just an external problem.

Oh, I just did a search on Petco.com, and there are a few brands of cat wipes available, which require no water! Maybe check out something like that for Ally?

Oh yeah, since you're around after not being around for a while (at least not that I've seen), how about some pics of your sweeties???