Bathing Feral Cat

[kouie]

I recently gotten permission to move my semi-feral from the garage to my room. I'm currently working on prepping the room for her move, but I've encountered one bump. On the condition of moving my cat to my room, I need to give her a bath. I know she dislikes water and using gabapentin would be a horrible idea since she can hop onto anything in the garage. I wouldn't want her injuring herself as the medication hits her. She's not comfortable with anyone other than me and I haven't been able to pick her up yet. I have bought the silicone grooming gloves, which I might have some luck getting her wet. I've already carrier trained her, so I can move her to the bathroom for the bath safely. It gets tricky from there as she's going to be stressed because she doesn't like the carrier closed and the bathroom will be a new environment for her. After the bathroom, we'll simply open the door and she'll be able to run into the room by blocking all other doors and hallways. What would be the best way to safely bath her and minimize the stress?

I originally planned to move out to avoid all this, since I'm fine with her not having bath. Unfortunately those plans fell through and I'm aiming to at least be able to upgrade her living quarters this year to my room so I can spend more time with her.

 

[silent meowlook]

I’m afraid if you try to bath her you will get hurt, she will get hurt and you will destroy everything you have worked so hard to create with her.

Who is wanting you to bath her and why?

 

[kouie]

My parents are requiring me to bath her before I can bring her up because they deem her too dirty since she was originally from the yard and has been walking all over the garage. If it's going to destroy the bond I have with her, I rather have her remain in the garage with her current living situation and go with my original plan of moving out once I find a new job.

 

[Kris107]

You could start with cloth wiping. When mine get a bit filthy, I use a damp cloth. It isn't immediate or as thorough as a bath, but if you do it more than once it can help. Also, sometimes having a little moisture on the fur gets the cat to self-bathe.

 

[Lennybells]

I use cat-designed wipes. Burt’s Bees Dander-Reducing Wipes. They have been really good so far on making Hobbes smell good and clean off any dirt or mess that he gets into. They are like any other wipe and might be good for your kitty.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Are they going to actually watch you bath the cat? I would understand applying topical flea medication like Revolution ( regular, not plus) maybe wipe her fown with a wet rag. But are the going to be present for the bath?

 

[iPappy]

You could start with cloth wiping. When mine get a bit filthy, I use a damp cloth. It isn't immediate or as thorough as a bath, but if you do it more than once it can help. Also, sometimes having a little moisture on the fur gets the cat to self-bathe.

This is exactly what I would try. A few damp towels, a few dry towels, maybe some dry shampoo and a brush should do the job nicely.