cat sedation for bathing?

[um conchita]

In petco I saw some sedation collars and treats for cats that are supposed to sedate them. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have much cat experience, the Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had two cats before, one was an adult cat that never got dirty; the second was a huge teenager maine coon(chewie) that was very docile but very active and got really dirty and needed regular baths; donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get me wrong; chewie scratched me a few times during the many showers and he hated the showers and would run away but he was still docile enough that I could force him to take a bath plus my roommate was super experienced with cats and helped me out the first few times. I was really confident knowing I lived with her.

When I tried to give conchita bath yesterday, I realized she was not a docile maine coon. She started screaming so much I couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get anything done and I got a nasty scratch to boot so I need help here. I need to give her a bath really badly; she has fleas. She needs at least a regular shampoo before I start any treatment or take her to the vet,

Are cat sedation treats safe? Do they work? Please donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stone me if theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re not safe. I have absolutely no clue obviously.

If theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re not, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll get a second person to hold her down. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll deal with her screaming, I just donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to get too hurt during the process.

I was really spoiled in that the first cat I had long term was a maine coon; extremely docile by cat standards (what cat people tell me)
When people saw what I did with my maine coon they told me other cats would tolerate so much handling
Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m seeing that now :/
Anyway thanks in advance for your help! Go easy on me!

 

[strange_wings]

Bathing a cat, much less a already full grown cat or older kitten, is often pretty difficult if they're not used to it. You typically get one of three outcomes: wild cat, determined to get away but doesn't want to hurt you, and too shocked and confused by suddenly being wet to do anything.

Maybe I'm just paranoid in this, but I would never sedate a cat without a vet on hand. They're a small animal and too much can go wrong.

There are some things that can be done to make bathing a bit easier, and plenty of threads about it on here. You also do not need to bathe a cat before a flea treatment. They usually suggest you wait 1-2 days after any bathing to apply it.

 

[um conchita]

Thanks I'll search the Forums for threads on bathing
Ok I didn't know she didn't need to be bathed I have only been treating her with the flea comb so far she is too young for flea shampoo

 

[strange_wings]

Flea shampoo isn't really a good idea. It's usually too strong for even an adult cat - even with rinsing there's a residue left (to kill fleas) and who would want their cat ingesting that as they lick themselves dry?

How young is she? The flea topicals can be used as early as 6 weeks under vet supervision.

 

[um conchita]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Flea shampoo isn't really a good idea. It's usually too strong for even an adult cat - even with rinsing there's a residue left (to kill fleas) and who would want their cat ingesting that as they lick themselves dry?

How young is she? The flea topicals can be used as early as 6 weeks under vet supervision.

Yes, I realized this after I bought it. Not a good idea. back to the drawing board; I only used it to rinse off my flea comb and then I stopped using it for even that.
as for her age, I would put a guesstimate at 8-10 weeks old?

 

[cococat]

My cat gets a bath pretty much every week due to her breed no problems. Sorry to hear you got hurt and your cat doesn't like bath time. I would wear gloves to protect myself if I felt my cat needed a bath.
For fleas, use a topical you can get at your vet. Talk to your vet about the fleas.
Do not bathe your cat 24-48 before or after the application of the topical. Some shampoos are fine, some aren't, so I would ask your vet or follow the above rule.

 

[bunchie62]

Do you have capstar where you live? I used to dread bathing mine until the vet suggested a simple pill. Quickly kills all the fleas, could be used daily and can be used with a long-term treatment.

 

[lauren_miller]

It's always a good idea to start by clipping the kitty's nails before you try to bathe. Another trick is to scruff them while the water is on and don't let go. I try to keep the water pressure low at first while they are getting used to the noises and feel of being wet.

There are also cat bags that you can buy which keep the kitty contained and have mesh so you can get them wet and soaped up and rinsed, lots of groomers use them.

 

[ducman69]

Never bathed my cats, never had a reason to, but I do wash their back legs every now and then when they step in poo.

Get everything ready first, warm but not hot water, towel at the ready.

Grab kitty and go into bathroom and close door.

Start washin and if I get resistance, I growl. More resistance I growl louder and open my eyes wide while scruffin'. Cat is usually scared stiff now and is afraid to move... poor thing, but its better than a wild thrashin' kitty.

Worst case scenario, can also partially wrap like a burrito in a towel.

After wards dry her off, lots of soft sweet nothings and petting and their favorite treats for enduring the horrible washing.

 

[nekkiddoglady]

I wouldnt use sedatives without instructions from a vet.

You could use something like feliway to help with stress.
I know rescue remedy is reccommended for dogs (not sure about cats?)


There is also capstar, it is a pill that kills the adult fleas. The vet reccommended this for my tiny kitten because she's not old enough for topicals yet. They said I can use it weekly until she's old enough. It costs about $5-6 for one pill.