Remove fish oil from cat's fur?

[nekochan]

Anyone have any ideas on removing fish oil from fur?

I was giving my cats an oil supplement for a while, and Spot didn't like it and fought it, and so the oil ended up spilling out the sides of his mouth, and he ran away. I tried to wipe his mouth before he ran but since he was struggling to run I let him go because I thought he would just lick the rest of it off his lips. I did not realize that after he ran away I guess he drooled it all down his neck... Since it was on his neck where he could not reach he couldn't lick it off. When I saw/smelled it on his neck I tried cleaning it off but water or waterless shampoo didn't work because it was oil. It would not come out and it still won't go away it's caused a yellow stain in his white neck fur and his neck smells like fish! It doesn't really feel that oily anymore but the smell and stain won't go away.

 

[molldee]

Is there anyway you can give him a bath with pet shampoo? You could also try pet wipes.

 

[GoldyCat]

What you need is a degreaser. You can use Dawn dish detergent--the original, not concentrated, scented, or antibacterial. Dilute it and wash like regular shampoo. Then rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse some more. For really greasy fur I find that Goop hand cleaner works better. They actually make a Groomer's Goop now, but I've used the original formula with good results. You put it on full strength and rub it into the fur, then rinse, rinse, rinse. You can shampoo kitty afterward if you want, but I only do that if I'm getting them ready for a show.

 

[nekochan]

Thanks! I don't know why I didn't think of a degreaser since I used to show and people always talked about it in the show bath protocol for Maine Coons (my MC is female and never needed it). I bet that will work. I was thinking about a bath but I was afraid it wouldn't be enough, and I didn't want to bathe him if it wasn't gonna do the trick, but I think with a degreaser it will work!

Now I am wishing I had a greasy MC, because then I would probably still have some pet degreaser around to use. Oh well, I think I have Dawn.

 

[nekochan]

Ok so I tried Dawn, I shampooed/rinsed his neck several times, even tried letting it sit a little while and it didn't work. His fur is still yellow and it still smells like fish. I also tried a white coat shampoo but that didn't work either! Ugh. I had to wash his collar twice to get rid of the fish smell on it, but if I put it back on him, it will just get it again.

 

[aprilprey]

Hmmm...I make cold process soaps.  I use a variety of oils (olive, palm, etc...).  Soaps made from 100% coconut oil cut grease better than dish soap.  Its so effective, most people can't use 100% coconut oil because its too drying to the skin - its stripping off so much of one's natural oils.

So I ended up using these bars of soap in the kitchen...also to mop floor.  Whenever I have an especially greasy pan...I use my coconut oil soap.

Might not be too much help...but if I were in your shoes I'd be reaching for the bar of 100% coconut oil soap and lathering that up to make a shampooey lather.