How do I bathe Simba?

[Karena]

What is the best way to bathe my kitty? This morning he stood in his poo again and I filled the sink with luke warm water and put him in and he hated it. I had a real struggle keeping him still while I washed his legs. Is there a way I can get him used to this so that next time it's not such a traumatic experience for him?

[RiaBoo]

Hi Karen, Hank did the same a few times, what we did was comb the poop out and then wiped the excess with baby wipes.

We didnt really give him a wash as we didnt think it was that bad, just clumps that was stuck to his fur. We found that the little bit that was left, he just cleaned himself. Not sure what to suggest about bathing him as I know cats can be very difficult with water. Maybe try doing the above first then just get a wet paper towel and gradually wipe it off depending on how bad the poop is.

There had been a few times that Dave has actually pulled it out by hand (rather him than me tho) things we do for our pets eh?

[jckkerrison]

We show three of ours so had to get them used to that big tub,we found that if you left the bathroom door open they would wander in to see you & running water would draw them so to begin with we would just run the cold water slowly & rattle plug around & normaly curiosity gets the better so they hop in & play with plug chain & while they are doing that the water catches their eye & we just splash it over them & make general fun,then after a few goes at that we put a couple of inches of water in & pop them in it but at the same time make a lot of the chain again & even have a toy to splash in there with them & just generally make it fun,gradually increase depth of water to that you would use if they needed to have bath.I have five that will get in no problem now & just love it when you put the shower over them & all of them plus our old lady that we didn't have from a youngster will stand in the sink in the utility room with feet on the side & just let you wash down their bloomers easily if they have an accident.That I can manage on my own but will admit to needing two of us when bathing the big boys for show day.Good luck, with time & patience I am sure you will find a way to do it,maine coons are not stupid & soon seem to learn what you are expecting from them.
Health Warning,make sure you have plenty of warm towels on stanby for cat & yourself

[Karena]

Many thanks for your suggestions. Ria - I never thought of using baby wipes - good idea.

Jckkerrison - I will try and make it more fun for him next time - not do it when necessary but maybe take him into the bathroom while the tap is running so not to frighten him. Hopefully like you say he will want to go in to have a look if I don't rush things.

[harrymc]

Bathing a Maine Coon

Don't know whether this will help Karena, but I found this link this morning. I am going to attempt to bathe Harry later (when he wakes up !)

I change his litter every day completely but I did buy a different litter last week which i don't think is so good as the one he's used to (Catsan) This morning when he jumped on my face, (as they do) I nearly brought up my breakfast so something like bathing that didn't seem important yesterday suddenly became a must today !

I think, reading the advise in the link is to be totally prepared, lots of towels and everything else you need at hand. Will let you know how I get on later.

[Karena]

Thanks for that Alison. I did it totally wrong then as I did try to hold him still. The link is useful though. I have had a chat with his breeder this morning. She has been very helpful. She told me to put him on the side whenever I am near the sink and let him watch the tap running - if he wants to go let him, she said eventually curiosity will get the better of him and he will start to play with the water. Once his fear has gone it will be easier to bathe him. In the past I have bathed horses and dogs and even hosed down a cows udder and they were a doddle in comparison

[harrymc]

Well the first bathtime went ok. I decided to do it in the kitchen sink, as advised in the link I posted earlier. I put a couple of inches of warm water and mixed in some of the pet shampoo and as Harry always jumps on to the unit besides the sink to see what I am doing I put some plastic lids in the water and we just played for a bit. He got more inquisitive and put his front paws straight in trying to bat the lids about and before I knew it he was stood in it. I then just scooped water over his back and poured over warm water to rinse most of it off. He only got distressed when it got too close to his face and attempted to jump out but as I was nearly done we called it a day.

Now the drying was another matter, towel dry, fine, no problems but as soon as the dryer came out he was off and then I had to ask hubby for help. Anyway now he's completely dry and looks like a ball of sweet smelling fluff ahhhh.

[Scrapdragon]

great to see it went well....

[Claire]

Mums Cat managed to poo on the way to Mum's house! The smell in the car was one I will never forget. So poor Stitch's first intoduction to Mum's house was sat in an empty bath having her paws wiped with baby wipes! She was very good and let me do that no problem! However, she does still smell and will need a proper bath soon. I'm not doing it yet as she really needs time to settle in! Can't say I'm looking forward to it!

[Tomiam]

I had to wash the rear of Loki yesterday as she got some a fair bit of poop on her, one bit sticking to both sides of her fur tuffs.
Today my wounds have mostly healed and all but 1 is pain free. She didnt want to get into the sink, had to be literally dumped in. Then didnt really want to be dried with a towel, then DEFINATELY didnt like the hairdryer which is where my injuries came from as I was holding her in a towel at the time.

I shall now introduce them both to the bath using the slowly slowly method. I can see it working as Storvenn loves to watch dishes being washed and rountinely takes a bite out of bubbles