Thread: The shredding

Sorry no idea to A,B or C but you are far braver than me!!!

My idea of bathing Hector and Roxy is a handfull of baby wipes when they need their bums doing!!

Hi Heather,never too late to start,if you go into search along the top of the page & put in the words "How do I bath" & then go down the page a little way you will see the replies for the thread "How do I bathe Simba"& could be some ideas that could help you.
Where are you thinking of taking Zack for his first show,wish I lived near you I luv getting them ready.....
Good luck.

I'm thinking gryfn needs a bath... but it's too cold here atm.... so it's not going tohappen soon...

I managed to bath Purdie fine, she wasn't too bothered and it only took 2 of us. Brisca on the other hand was a different matter. Think I got as far as her paws and gave up!

Don't wait until they need a bath for some reason,try to encourage them in while it is empty & play with them,let the cold water trickle from the tap so they play with that & just get used to being in the tub or if they are happier with a shower than get them used to that,like Heathers if it is happy to lay & paddle with the water afterwards would it let you lower the shower & just let the water trickle out of the head a bit & then gradually build up on it,I have a friend who has her cat with her in the shower cubicle & does him in there,ours is over the bath & the first shower we had wasn't too good & I used to chuck gallons of water from a jug over mine to rinse them after a bath but when we had the more powerful shower fixed I just started off by laying the head in the bath a few times & let them play with it,then started water running through & let them play again before I then would pick it up & spray them quickly in fun & just progressed from there & none of mine are a problem with bath or shower.I also find that if you do playtime on your own with them they do not feel threatened & accept more that is fun.If they just freak about going into the bathroom get them playing with a laser mouse at night & then oops it happens to go into bathroom & in tub & out again,what fun,especially if another time it happens to have a bit of water in it....I think we have to accept that some will always hate a bath/shower,Merl would howl so loud the neighbours could hear him but got him used to having a treat afterwards won us with that one {his tummy speaks loud for him} with most of them you should be able to turn their love of water to your advantage,just try play,play,play first to build up confidence.If they fire off trying to hold them can make them worse,when mine have done it & a couple did at the start I just let them go,had a good swear,mopped up water from everywhere,stiff drink,found them toweled them dry had a cuddle,surprising what you can get out of drawers at that point if that is what the problem is & then back to play with fingers crossed that it will get easier.Luckily all of mine will stand with front feet on side of utility room sink with back legs in it for a drawer wash if necessary so that makes things even easier.Now watch this space,next time I have to get a cat ready for a show it will make me eat my words,so if you see a swear thread posted with lots of water splashes & slurry words....

Thank you so much for that!!!!!

I will entice them in the shower if I can but mine is a stand alone glass door shower in an ensuite but you never know it might be ok.

I bought more!! toys today and put some in the bath tub and a couple of the rattly mice. Bingo in goes Sarah _ whoops wrong cat. She had a fat time playing in there and Zack only got to the side of the bath with his paws up on the edge. I just ignored him and played with Sarah. I am sure it will get the better of him. I will keep you posted

BTW - wounds healing fine

Not sure what cat show I would take him to - was never going to do it but the breeder suggested Zack was a good candidate for it. I would discuss with him where would be best - need to go to some to see what happens. I have showed horses before for many years and I am sure the politics is the same but size of exhibit is slightly different!!!!!. I am in Australia but would love you to jump on a plane and help me!!!!!!!!

Thought I would test the washing part first before I got too excited about it all and ah ah - failure on that front

I found the bl***dy horses easier than the cat

Good on Sarah,proves which is the brighter sex doesn't it but I am sure you are right,curiosity will win over with Zack.If they are new toys only let them play with them in the bathroom & not every day so it makes it more fun when they come out. I used to have two,now gone up to three,toy boxes that I change round monthly.It used to be great seeing their faces when they saw a favourite toy that had been missing for a month turn up again,now even better that they have to wait the two months,they still have their certain toys around all the time but I have found that by changing the others it gives them a new lease of life without having to go out & buy all the while.
The show cats have their own special little toy bag & they only appear on "the"day which is great as well,Merl used to have a small piece of fluffy fur which had come off of one of the toys & he would lay at the show either with it in his mouth or under one paw & he was so proud,it got nicknamed Merls bit of fluff...
Sorry you live so far away,didn't look at your address & as flying & me don't gel too well it would be a bit far,would help with the horse at the same time though it is a long while since I bathed one of them.
Go look at some cat shows & see if you think it would be for you because if not all you really need to do is get Zack to accept knicker wash just in case !

Since I got the Criminals, I've been to a couple of cat shows. The breeder I got them from shows her stud cat (their Dad!) and a couple of her other cats. So it was a good opportunity to see the kittens' Dad again and to chat to the breeder. And wow, Dad was stunning! One of my kittens, Monty, is the image of him. Long, long slender limbs, semi-longhaired rather than very fluffy, great temperament, just stretched out in his pen with his big paws crossed, looking regal, did a bit of rolling over when I spoke to him. Apparently Grandad is a Grand Champion, and Dad is a Champion so far, at nearly 2 years old. So he's still got some growing and fluffing out to do! And he's already 2-3 feet long!

I must admit I was tempted to start showing Monty, but I don't know if I could handle the stress. It seems that you have to go through a lot of expense and preparation, not to mention stress for the cat, for a complete stranger to possibly give you the nod and a certificate. It's all done on appearance and conformity, absolutely no points for personality. If you are a breeder then you really need to go for those certificates and titles, but if not...

There was a sign on one of the pens at the cat show, which read 'Could not handle'. The pen was empty - they had gone home. I felt so sorry for them - all that hard work and they couldn't even qualify. Poor them and poor cat.

Am I missing something here? Can anyone talk me into showing? I would have to get over the first hurdle - the bath! just like heather2mc!

Hi Howlinbob,go & look round the different show groups,we were about to pack up showing with Merlyn because he wasn't happy in the GCCF set up but as soon as we took him to FB we had a different cat,he could have whatever bedding we wanted,toys in with him & food as well as water all the while {Tica the same} At FB you take your cat to be judged & so you hear personaly what the judge has to say as well as getting a written report on the day,the only time someone else handles him other than your judge is if the cat makes it through to Best in Show at the end, then it goes into a pen & a steward gets it out for the BIS line up. Merl got so laid back at these shows that he ended up laying on a chair all day loving every minute of the attention he was getting,Shimba & Welly are now following in his paw prints,although Shims does get a bit above his station & tries to be the boss !
Yes it is expensive but if your cat is happy doing it then it is great fun & you make some wonderful friends,we go more now to meet up with them & socialise but I still enjoy the challange of the preperation of the cats,would never make them do it though if they really got upset because first & foremost they are well loved pets.