How to bathe an adult cat for the first time?

Cats have a well-earned reputation for being extremely hygienic animals, and anyone who has a cat at home and is stopped to observe them may have noticed the large amount of time a day they invest in grooming. In spite of this, at some point it may be your turn to bathe an adult cat yourself, and this is not an easy job, neither for you nor for the feline in question, who will try with all his strength to flee from you.

As we want this experience not to be traumatic for either of us, we bring you these tips on how to bathe an adult cat for the first time. We are sure that you will be very useful and will help you to cope with this task in a simpler and faster way.

Is it necessary to bathe your cat?

It is not difficult to realize that most of the cats flee in fear of the water, although there are some breeds or particular kittens that find it fun and even enjoyable. In fact, Many veterinarians recommend not bathing cats unless it is strictly necessary, and always after they have completed at least three months of age and have been given their vaccines, since a bath could make them sick easily.

However, you may never have bathed your cat because he has not needed it, but as an adult, there is a situation that implies that you give him a good bath Yes or yes, as it can be:

• It has fleas and you need to give it a bath with a special shampoo to fight them.
• In his pranks he has impregnated his hair with some substance that can not be removed by licking, or that would be dangerous if he did so, such as paint, grease, gasoline, etcetera.
• The cat has ringworm.
• Its fur is long and you need to bathe it to keep the mantle clean and unraveled.
• He has suffered heat strokes.
• Have an allergy or skin infection.
• It is a sick animal that has stopped bathing.
• You have picked up an adult stray cat and need a bath to have it at home.

No matter what the reason, bathing your cat can be traumatic for him and you if you do it the wrong way, so we will propose several methods to make the process more enjoyable for both of you.

General advice to bathe an adult cat

With any of the methods you choose to bathe your adult cat for the first time, you should follow the following tips to make the bath experience satisfactory:

• You must be calm at bath time Any symptom of stress or worry in you, any predisposition to things going wrong, will be easy to detect by the cat and will put on guard.
• Find someone in the family to help you bathe your cat, between two will be easier.
• Throughout the process you must be affectionate, talk to your feline with sweet words and never force the situation.
• Keep everything you need to hand: two towels (one for drying and one for the cat to scratch), the special shampoo for cats, some packaging, a hair dryer, a kennel (carrier).
• You will have to have the necessary time for the bath, since it can take you an hour, depending on what it costs to convince the animal that everything is fine.
• Make sure that the whole environment is calm.
• Caress the feline so you can relax.
• Whether you bathe in a bucket or basin, sink or bathtub, it must be large enough for the cat to fit, but do not fill the container with water, just enough to reach the belly of the animal.
• The water must be warm, more towards the ambient temperature than towards cold or hot.
• When finished you must dry the animal with a towel and then apply a dryer with low temperature, away from the body of the cat to avoid burning it. If you are afraid of the dryer, place the animal in the kennel and let the dryer air through the door. In this case, use trinkets, or any other snack, to prevent the cat from relating the carrier to something negative.
• If there are screams and scratches from the animal, Be patient and understanding. Opt for a quick bath.
• Never wet your eyes, ears, nose or head, make a neck bath down.
• Add your favorite toys to bathe your adult cat, so he feels safe and interprets it as a fun and positive activity.
• Avoid using the water jet directly from the tap, as the force of this will scare the animal.

When you have all these things in mind, you can proceed to try one of these methods.

In the bathroom

Whether in the bathtub or the sink, first prepare all the utensils you need and have the water ready by the time the animal arrives. Start by moistening your hands and passing them through the cat’s coat little by little, always attentive to your reaction. Remember that this is the first time you bathe your adult cat, so it may be altered and try to scratch. Then, follow the following steps:

1. On the edge of the bathtub, punch bowl or sink, place a dry towel so your cat can cling to it and scratch it if necessary.
2. While caressing him, the person who is helping you can distract him with a toy while you throw some water with a container.
3. If the cat is disturbed, be firm but delicate, without forcing it. Make a massage on the coat with the shampoo and then rinse well.

When you have finished bathe your adult cat, proceed to dry with a towel and dryer as we explained in the previous section. If it is impossible to use the dryer, remove as much water as possible with the towel and let the animal finish drying alone in a warm room. Be careful: this is only viable in hot weather, never during the winter, and always making sure that at the end of the day the cat does not remain wet.

A quick bath

For cats harder to bathe, it is better to apply faster methods, so we present this. To carry it out, you will need three punch cups or buckets, one with soapy water and two with water alone. In all three, remember to fill only enough to fit the cat and use warm water.

When you have everything ready, what you will do is to quickly put the cat in the bucket with soapy water, avoiding the head, and rubbing so that the shampoo takes effect. Then, go to the next bucket, where you will remove all the shampoo, and finish to rinse in the last container.

Dry in the same way as we explained in the previous sections to prevent the cat from getting wet.

Use an atomizer

If none of the above methods are used to bathe your adult cat for the first time successfully, then try the following techniques:

Use an atomizer

Get an atomizer or sprayer that makes as little noise as possible, because this sound usually scares the cats. Then, fill the sprayer with soapy water, hold the cat by the upper fat that has in the neck, as mothers do, and spray the fur little by little.

Massage the cat’s hair so that the shampoo takes effect and quickly remove it in a bucket with warm water.

Dry bath

There are products to clean the hair of cats that are applied dry, advise on the most appropriate according to your case and the needs of the hair of your furry friend. Do not skimp on expenses when it is a product of this type, remember that the cat will lick.

With these recommendations we are sure that you can bathe your adult cat and make it look clean. The first time is usually more complicated, but the best is turn the bathroom into a routine, with some established steps that the cat can remember and recognize, so that it is not stressed by the uncertainty of not knowing what is happening. And if you want to provide an extra shine, do not miss our article in which we show you the tricks to shine your cat’s hair.

Also remember that in normal situations it is not usually necessary to bathe your cat unless its fur is long, because the work they do with their language is enough. Check with your veterinarian about the needs of your cat’s fur to recommend the best.

And after the bath?

Once you have succeeded in bathing your adult cat and drying its coat, you should proceed to brush it to remove dead hair I could have stayed. Depending on the type of hair your cat has, you should choose one type of brush or another, as well as follow specific brushing routines. If your cat is short-haired, see our article on short-haired cat brushes, while if it is long-haired, do not miss the post in which we show you long-haired cat brushes.

Brushing the cat frequently is essential to prevent our home is impregnated with hair but, above all, not to encourage the formation of hairballs in your stomach. When licking, the feline accidentally ingests the dead hair that we have not removed, generating the dreaded balls and producing the appearance of arcades to try to expel them. Offer your cat the best care and you will have by your side a healthy and happy animal.

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