Bathing my cat has always been a struggle. She hates water and bath time has always been painful ( literally).
Can I bathe my cat with shampoo and soap? I would not recommend bathing a cat often and even if you do need to bathe your cat, stay away from soaps and shampoos. You can use unscented dawn dish soap, castile soap and baby shampoo, but with caution. You can use soapnuts which have antibacterial properties and are harmless.
As a cat mom, I have a few tips which I have learnt over the years. I hope these help you overcome the fear of baths ( both for you and your cat).
Can you Bathe a cat with Dettol?
No. Dettol is toxic for cats. Never use dettol on or around a cat. If you have accidentally used it, rinse off thoroughly. Dry the cat and take it to a vet.
Phenols, detol, essential oils can be fatal for cats. Be extra careful when using them in your house.
As per wikipedia dettol is highly toxic on cats.
It is highly toxic to fish and cats and should not be used around them.
As per wikipedia
Can you Bathe a Cat with human shampoo ?
No. Don’t use human shampoo. The pH value of human shampoo is acidic. The cats skin is alkaline and will dry out if you use human shampoo. Shampoos with fragrance and essential oils can be toxic for the cat.
No shampoo is preferable to human shampoo.You cam simply use warm water or saline water for cleaning the fur if you really have to.
Here are some Safe Soaps for Cats, you might be surprised at what you find.
Can you Bathe a cat with dog shampoo?
No. You cannot. I do not care what the label says, I would recommend staying away from dog shampoo. When we took our cat to a vet he bathed her with dog shampoo. We nearly lost her.
I am so grateful we somehow managed to bring her back. Dog shampoo usually has flea medicine and can be very toxic for your cats.
Can you bathe a cat with Tea Tree shampoo ?
No. Tea Tree oil contains terpenes. Terpenes are the reason why tea tree oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties. But terpenes, whether ingested or applied to the skin, can be toxic.
Research is showing that a concentration of 0.001 to 0.1 % should be okay. But I would play safe and avoid it. That being said I did use it effectively to control fleas. But I would not use it anymore, as the side effects are many and not worth it.
Can you bathe a cat with Dish Soap ?
No and yes. If it were me I would stay away from dish soap. Having said that I did use dawn dish soap on my cat when she was infested with fleas.
When we adopted our kitten, she was this cute tiny fur ball. She was so scared and she was dripping from fleas. She had been raised in a cage near dogs and the poor thing was in such bad shape. I think the fleas constituted her entire weight.
She is 4 years old now and still is tiny. So I did use a very diluted version of dawn dish soap and it helped get rid of the fleas. I will mention later what all I did but for now, let’s just stay away from dish soap except if are using for the following.
- wash off grease
- wash of skunk smell
- get rid off fleas
How to bathe a cat that hates water
I totally understand what you are going through as I have struggled with bathing my cats. I still do but we have somewhat settled on a routine which is mutually beneficial.
- Stay Calm
- Keep a towel, cat shampoo, comb ready
- Gently follow the shampoo routine mentioned below
Step 1 – Stay Calm
I wish I knew this before. Cats sense fear, anger, irritation, worry, anxiety and they feed off it. The moment you are unsure, they will react. They pick up your fear and will put up a major struggle.
To counter this I always calm myself before I even start the process. This might sound goofy or useless, but I feel this is the MOST important thing to do.
I usually take deep breaths, do a quick relaxation and then handle my cat. She remains calm and poised when I do this.
Tip – Handle your cat when she is calmer. For me, it is when she just about ready to nap. This is usually around 10:00 am. I get my housework done by this time and I am mentally ready and relaxed. She is just about to nap and usually is pretty docile and calm at this time.
Step 2 – Keep all Equipment Ready
When you bathe a cat it is important that all that you require is available within reach. Never leave them alone and go grab things. Keep everything on hand.
Don’t leave any sharp objects around. They can easily nick themselves.
- Comb
- Two buckets of warm water with a mug
- Mug with shampoo. I dilute shampoo in warm water.
- Towel for face
- Dry towel
- Distraction item ( a towel for her to dig her claws in, or her favourite teddy toy)
Step 3 – Shampoo and Dry
I first comb her fur, sometimes I shave off the fur ( especially in summer). I have some tips on Grooming a Persian cat which includes removing matts.
Always comb the fur and remove undercoat and matts. If your cat has matts, do not shampoo till each and every matt has been removed.
Trim the nails. This will prevent the scratches and scars which are quite common. You can always trim the nails a couple of days prior to bath day.
Next, I wet her fur. She is okay if her back and the butt area gets wet. So I always start with those areas.
I keep two buckets of warm water on hand, with a mug. I premix shampoo or soap nut liquid in warm water and have it ready.
The shampoo mixture is kept a little distance away, as I have learnt from experience, she grabs on to buckets, mugs, anything she can get her paws on.
Keep a towel or her toy on hand. My cat loves to grab onto the towel. If I don’t do this, she tries to grab onto me. Having something to grab on, makes her feel secure and safe as well.
I apply shampoo or soap nut liquid to the wet fur and massage it into the fur. I want all the grease off and I make sure I get to under the stomach, the butt, between toes.
Through all this, hold your cat firmly but gently. I usually hold her by the scruff. That is what her mom must have done, and she lets me take charge when I do that. It is also easy to move the cat around when you hold by the scruff.
Some cats just stay still till water is poured on them. I used to have a male cat who would just sit still. he would only panic when water was poured on him.
For him, I found it easier to use a wet wash cloth to wet him and to shampoo him. He used to love that and would not resist it much.
Rinse off the fur thoroughly using clean water. You will know you are done once the fur feels clean. The fur should not feel soapy at all.
Now I use a clean damp cloth to wash the face. Usually I just use my hand to wash the face. Pay attention to the area around the eyes, and near the nostrils ( especially for persian cats).
While washing the fur near the head just hold down the ears so that no water enters the ears. This is important as water can cause discomfort and infections. Also, the cat will just bolt if water enters the ears.
Now squeeze out the water using your fingers,especially the tail. My cat has long fur so I spend a minute or two wringing the water out of her fur. She seems to enjoy this step and is usually patient.
The last step is to towel dry. You could use a hair dryer but I always towel dry.
How to bathe a cat with fleas
I used the following method(s) to get rid of fleas.
- Bathe cat with dawn dish soap.The dawn dish soap penetrates the exoskeleton and kills fleas. It also kills the flea kingdom and does not let the eggs hatch. Rinse off dish soap thoroughly and use a mild version.
- Flea combs can help get fleas out. Make sure you immerse the fur you remove and the fleas in hot boiling water or dawn dish soap solution.
- Flea powder can help but in my case it wasn’t really effective.
- Tea tree oil and apple cider vinegar can help kill fleas but need to be used with caution. These can harm the cat.
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