Bathing a cat - terrible idea?

[8bit]

Our eldest cat is now 16, in reasonable health despite kidney issues (kept mostly at bay with Semintra) and some stiffness, possibly caused by arthritis. The latter means he's less able to groom himself, particularly around the harder to reach areas like his rear quarters, tail and belly. He's also long-haired but not very keen on being brushed so as a result is prone to fur clumping together. We've had to have him de-matted twice now, last time was basically the full lion 'do.

I wondered, how realistic is it to introduce an older cat to being bathed every so often, to try and keep his fur in better condition? I found some youtube videos which make the actual bathing process look fairly straightforward but not so much on ways to make it more agreeable for the cat. Anyone done this and got any good tips?

[FilH]

Have experienced this in the past, my advice, buy some welding gloves!

[dudleybloke]

Had to do it once after the cat knocked a bottle of bubble bath over itself, not something I fancy repeating!

[bitchstewie]

Please film it.

[Bilkob]

FilH said:

Have experienced this in the past, my advice, buy some welding gloves!

This. and then this again, and again. You will have no flesh left on your forearms

[Milkyway]

I think that cats are like oil & water... but Tigers don’t mind water.
So if you have a cat called Tiger... you should be OK.
( if that helps).

Try this... it may work.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2j_76w8Hbn0

Edited by Milkyway on Thursday 24th November 18:01

[Kes Arevo]

As already stated, there will be blood if you don't dress line that fella with the bear proof suit.

[Caddyshack]

Some cats love water, the ones that don’t like it seem to hate it and it will be a blood bath.

[BoRED S2upid]

bhstewie said:

Please film it.

This.

[popeyewhite]

So the cats got painful joints and you propose holding it tightly enough to stop it wriggling when you try to wash it. Cat has done well to reach 16 IMO.

[WelshRich]

Get another cat… There’s a decent chance that cat 2 will groom cat 1 and you’ve postponed the problem for another 16 years or so…

[Kes Arevo]

Just spray it with febreeze.

[anonymous-user]

bhstewie said:

Please film it.

it's what TikTok was invented for.

[ZedLeg]

I’ve got a scar in my neck from giving one of our old cats a bath. Just saying

[Caddyshack]

Some cats love water, the ones that don’t like it seem to hate it and it will be a blood bath.

[CrutyRammers]

We did it once when our cat got gloss paint all over it. It got white spirit and then the sink treatment . We were all prepared with welding gloves but it was actually no bother. I mean it wasn't happy, but it wasn't like a caged eat either. Try it and see?

[Simpo Two]

I don't think that washing a cat will stop its fur matting. Even if it did, I don't think it's fair to torment the cat just so it looks better to the owner.

[Caddyshack]

Cats normally have to be "normalised" to water gently from a young age.

[itcaptainslow]

You might be lucky and the cat will self-agitate the soap…

[ZedLeg]

Simpo Two said:

I don't think that washing a cat will stop its fur matting. Even if it did, I don't think it's fair to torment the cat just so it looks better to the owner.

Stopping matting isn’t just an aesthetic concern, the mats can cause pain and irritation on the cat’s skin. Better to try and look after them than have to pay the vet to clip them when the car get’s a skin infection.