Bathing question

debby

Posts: 706

« on: February 01, 2009, 09:44:05 AM »

It's about time to give Smokey a bath for the first time. :shock:

Tracy has bathed him, and he doesn't seem to mind water. In fact, he loves to jump in the shower after I get out and getting his paws wet doesn't seem to bother him at all. So I've got that going for me.

I thought I'd degrease him with Dawn. I'm not going to use Goop this time. Maybe next time I will, but I wanted to start off simpler. Do you just squirt the stuff on full strength or dilute it first? I know how hard it is to rinse off so I was thinking diluting it would be a good idea. But how much?

Also everything I read emphasizes how important it is to clip their claws before bath time. Nobody ever says why, but I assume it's so you don't get injured as badly when they start kicking and scratching? :shock: I'm feeling a little nervous about that.

Debby


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Debby, Snowy, and Smokey

Nancy n Misha

Posts: 2556

Bathing question

« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2009, 10:08:55 AM »

Oh, I totally understand the concerns about doing the first bath. Yes, clipping the claws is to prevent injury to YOU.

Dilute the dawn about 1/2 and 1/2 with water. Remember to float the coat after you think you have all the soap out. That means fill the sink with water upto about the middle of the cat's tummy. This allows the coat to float out in the water, which lets you get more soap rinsed out.

Good luck, It is the drying that takes forever. Remember not to hold the dryer pointing at one location too long, keep it moving.

Nancy


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Purrs to all

Fultonblue

Posts: 967

Bathing question

« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2009, 10:08:20 PM »

Goop is fairly simple, in fact you can make "goop soup" which is goop and dawn and water, I put it in a bowl and nuke it about 40 seconds to melt the goop, poor it on a dry coat and work it in, does both and saves a step on a cat you are nervous with. I don't really measure so can't tell you how much all depends on how long you want to rinse the suds out from the dawn, and how greasy the cat is, I do pretty much use a whole tub of goop on a larger kitty.

Cutting the nails before a bath is a good idea, personally I find getting the feet wet makes it easier to see the nails and trim them.


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Linda
Fultonblue Persians & Himalayans
www.Fultonblue.com

If I want to hear the pitter patter of little feet... I'll put shoes on my cats!

tbayaren

Posts: 397

Bathing question

« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2009, 12:58:08 PM »

Debby:
I wrote a step by step article on exactly how I bathe my cats and you can read it here:
http://blog.myspace.com/rareearthpersians
Scroll down to the article titled Bathing Your Persian Cat.

Yes, dilute your Dawn- if you don't it will take forever to rinse off. Also, clip Smokey's claws before bathing him- otherwise he may scratch you. I would strongly suggest going out and buying some Goop to use in your bath. I don't make the "Goop Soup" the same way that Linda does, but the way I use it isn't difficult at all and Goop is an important step in degreasing the coat. Smokey has a greasy coat- put the Goop in his greasiest spots- at the base of his tail and right where his back and tail meet....I would suggest leaving the Goop on for 5 mins or so to give it time to work, since Smokey is so greasy. You should bathe him once a month to keep him free of matts. He will start going through another coat change soon-


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Tracy/Rare Earth
http://www.rareearthpersians.com

debby

Posts: 706

Bathing question

« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2009, 09:40:24 AM »

Well, Smokey and I got our paws wet (mine figuratively, his literally) this morning. I was coming him out and noticed he didn't smell so good. He hung his butt out too far at the litterbox this morning and then managed to step in his own poop. :shock: That had to get washed off!

So, down to the nice big laundry sink. I got his foot all washed up without too much trouble. More than his foot got wet of course, so he needed drying. He loved being wrapped up in the thick thirsty towel. But when I got out my hair dryer and turned it on he panicked. It's too noisy and it scared him. So no blow dry this morning.

I have another hair dryer that I use for traveling. I got it out and it's a bit quieter. Still noisy on high though, and on low it will take forever to dry him. So I don't know. If I can't dry him I can't bathe him. How loud are these Metro Air Force dryers?

Debby


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Debby, Snowy, and Smokey

Tootsntoes

Posts: 68

Bathing question

« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2009, 10:41:26 AM »

The Metro's are pretty noisy, but they cut the drying time in half. You may just need to work on getting the cat more used to the sound of the dryer, before blowing it on him. Max likes to bury his head in my armpit the majority of time he is being dried.


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tbayaren

Posts: 397

Bathing question

« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2009, 10:41:58 AM »

Metro dryers are very loud. Smokey hasn't had a bath in a while, so he is not going to behave, but if you let him control you and call the shots- believe me he will. :lol:

Be ready for a struggle when you dry him, but I definately wouldn't leave him wet- he could get chilled. You are bigger than him, so I'm sure you will be able to control him enough to get him dried- Cheesy

The more often you do the unpleasant act, the better he will be when you do it. Don't make the mistake of avoiding baths though, otherwise, you will have an adult male that you can't handle because he thinks he's the boss.


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Tracy/Rare Earth
http://www.rareearthpersians.com

Vanessa

Posts: 520

Bathing question

« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2009, 11:39:58 AM »

I can't agree more with Tracy. My both kitties were panicked with blow dryers - both human and Metro Air Force. Actually they still hate it and do their best to run away when they hear the sound.

But as Tracy said it's going to be better and better all the time, especially if you bath on a regular basis.

Just make sure there is "no air" (Tracy :wink: Cheesy

) - kidding, I mean "no heat" or "low heat" or "warm" but never "hot". When I used human hair dryer Julian liked it "warm" but Santana wanted it to be "cool" which was actually like with Metro Dryers a room temperature (I had this "cool shot" function on a hair dryer). "Warm" didn't work with Santana (got used to Metro at the breeder) and "Cool" didn't work with Julian (got used to "warm").


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Julian, Santana and Tatyana

bludesertgem

Posts: 94

Bathing question

« Reply #8 on: February 17, 2009, 10:58:52 AM »

i have a metro stowaway dryer. It is so loud my ears ring for a while.lol! Im hoping to save up and buy a kool dryer by chris christensen. Its supposed to be a quiet dryer.$350 though! i paid 100 for my metro (used)


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natalie
www.geocities.com/enchantedtailscattery/

lisajade

Posts: 194

re degreasing

« Reply #9 on: March 04, 2009, 11:14:52 AM »

i suppose its your choice as to what product to use but clipping their claws is a must as to save you getting scratched and the cat getting injured


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i had a bichon frise up untll last year and sadly she passed away due to my disability i cannot walk for long periods and i had a persian cat years ago and i would like another if i can find a breeder in belfast

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