How can I go about bathing my raggies? I am not worried about my kitten, but I don't want to get bitten & clawed to death by my 2 adolescent raggies! I will do a nailclipping first, for sure! I thought I could put a couple of inches of water in the bathtub, close the bathroom door to prevent escapes, then just use a cup to wet & rinse the shampoo off.
Hmm...we started as kittens and of the 3 only one likes water and he prefers to enter on his own with it in the tub. We've tried various techniques from sink to do a partial bum bath, wetting the area with a small container, using just our hand or a washcloth, to a bit of water in the tub and gently placing them in, etc.....and it's been a huge battle every time. We have a couple laid back girls but they really show their other side when bathed.
There are quite a few videos on bathing show cats or just bathing cats on youtube if you go there just type one of those in the search box. We thought starting very young would help them at least tolerate it, but our girls absolutely hate it and our boy enjoys it.
I'm sure some others will give you some advice. Good luck.
Hi! I am not sure how old yours are but Dakota was 5 months old when i first gave him a bath-not exactly a tiny kitten, esspecially as a ragdoll. I was nervous, so I did alot or research on line (and on this forum--there are a couple of posts about baths) before I started his bath, I clipped his nails. I have been using the tub, and we happen to have a shower attachment with a hose (they are not too expensive--it would be a good investment) since Dakota ussually is in the bathroom when i shower, he is used to the sound of water running from the shower head.
Most cats don't like any part of their body submerged in water, so water in the bottom of the tub may be traumatizing. I put a dishtowel on the bottom of the tub so that his paws have something to grip besides the slippery tub. I also make it warm in the bathroom with a space heater, so that Dakota won't get chilled (for him thats the worst part) I wet him down and lather him up from the neck down, all the while facing him away from me, and the edge of the tub, so he doesn't climb out--or worse, up my arm.
After I rinse all the shampoo off, I wrap him up in a body towel (haven't had much luck with the hairdryer, although some cat owners have--so I guess it's worth a shot) and let him airdry in the warm bathroom. He doesn't like his bath, but he tolerates it with very little fuss. In between baths, I sprinkle cornstarch based unscented babypowder on his fur and comb it through
I hope this helps
I was pretty surprised when I bathed Solo for the first time, just a few weeks ago, and he is 6 months old. He is always in the bathroom when I shower and sometimes jumps in and sits on the edge of the tub and just watches. He didn't like being completely wet, but I was pleasantly surprised that he didn't freak out. He just let me do what I needed to do, and I even got to blow dry him after with no fuss! I think he did better because he is pretty curious about what goes on in the tub so the noise and all wasn't a huge shock for him. He also watches me blow dry my hair every morning, so I think that is also why he was ok with using that to dry him off. He sure did get a couple of good boy treats afterwords! Then plenty of extra cuddles when dry because he smelled so great.
Some cats will throw a fit, and some won't. You gotta just try to figure it out! Take it easy and slow, maybe start off by having the older cats in the bathroom with you when you shower and all in the morning, then fill the tub with a few inches and place them in and maybe be in the tub with them at the same time, coaxing, petting, bribing with treats, etc. That may help warm them up to the idea.
I wash mine in kitchen sink I have a hose on my sink so I just use that to wet them down that way there is no need to fill sink with water and submerce them in water.
After frist meow for help a resident cats will come and sit on the counter and watch them get a bath. I have found that this seems to relax the cat that is being bathed and after there arivel it is smooth sailing.
After I'm done with bath I wrap them in a towel .Then off to the blow dryer, witch again they don't seem to mind as long as a resedent cat is there to watch.
I have no advice to give. A few days ago I was running the bath water for myself. Gabriel jumped into the tub. It was a little comical, because it appeared that he could not get out of the tub fast enough.
Make sure you brush them well and if there are any mats get them out as well before you bathe.
i would say everybody has offered great advice. it's definitely important to desensitize your cats to the sound of the water running. you will have a lot easier time running water without them freaking out.
my technique is to place my cat in the bathtub, shut the shower doors so they can't get out, and then slowly trickle water from the faucet while keeping the tub plugged. i use a container to gather the water and pour it over my cat until they are good and soaked, then quickly lather them with shampoo and rinse off. i think by not immersing them in water and simply pouring water over them, they're much more likely to handle the bath better. when all the shampoo gets rinsed out, i let the old water go and rinse as necessary with clean water.