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Tag: cat bath

Drying a wet cat

Spiffy Kitty House Call Cat Grooming

If you bathe your cat, you may have noticed that drying can take a long time.  Even a short-haired cat can stay damp for longer than you’d expect.

Groomer’s tip: Dry your cat with a towel using every bit of the towel, brush the fur, dry again with another towel, and repeat until the fur is no longer wet. If your cat lets you blow dry, then blow dry with the setting on low. If the cat is still calm, you can turn up the setting so the air flow is more powerful.  If your dryer gets hot, keep the dryer at least 8 inches from the fur and move the dryer around.  When in doubt, put your hand under the dryer to see how it feels. Cats have a higher body temp than we do, and tend to love heat, so your cat might love that hot dryer. Still, you don’t want to overdo it, because heat can do damage.  From experience I’ll tell you that cats are going to luxuriate in that heat, the hotter the better, but I don’t feel comfortable putting a heated dryer too close to them even if they seem to be craving it.

What if your cat is still damp?  Then it’s up to you to decide if that’s alright.  My feeling is that if a cat is still damp, but they are terrified of the dryer, let them go. Don’t force the full drying. It’s not worth it.

With some types of fur, you do need to fully dry the cat.  Some Persians, for example, will mat up right away unless they are totally dry. Mats can be uncomfortable. So you wind up deciding whether you want a matted cat or a cat who is really upset about being dried. There are ways to deal with this, like putting your cat in a room to let them mostly dry, then just blow drying them for the last bit of wetness in their fur.

Rubbar Ducky?

Drying and trimming claws Maine Coon cat

Spiffy Kitty House Call Cat Grooming
Bundle cat in a large, thick towel. Bath towels of good quality work best. You can use two towels if cat is irritable.
Bundle cat in a large, thick towel. Bath towels of good quality work best. You can use two towels if cat is irritable. This is a lovely, large cat who is sweet-natured, but due to hip sensitivity, can be irritable during grooming. He has swatted at me a few times, but I don’t take it personally. He’s just saying, “Be careful lady!” I have to always be aware of his hips to make sure that I don’t cause the big guy discomfort.
After bathing, I towel dry for several minutes, using one towel, then switching to another dry towel. Then I comb the head and neck. Most cats enjoy being combed there.
After bathing, I towel dry for several minutes, using one towel, then switching to another dry towel. Then I comb the head and neck. Most cats enjoy being combed there.
If I haven't already trimmed the claws, I pull out one paw at a time to trim them. In this situation, the cat is on the bathroom floor. I am sitting behind the cat, hovering over the cat.
If I haven’t already trimmed the claws, I pull out one paw at a time to trim them. In this photo, we are on the bathroom floor. The cat is on my lap. This is his rear paw. I am holding his upper body in my arms, close against me. Some cats seem to prefer being held close against my body instead of being on a table.
Now the cat has been towel dried. I am ready to blow dry. If the cat is jittery about blow drying, I keep his front area wrapped securely in the towel. I blow dry his rear. Then I stroke his face to calm him. Lastly, I blow dry his front area. In the photo, he is leaning against my leg, snuggling my foot.
Now the cat has been towel dried. I am ready to blow dry and de-shed. If the cat is jittery about blow drying, I keep his front area wrapped securely in the towel. I blow dry his rear. Then I stroke his face to calm him. Lastly, I blow dry his front area. In the photo, he is leaning against my leg, snuggling his face into my foot. Tickles!  You can see that even though he is well-cared for and often groomed, his coat does have shedded fur clumped in with fur that’s still attached. If he weren’t groomed monthly, he would develop mats and be carrying around a coat that is weighed down with shedded fur. Shedded fur keep air from circulating to the skin.  It’s just plain uncomfortable to be wearing a thick blanket of excess fur. I develop a lot of affection for the cats I groom, so I like to see them thriving and at ease in their body.

Does washing your cat reduce allergens?

Spiffy Kitty House Call Cat Grooming

Should allergic cat owners get their cats washed?

Lots of reasons to get a cat groomed, but allergies aren’t one of them, at least according to this one study.

Fel d 1 is a major cat allergen.

“This study shows that Fel d 1 levels on the skin are dramatically higher on the facial area than chest. This anatomical variation is concordant with the levels of Fel d 1 found on fur. Washing reduces levels of major allergen on cat skin and fur, but the accumulation on skin is restored within 2 days.”

Allergy, 2000 Jun;55(6):570-3.

What I get from this — if you’re allergic to cats, can’t hurt to wipe their face with a slightly damp towel once a day. May even help.

So why have your cat groomed if grooming doesn’t help with allergies? Mats. Shedding. Oily skin. Dirt from litter box. If you’re like me, your cat lives on your body, like a furry parasite. I prefer clean, fluffy parasites.

My cat is big and hates baths, but he’s dirty and shedding.

Spiffy Kitty House Call Cat Grooming

Big strong cats who don’t like baths are hard, so I’ll talk about the easier ones first.

If your great big cat likes baths, then you just need to be careful about how you handle your cat so you don’t get into an awkward position. Awkward positions include leaning over the tub, trying to haul big sweet wet cat out of the tub without scraping his back or belly across the edge of the tub (if you have one of those tub/shower combos). When you’re drying that big sweet wet cat, sometimes the front of the cat decides to go away while you’re still holding onto the rear of the cat. Awkward. Be prepared to get wet.

Now for the great big strong cats who hate baths. Try to trim the claws first, so you won’t get scratched. The goal is for the cat to be clean and safe, and for you to end the day without blood pouring from open wounds. Easy peasy! Wear a bunch of clothes, so even if you’re bitten or scratched, it won’t go deep. Wear leather gloves because hand bites are the worst. Once the fangs get into your tendon area, infection can happen in a few hours, then comes the IV and the days off of work.

Get about three very large towels, so you can wrap your cat up before you trim the claws. Pull out the paw you’re working on and work your way around your cat until you trim all the claws.

So, you’ve succeeded in that. Now the way I like to do it is to fill the tub, unless your big cat can fit in your sink. I use a hand towel to wet the cat’s fur as much as possible, but the cat is still outside the tub. Then I dilute shampoo and use the hand towel to put it all over the cat. Now you’ve got a great big wet soapy cat. Great! This is the point of no return.

Hold your cat by the skin on the back of the shoulder blades — not the neck, the shoulder blades. There’s a lot of loose skin there. Get a solid grip on that skin, but don’t dig your nails in ladies! Use your other hand to pick up the rear with your hand under the belly. Hoist and plop, into the tub, with you hanging on for dear life. Do your best to wash and spread the soap, drain the tub, still holding on for dear life, then use the nozzle or faucet to rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse. YOU HAVE GOT TO RINSE. By now your cat is going bonkers, howling, screeching, trying to scratch and bite.

Hoist the cat out and plop him on the towels you have placed outside the tub. Wrap him up as fast as you can, so he can’t move much.  If you can’t do that, then just towel him down as much as you can while he walks around the bathroom hissing at you. If you can, turn on a hair dryer at medium heat, not too hot. Point it at him from above. Comb him or brush him while you dry him. Since we’re talking about a big cat who hates baths, he’ll be swatting at you so I hope you had your espresso or Red Bull.  You’ll need fast reflexes. He’ll be looking pretty silly, all wet and angry, so you can laugh at him now.  He’ll give you an outraged look. The lion king is displeased! Dry him as much as you can with the dryer, then open the door and let him stalk about. Give him some food and lovey dovey words. He’ll curse you out and give you dirty looks.

Most cats get over it fast. They’re animals, not people, so they’re not good at holding grudges.  The next day, comb him out more, if you can, because some cats mat up fast if they’re not completely dried after a bath.

If he’s cleaner than he was, and if he’s dry, and if you don’t have gashes in your arm, good job!!!!