Skip to Content
Home / Biosecurity News / Celebrating Animals / Top 3 Tips For Washing a Cat (Who Does Not Want to Be Washed)

Top 3 Tips For Washing a Cat (Who Does Not Want to Be Washed)

Carlo Vitucci Celebrating Animals, Companion Animal, Pet Grooming

If you have a cat, chances are good there’s no faster way to send them running than to say the word bath. While some cats will tolerate a wash-up, others will hiss, spit, and snarl, trying to claw their way out the entire time. If your cat is one of the latter, here are three, simple things you can do to make bath time a little easier on the both of you.

Tip #1: Use The Sink, Not The Tub

While the tub might seem like the ideal place to bathe your cat, it’s actually not. It gives your feline friend far too much room to run around in, the angle you have to stand at is awkward, and it’s easy to knock stuff over. Instead, use a double sink. It’s compact, typically comes with a sprayer attachment, and it’s nowhere near as loud or intimidating as your bath might be according to How To Clean Stuff.

Tip #2: Set Up The Bath Beforehand

If your cat doesn’t like being bathed, he’s not going to behave while you get the bath set up. So you should fill the sink with four inches or so of warm water, and make sure you have shampoo and a rinsing pitcher or two on hand before you get started. The idea is that you pick up the cat, gently set them in the water, wet them down with one pitcher, gently shampoo them, then rinse them off. In, out, and done with the minimum amount of fuss, loud noises, and uncomfortable spraying.

Tip #3: It’s a Two-Person Job

Cats need to be gently restrained during a bath at the best of times, and if your cat really doesn’t want to be getting washed it’s important to have someone there to hold them. It should be someone your cat knows, and who they’re comfortable with, as well as someone who can keep them in the sink for the few minutes it will take to lather and rinse your feline fury.

Lastly, it’s a good idea to put down towels, because bathing a cat tends to be a wet, and messy job. Of course, if you have to wash a lot of cats, then you might be better off investing in Anivac, since it cleans up wet messes quickly, and with relative ease.