Washing a Cat (Who Doesn’t Want to be Washed)
Tips for keeping your feline clean
STONEY CREEK, Ont. — Cats are known to be fiercely independent.
While kept as pets, they very much live their own lives while in our care, right down to bathing themselves. However, there are times when your cat may need a real bath. But cats are not overly fond of the water. Chances are, there’s no faster way to send your cat running than to start running bath water. If you try to get them in the water, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them hiss, spit, snarl and try to claw their way to dryland.
In honor of National Cat Day on August 8th, Ogena Solutions offers four tips to make bath time for your kitty a little easier on 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 is nowhere near as loud or intimidating as your bath might be.
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.
Tip #4: Be Ready to Clean Up a Mess
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, a pet cleaning system, since it cleans up wet messes quickly, and with relative ease.
For more information, please visit ogenasolutions.com. Follow Ogena Solutions on Twitter @OgenaSolutions and Facebook at /OgenaSolutions.
About Ogena Solutions:
Ogena Solutions, was formed from the company Anivac Corporation which was created in Canada in 2005. Ogena (pronounced “O-Jenna”) Solutions is dedicated to providing complete effective, environmentally friendly bio-security solutions, equipment and protocols as well as ground breaking (patented) animal bathing systems. It currently operates in the animal health sector including shelters, veterinary, pet boarding and daycare, food animal and general farm applications. Bio-security, green technologies and leading-edge bathing systems are central to the company’s product focus. Ogena’s own equipment, products and matching usage protocols are respected as being the best and most efficient products available in animal health today.