Conference misery::feline_v1

    I usually start bathing my kittens around 5 weeks....usually just a few
    days after they start using the litterbox!  
    
    Gee, I wonder why!  ;-)
    
    cin
    

    I'd like to know how you bathe a cat
    
    --Becca

    re: .2
    
    	CARFULLY!!!! ;*)

    I usually wait til the kittens have had their first shots, usually
    around 6 weeks or so.
    
    If you start them young, they are easier to bathe as adults.  The
    first time is always the easiest. They are too stunned to do anything.
    The second time is the worst, they remember the first time and try
    and get away.
    
    Do remember not to bathe a mom that has very young kittens unless
    you are prepared for total chaos.  The kittens find mom's nipples
    by scent marking them when they are born.  If you wash mom, the
    kittens can't find the nipples and they become very confused.  It
    takes them a while to find them again, but it is mass hysteria until
    they do.             
    
    Good rule of thumb for bathing, trim the cats claws FIRST! :^)
    
    Jo

    re: .2 - where do you live?  If you're in the mass area perhaps you
    can swing by for a lesson sometime.  I live in Braintree.
      Nancy

    re -.1)
    
    nah, I live in Burlington, VT. :)
    
    they are house kittens (11 weeks) but I know some day I  may need to
    bathe them, so I figure maybe I should try soon, so they get used to
    it.  Are there any pointers?
    
    Not that this has anything to do with the above, but can felix
    domestici swim?  

    Yes, they can swim.  They just don't like to ;-)
    
    Ok, here's how I do it - first, as was previously mentioned, trim
    their claws.  Then, I mix up a dishpan full of warm water and add
    a bit of dawn dishwashing liquid to it.  Third, add cat, gently.  Talk
    to the cat and reassure it.  Ours always look at us like they think
    we're about to drown them!  Be firm and gentle with them. 
    
    Adding soap to the water makes it "wetter".  You can now get the cat
    good and wet.  Next I remove them from the pan and apply whatever
    shampoo I'm using - either Dawn dishwashing liquid or Nolvacide Shampoo
    & Conditioner which happens to kill fleas too.  I usually don't add
    straight shampoo - I dilute it a little.  It makes it go further and
    easier to rinse out.  
    
    If this is a flea-bath you now have to massage, sing to, talk to and
    otherwise distract your feline for 5-10 minutes for the flea shampoo
    to do its stuff.  
    
    After that, rinse THOROUGHLY.  If the cat is small, like Bonnie, we've
    been known to hold her by front & back legs and hold her under the
    faucet - she isn't real crazy about this ;-) but we don't have a
    sprayer in the sink.  Oh - we use the kitchen sink because its at
    a higher level which makes it easier on our backs.  
    
    When done rinsing I pick the cat up in a towel and cuddle her for
    a minute then switch to a dry towel and thoroughly towel dry her.
    I set up a "drying cage" by placing a small heater about 3 feet
    away from our larger carrier.  I don't even have to shut the door
    for Bonnie.  She'll sit in there for a bit, then come out (probably
    to cool off a bit) then go back in again.  I like to check them
    every few minutes to be sure they're not too hot and to comb them
    a bit.
    
    With long-hairs you may have to blow dry.
      Nancy
    

    see note 410.* for lots of talk about cat bathing.
    
    jack

    I find that my cats freak out when immersed in a sink or basin of water
    and react better to simply wetting them with the spray nozzle.  I also
    find that 4 hands work a lot better than two -- round up a family
    member or friend to assist!  Murdock turns into a jumping bean in the
    sink so I need someone to hold him still.  Kelsey is the only cat I can
    bathe by myself.  I started bathing him at 4 months of age and find
    that it is a lot easier to get them acclimated when you start them
    young.  Like Nancy, I tend to use the shampoo in moderation.  I spend a
    lot of time on the rinse.  They don't like this but it is important to
    ensure all traces of the shampoo are removed.
    
    --Roberta
    

    re: 6
    
    Hi,  if you are going to need homes for these kittens, maybe
    post your phone number.  A friend of mine in Richmond has 
    someone calling her often looking for a longhaired kitten
    and this person has been saying that it's hard to find
    longhaired kittens.
    
    Or send me mail and I'll tell my friend in Vermont to give
    this person your number.
    
    E.T.

    -.1)
    
    no, they're with me forever :)  (2 kittens-- Double and Snuzzy)
    
    I just meant that some day they may actually NEED a bath (flees, etc.)
    and I don't want them to get heart attacks out of fright.
    
    --Becca  

    re: .10 - there is an adoption note in here somewhere that has a
    longhair for adoption.  I believe its a black and white female.
    

    When bathing a cat (especially a kitten) my vet instructed that the
    room temperature should be ~80�F while the cat is drying.  Don't let 
    your kitty get a chill.
    
    - kg