Yesterday we got hit with a pretty bad dust storm which left the world looking very orange for the majority of the day. I managed to get Puddy inside and close all the doors and windows before it really arrived, which spared me the painful task of cleaning up a dusty house today. I didn’t get a fantastic photo but here’s one I took around lunchtime, when the sky should have been blue and the sun should have been shining brightly:

It was a pretty miserable, orange day.

This morning, the skies had cleared so I let Puddy outside. I discovered my mistake when she came in hours later – completely covered in dust and dirt! She’d obviously been rolling about in all the excess dirt left behind by the storm and now she was absolutely filthy!

Trust me, the photo doesn’t do it justice – it was seriously the dirtiest I’ve ever seen her! So anyway, there was only one thing to do – it was bathtime for Puddy! Or, as I said out loud to myself, “It’s B-A-T-H-T-I-M-E!” (Yes, I swear she can understand particular words like “dinner” and “bathtime”. It’s freaky.)

Now, let me preface this by saying I don’t believe bathing your cat is cruel and anyone who says it is simply isn’t doing it right! Cats clean themselves a lot and they do a good job, but sometimes (like when they are covered in dirt and dust) you really do need to step in and give them a hand. I figured I haven’t done a proper post on this before, so I grabbed my camera and decided to document how to bathe your cat (without losing an eye).

Step One – Run a Bath

Do this while your cat is elsewhere in the house (and make sure she can’t get outside!). If your cat is in the bathroom while you’re running the bath, she will panic and you don’t want that – you want her to be as calm as possible. Make sure the bath is warm, not cold. How deep to make the bath depends on your cat – I have found that Puddy is more tolerant of a deeper bath that almost reaches (but doesn’t touch) her belly, but your cat might prefer shallower. I definitely wouldn’t recommend any deeper than their belly.

Step Two  – Get the Bathroom Ready

This involves clearing the space around the bath of anything your cat might knock over. Get rid of razors, books – anything that might get damaged or do damage to you or your cat. Lie one (old ratty) towel down on the floor and have another one ready, to the side. Take the lid off the pet shampoo bottle (trust me, you’ll want it ready to go). Please don’t try to use human shampoo. You can buy pet shampoo at the Vet’s or a good quality Pet Store.

Step Three – Find your Cat

Give your cat plenty of cuddles, scoop her up and take her calmly to the bathroom. If she’s anything like my cat, she’ll know exactly what’s going to happen and will start to meow. I guess now is a good time to remind you to make sure her nails are clipped before you try this. Anyway, bring her inside the bathroom and make sure the door is closed. Take off her collar and put it somewhere safe. Try to calm her down, but don’t spend too long on this. She knows she’s getting a bath, so don’t put off the inevitable if she’s not going to easily calm down. I swear she’s just hoping you’ll give in and let her go.

Step Four – Gently Lower your Cat into the Bath

I’ve found the easiest way to hold your cat is to put your hand just below her neck in front of the top of her legs, with your thumb coming up around the neck, along the shoulders. Obviously, don’t hold her around the neck. I’m not explaining this well, so here is a photo to help you:

See how I am not strangling my cat? The reason I hold her this way is because her first reaction is to want to jump out of the bath. To do that, she’d have to press against my hand, so of course, she’s not going to be going anywhere. Keep your cat facing the wall or lengthways down the tub (like she is in the above photo). You don’t want her to be able to grab a hold of the edge of the bathtub, because then she will be able to catapault herself out, sending water everywhere.

Step Five – Dampen your Cat’s Fur

Scoop up handfuls of water and pat it onto her back. I use a “patting” motion because it helps to keep your cat calm since they (generally) like being patted. Make sure she is nice and wet, but be careful with the eyes and ears – you don’t want to get water in those. I usually just do under her chin, under her ears (cheeks) and the top of her head. If your cat gets water in her eyes she’s likely to panic and if she gets water in her ears it can be difficult to get out again, which could lead to infection. Don’t keep her in the water for too long – either take her out or allow her to jump out once she’s wet. Remember that water will stick to a cat’s fur, so it’s not necessary to completely drench her.

Step Six – Shampoo your Cat

Put a squirt of shampoo down your cat’s back and rub it in. You might need to keep dipping your hands in the water because as you are shampooing your cat, a lot of loose fur will come off onto your hands. This is good – this is less fur on your furniture and carpet and of course, less fur for your cat to cough up later! Don’t forget to do under her belly and the top of her head (once again being careful to avoid the eyes or ears). Be gentle when you are doing her belly because the belly is a sensitive area for cats, as is the tail.

Step Seven – Rinse off the Shampoo

Lower your cat back into the water and hold her while you rinse off the shampoo by scooping up water with your free hand. It is important to do a thorough job here because you don’t want your cat to lick shampoo when she is cleaning herself afterwards. I find that, while Puddy is in the water, she responds well to my continuous talking, like “Good girl! You’re being so good!” in a calm, steady voice. Once again, be aware of her body language – keep your hand firmly in place to avoid a sudden leap for freedom.

Step Eight – Dry your Cat

Once the shampoo has gone, get your cat out or allow her to jump out. This is where the spare towel comes in handy. Grab that and give her a good pat dry. Don’t rub too hard, just give her a once-over to help the excess water come off. The aim now is to get her dry as quickly as possible. Cats can catch a cold, so if there’s a cold breeze, you need her to find sun and warmth quickly. I don’t recommend washing your cat in winter or at night-time, for obvious reasons.

There’s two ways to get your cat dry. The first way is to use your hairdryer on a very low setting. Your cat might not like this but Puddy doesn’t seem to mind. Just make sure you don’t hold it too close to her skin – you don’t want her to burn, and avoid blowing it in her eyes. The second way is to ensure she finds the sun. Puddy has a favourite room that she always runs to because it’s always got a nice hot Australian sun coming through the window.

If your cat is sitting in the sunlight and licking herself dry, she’s okay to leave alone. If she’s not in the sunlight, you need to put her in sunshine and watch her until she starts to dry. As I said – they can catch a cold very easily and their fur does seem to hold a lot of water. Oh, and don’t try to brush her fur while it’s wet – this can be painful for your cat.

Step Nine – Reward Your Cat

Your cat needs to know that you didn’t do this to be mean – you did it to make her nice and clean. Keep treats on hand that you can give her and of course, pats and loving words go down nicely too. Then, give her some space to clean herself – she’ll need time to regain her dignity! Trust me when I say she will seek you out about 20 minutes later, sit on your lap and continue to clean herself for another half hour. This is, what I like to call, my punishment.

At this stage, your cat might like you to brush her – you’ll get a lot of fur off and this will save her licking it up.

Step Ten – Clean Up the Bombshell Bathroom

Don’t forget about the bathroom, as I have done before. It will be very wet and very furry, so you’ll need to clean it up. Remember to get your cat’s collar and put it back on her as soon as she’s dry – you don’t want her getting outside without her identification on her. In fact, you don’t want her getting outside at all for a while, because now she’s beautifully fluffy, clean and smelling delicious!

So there you go – I hope this has helped if you’re intending on bathing your cat for the first time. I don’t do it often – probably once every few months when she comes inside really dirty. Indoor cats probably don’t need washing at all  since they’re not exposed to dirt, dust, sand, soil and other dirty things you find outside.  But if you’ve got a cat like mine, that seems to attract dirt, you may need to give her a bath once in a while.

Oh … and wear old clothes, because you’re going to get splashed.