My older cat, Little Bear, is almost 20 (think 95-y.o. man). He has some health problems and is somewhat unsteady on his feet. He’s always been very good at grooming himself, but lately not so good. If fact, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him do it. And he’s started to smell. The kitten (1.5 years) helps out, but it has to be when he’s asleep, and her efforts are rather hit-and-miss.
I don’t want to just leave him be; I can’t imagine that the smell doesn’t bother him as well. But he’s never had a bath, and I’m afraid of giving him a heart attack or stroke. I could bathe him in the tub, or take him to a groomer who might have experience with elderly animals . . . though he might be more upset being handled by a stranger.
So what do y’all recommend? The last thing I want is to jeopardize his health.
I have a dog that LOATHES being bathed and my old kitty who passed away a few weeks ago (she was 19) hated it as well. I got unscented baby wipes (Huggies brand, don’t know if that matters but they were really thick and nice) and what I did was pet with 1 hand, then wipe with the other hand. They both did/do great with it and didn’t even realize there was bathing going on. They’re not soaking wet nasty, so they don’t seem to bother water haters and they really work well for cleaning, IMHO.
The only time I’ve ever had success with bathing a cat, I draped a towel over my knees, put the cat in my lap and just wiped her down with a warm, wet washcloth. She didn’t seem to realize anything was going on. She thought she was getting petted.
When my little guy Bean was old and sick I often used what’s known as a “dry bath.” It’s a powder you sprinkle on them then comb through their fur.
It actually pulls the dirt away and leaves them smelling kitty fresh. If the problem is a smelly bum, just wipe it with baby wipes or you can buy pet wipes.
The dry bath powder is available at any pet supply store.
I had the same situation with Pounce (in catnest), who left us at age 20. She was a semi-longhair.
She was so frail and just did not take care of herself the way she used to.
I did do the baby wipes thing and it helped.
I brushed her daily, sometimes twice a day, but her fur still became matted and eventually I had to take her to a groomer’s to be shaved. The groomer was very gentle and caring, and left her with about half an inch of fur, and this helped quite a bit.
My 21 year old cat died recently. She also had trouble washing up. What I did was put her on a nice soft towel, and use a warm washcloth to clean her up. Baby wipes are okay, I guess, but they’re not particularly warm. The warm washcloth worked great. She liked getting washed that way–it felt good to be bathed and cared for, I guess. Then I dried her and brushed and cuddled her to keep her warm and happy.
