How to wash a cat correctly and how often?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Cat hair care is an essential part of your pet's hygiene routine. This concept includes both regular combing with brushes (if you are the owner of a long-haired or semi-long-haired animal), and bathing your pet. How often should cats be washed?

There are no restrictions on such a procedure as a whole. But for many animals, bathing often turns into stress - most cats do not like water, and the feeling of wet fur is unpleasant for them. But there are also exceptions to the rule. Some of them, on the contrary, have great respect for water procedures and love to play with water. And such a breed as the Maine Coon does require periodic swims. These cats are considered waterfowl in nature.

How to wash a cat that does not want to bathe? First you need to choose the temperature of the water. The body temperature in cats is higher than human and normally ranges from 39 to 40 degrees, depending on the breed. In sphinxes, rexes and other pets with very short hair, it is higher than in long-haired ones. Therefore, you need to adjustwater in the bathroom so that the pet does not freeze. Before you wash a cat, you need to choose the right cosmetic product. Any pet store has a wide range of cat shampoos. Also among them there are special tools designed to combat parasites living in cat fur: fleas, ticks. Before choosing a particular bottle, you need to decide what exactly your pet needs: you need to remove fleas, just wash the coat to a shine, or at the same time achieve its softness and obedience. In Persians and Angora cats, for example, matted mats are often found in the absence of proper care and malnutrition. And having already made a choice, the animal will need to be treated with the indicated shampoo.

Before you wash your cat, you should also prepare a dry towel that absorbs moisture well, so that immediately after taking a bath, wipe the pet dry. If this is not done, especially in the cool season, there is a risk of catching a cold for the animal. For the same reason, it is better to postpone bathing procedures if the house is cool enough at the time of them.

But everything is prepared, and it remains to understand from which side to approach the pet and how to properly wash the cat. You need to put it in a bath or in a container where bathing will be done, gently holding it by its front paws. Some cats tend to struggle with all their might to avoid flogging. To reduce the likelihood of suffering from the claws of your pet, you need to firmly but gently hold his front paws.with one hand, and the second to manipulate. Pour warm water over the animal, shampoo all parts of the body. You should be careful with your head - you can’t let water flow into the ears, they are very delicate in cats and can become inflamed from moisture. After that, the shampoo must be thoroughly rinsed off so that it does not remain on the coat and the pet cannot subsequently lick it. For light-colored animals, the procedure can be repeated if the coat was very dirty.

Then the cat should be well rubbed with a towel to remove excess moisture. After that, long-haired breeds should be combed out with special brushes. Well, then it's better to leave the animal alone. It will immediately begin to put its own toilet in order - to lick. It is better not to tear the cat away from this process. So, firstly, she will relieve stress after an unpleasant procedure for her, and secondly, she will remove the smell of shampoo from her hair and restore her own, and this is very important for her self-identification.

As you can see, the method of how to wash a cat is not that complicated. If you are not afraid and behave firmly and confidently, bathing your pet should not be a problem.