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Our cat must think we don’t know a thing about it when we set out to give it a bath. Admittedly, before owning our cat Summer, pairing the words “cat” and bath” in the same sentences was not probably happening. Unless we added “never” to the sentence :-). Luckily, we can share our tips on How To Bath A Cat And Survive. These tips can help in a big way. Not only will the bath be efficient and effective, maybe your cat will start to enjoy its baths! Once ours is settled in for the bath, it seems to enjoy it as if it were a cat spa!
How to Bathe a Cat and Survive!
Even though we see the big felines in the wild take a dip and seem to be enjoying it, domestic cats stay away from getting wet. Unlike a jaguar or a tiger, most domestic cat breeds have a coat that does not deflect water but instead absorbs water. This makes getting dry a very slow process. That said, there are times that our pet cats need a bath.
Cool mom tip: get a kitten and get it used to a bath. That is the easiest way. But if you don’t have that opportunity, these tips will definitely help.
Why bathe a cat
Cats groom themselves very well. Some of them can even get pretty obsessive about it. So why bathe a cat? Well, accidents do happen, and there is no choice but a bath. Not to mention, flea control or simply having brought home a new cat from the shelter. 
How to Bathe a Cat- Procedure & FREE Printable
Once you have rounded up all your supplies and ensured the space you will work in is safe it is time to begin! Normally we start the bath process by offering Summer her favorite 9Lives Daily Essentials® ( ahem, bribe!). It is as if she knows great things are about to begin every time we serve her favorite dish! It is dinner and a movie cat version. Pairing bath time with her favorite 9Lives Daily Essentials makes total sense because this cat food supports a healthy skin coat! Of course, it also helps her heart health, clear vision and strong muscles. Additionally, 9Lives practically grows with her because each formula is tailored to meet Summer’s nutritional needs at every one of the different stages of her life. I love that 9Lives believes every cat deserves to live a long and healthy life.
Steps:
Cool mom tip: Unless you have been bathing your cat since it was a kitten, start out slow. A sponge bath might be the way to start. 
- Get a helper and put on your rubber gloves. This should minimize potential scratches.
- Ideally, use a shower or sink sprayer to wet your cat from neck to tail.
- Apply shampoo and massage in to lather.
- Rinse thoroughly
- Use a damp cloth to gently clean cat’s face and head. Remember cats don’t like getting their face splashed.
- Lift cat on to large towel, wrap cat in towel.
- Rub off as much water as possible.
- Let cat roam around for 30 minutes
- Brush cat
Cool mom tip: have plenty of towels ready and cuddle your cat as it warms up and dries off!
Get your FREE printable on how to bathe your cat, plus a list of supplies. how to bathe your cat and survive
From The Exorcist to Sweet Pampered Cat
These tips on How To Bathe Your Cat and Survive work very well for us. Remember, preparation and practice make perfect. As Summer gets older, she likes her baths more and more. While she grows into her bath routine and mature age we continue to trust her favorite brand and will soon feed her 9Lives Plus Care® cat food for all her changing nutritional needs. As she gets older we will support her digestive health and hearty immune system with it! We get 9Lives cat food at the Dollar General. From 4/1/18 to 5/31/18 check out DollarGeneral.com to find coupons and save on 9Lives wet and dry cat food!
Fear not, you will survive bathing your cat with our tips. Happy cat bathing!
Have you bathed a cat before? If you have, share with us your tips! If you have not, share your biggest concern.
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I can imagine bathing a cat is hard. These are great tips to help make it easier
My cat hates baths! she is a big, fluffy girl and once in a while I like to give her one. I am always very careful and still, she hates it. The gloves is one thing i have not tried, will do next time for sure. Treats wont work on her:)
These are great tips! I once had to shut my cat in the shower and turn it on to get her rinsed because she was scratching so bad as I washed her! Poor cat!
Oh my goodness I cannot imagine having to bathe a cat! That has got to be hard work and probably death defying in some cases ;). Thank you for your tips.
It’s never that fun bathing our cats. Most of them hate it. Although we do have one water cat that’s just fascinated with water. She loves drinking out of the faucet and pawing at water.
I am going to share your check list with my brother who has a few cats! Great tips for survival!
Taty, I loved reading your post! It made me miss my kitties. I’ve had cats since they were little for 2 decades and have not had them since they’ve passed. Love your mom tips – they are sound. ?? And wise!! Pampering them with food and snuggling with them really helps assure them that they are loved. ?
Oh my gosh, I can only imagine how difficult bathing a cat can be lol. These are great tips though!
I can’t even imagine bathing a cat. Fortunately bathing a horse is a great deal easier (for most of them anyway).
Ha ha your blog post title totally made me laugh out loud. Cats are so finicky! Especially when bathed!
I think the steps may be similar if you have a dog. How long does it take for you to bathe your kitty?
It is actually pretty fast. About ten minutes tops. Unless she looks like she wants to enjoy the water some more.
I think trying to bathe a cat may be the most thankless, hilarious and stressful thing you can do. In my experience they absolutely hate it!
We’ve never had cats at home, only dogs. I can imagine how hard it must be to give one a bath though. I’ think I’d be scared to even try because I’m afraid of cats. Haha!
This will definitely help my friends who have pet cats in their house. Thanks for sharing!
We never use the sprayer because it really scares our cat. We have several large plastic pitchers filled with warm water. We gently piur them over her to wet her fur. We do the same to rinse her.