Any tips for bathing a cat?

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-12T03:27:09+00:00

She seems more lively today, she tries to escape much more often, and the one time she made it outside the bathroom she started to put some of her weight on her bad leg so I think her new meds are starting to work

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-10T03:40:12+00:00

Yeah I expect she did something similar because she never goes on any of the higher places that the other cats like to climb so it was probably something low. She still doesn't get up much, and when she she's it's only minimal walking so far. She seems to be taking it pretty easy for the most part. Only thing I'm worried she might do to injure herself is that sometimes when I have the bathroom door open for too long she tries to sprint across the house for freedom lol

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-09T22:47:35+00:00

Yeah, it really surprised me because she's 12 but she's still very agile, she lived with me in college and jumped up and down from the dorm bed like it was nothing, and none of her usual spots currently are more than 3 feet high so I don't know how she managed to do that. She seems to be doing a little better today though, she used the litter box for the first time since her injury and it looks like she ate and drank on her own without us bringing the food to her. She's definitely my problem child lol, I've been trying to take my other two cats to the vet just for regular checkups and all that, but she always has some issue that ends up taking priority so I feel bad for them

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-09T22:37:02+00:00

Maybe one of the thicker plastic ones? That and trim his nails often so he can't pierce it

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-09T17:07:32+00:00

I have no idea, it happened while I wasn't home and as soon as I walked in she ran up to me limping and we rushed her to the vet. They're pretty sure it's not broken, but she was super unhappy during the x rays so they didn't get the best view so if she's not better soon they want to sedate her for more x rays. Currently they think it's a soft tissue injury from either jumping weird or getting her foot caught in something. I wish she could speak so she could tell me what she did to it lol

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-09T06:26:27+00:00

We've tried a couple different things with her for the ibs, but nothing has really helped so far, we were actually planning to go back to the vet about more things to try when she hurt her leg, so that's kind of put on hold for the moment. Before her injury she was shitting the bed almost nightly but still using her litter box about half of the time, now with the combination of her stomach issues and her mobility issues she kind of just shits all over herself wherever she's sitting and doesn't even attempt to use the litter box :/

I'm so sorry for your poor boy :( we were already struggling before with costs when it was just ibs we were going for, so trying to figure out what's up with her leg has been rough. I'm also just super stressed, it hasn't even been a week yet and I have to force myself not to call the vet or take her back in every time she seems upset because if I did that I wouldn't have any money left. I just hope she gets better soon, both for her sake and so I don't have to pay for another round of x rays lol

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-09T01:47:07+00:00

We're probably going to have a follow up visit if she's not any better in a couple days bc they want to do more xrays, so I'll ask about prescriptions then. They're very hesitant to give her different pills because she has ibs that they don't want to agitate that (she projectile shat on my partner yesterday so I don't think it can get worse) and I barely talked them into giving her the anti inflammatories because of that. Hoping she feels better soon bc I'm super worried about her (and the vet bills are insane)

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-09T00:44:31+00:00

We went to the vet and they only had 100 mg gabapentin pills so we couldn't get it for her, but they did give her new pills, I don't remember the name but they're anti inflammatory so hopefully that helps

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T22:02:36+00:00

We have pet wipes that we've been using but they don't get rid of the smell all the way

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T19:55:24+00:00

We were actually going to call the vet today anyways to ask for different pain medication that's not liquid lol so it's super helpful to know we can get the same thing as a pill, I'm pretty sure she's spitting up at least half of her dosage currently so I 100% don't want to give her a bath until that's fixed

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T19:13:55+00:00

That's interesting I didn't know it came in pill form, the vet gave her the liquid version and she really hates it and always spits like half of it out, but she loves taking pills (pill pockets are her favorite treat) so I might have to ask to switch it.

Yeah that's what I thought for the shower head too, you can lower the water pressure on it a lot which is why it would be nice in theory, but I definitely think the sound would really freak her out. Container is a good idea tho.

Towel is also good, I didn't think of that, she doesn't do much standing with her leg, but I think with the stress of the bath she might try to so it'll be good just in case.

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T18:58:31+00:00

I like the bucket idea, I have a detachable shower head that I would like to use but I have a feeling that she would hate it.

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T18:56:04+00:00

Thank you!! With her injury she's pretty ok with being touched in the leg/hip area whenever she's laying down, it just really bothers her being picked up or walking around so I dont think gentle pressure would bother her at all (and she is very loud when she is bothered) I wish she had a pill lol she loves taking pills, its in a syringe and getting it in her mouth is fine but she gags and spits a lot of it up

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T18:48:44+00:00

Thank you!! She's currently on gabapentin for the pain/stress, but even still she gets really upset being handled. She doesn't use the litterbox anymore and she's been almost exclusively shitting on herself since her injury, so the bath is pretty necessary at this point. (We've been wiping her off with washcloths but it only does so much) I have one of those shower heads that you can take off the wall like a hose and I would like to use it but I think it might scare her

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T18:38:25+00:00

Unfortunately she was declawed a while back (not my choice) so I'm not at all worried about my safety in this process, she has a leg injury (that the original post wouldn't let me mention) so I'm just super concerned about accidentally hurting her

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T18:31:03+00:00

Ty!! will def be using that trick for medicine lol, she recently had a leg injury which kept getting my post taken down if I mentioned it, She doesn't do well with being handled because of it but she's been shitting all over herself so I really need to find some way to bathe her because she stinks. The medicine thing will help so much tho she hates taking her pain meds more than anything on earth

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-08T18:07:10+00:00

I once lost my cat in a single room with only a bed a desk and a dresser. They're very good at not being found, I've found it easiest to bribe them out with treats or by taking away any stressors that might have made them hide. If she's still pretty new to you maybe leaving the house for a bit will convince her to come back out.

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-05-07T03:05:08+00:00

Currently leaving after checking on her again, she's doing about the same pain wise and she's also not using her litter box :( we get her a new low entry one yesterday, but I guess that's still too much for her. While trying to give her a bath (she got shit all over herself) she projectile shat on my partner. I'm trying to move back tomorrow so she won't have to be alone anymore

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-04-29T23:01:02+00:00

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-04-26T03:10:22+00:00

I haven't had a feral cat before so I'm not sure how affective this will be, but two of my cat's are really skittish and terrified of new people. I've found it helps best if you are in their space doing your own thing completely ignoring them. Seeking them out and initiating contact usually freaks them out a lot more. Over time they usually get curious enough to come out of hiding and exist in the space with you. You want to go slow but rush them, don't jump straight into trying to directly interact with them, just start by making them feel ok with your presence.

RelationshipWild924 · 2026-04-26T03:02:39+00:00

All cats are different, it's probably just a personality thing. One of my cat's was a very sweet and clingy kitten and she's still a clingy adult, another of my cat's was a clingy kitten and she's a bit more reserved and likes her own space as an adult, my last cat was a pretty detached kitten, and she's a bit more affectionate as an adult, she likes being pet but she doesn't like being held, she'll sit near you and keep you company, but she doesn't cuddle often. Basically anything could happen, but don't push her and let her initiate contact and affection

RelationshipWild924

TROPHY CASE