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My first suggestion is to not try this at home. Or, if you do, to figure out something before hand. Do not expect to simply gently carry your cat into the bathroom, no matter how prepped it is but more so if not prepped, and simply tickle your little furry friend with a little soap, water, and giggles. It does not work like that. Oh no, no it does not.
I did get the kitty cleaned. She smelled sour and I thought I could tackle her. Sure enough, I got the deed done, and with only one or two very minor scratches. Oh, she struggled, fussed, and howled in a manner I have rarely heard a cat sound off. I can see why cats were thought to have been somehow connected with Satan. I found, with her, that the skin at the back of the neck worked rather well. A little care when that was not possible made for a clean kitten.
Sam, on the other hand, was simply impossible. The skin on the back of her neck did little good. She was swinging those claws around, out like little switchblades, like some kind of rotating, gyrating, vorporal weapon. I narrowly missed those claws several times. In spite of being rather small creatures, cats are still partially feral so they are far stronger than they would seem. Beyond that, their natural ability to literally twist inside their skin along with the silkiness of their fur makes them quite formidable little beasties.
I realized, without protective gear or some means of mechanically limiting Sam's ability to claw, I was not going to get the job done without serious injuries. No, really. So, I got to thinking. Perhaps I could tie her up, hogtie her really. I grabbed a length of parachute cord, the cat, and went in to the couch where we could play cowboy and cow. Tying up a cat is about as easy as washing them, if less dangerous. Sam let me do what I wanted, so long as water was not near, and then did her best to undo what I was doing. She was far more successful at undoing than I was at doing. I am not, however, a knot expert. I may look through my books. I bought several books on the topic of knot tying, and I know there is a self tightening knot or there which might work in this situation (and at least one of them is safe for people (thus animals most likely). The other options is to find something, like a shirt give or take, which would restrict her limbs but would allow me to wash her as well. Either those, perhaps, or waterproof full body armor of some minor sort. Everything I have that is most waterproof is too thick to be functional at washing her or too thin to be of any serious protection. Just thinking here. I suspect I will go with the knots. I need practice anyway.
Not much else has been done today. With my sleep becoming erratic, even in just a few short days, I have lost track of what day it is. I will have to keep on top of that. I have two things coming up. Sassy goes in to be fixed the morning I am supposed to go for a checkup. There is no way I will be able to deliver her by 7:00, so I will simply have to leave her there the day before and pick her up on my way home from the appointment. That is the only way. I am hoping to get to a few things tomorrow. I am going to try to get to sleep in an hour or so as well. Who knows though.
Good night, perhaps.
Many moons ago, I worked at a veterinary office. We anesthetized the cats that required bath and flea dip (the old days prior to modern flea medications).
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Let me see, using technological notions, my preference to do things mechanically, and a good rock... Well, maybe not.
ReplyDeleteI can see why that was done. Restraining a cat is more difficult than restraining Houdini. And, being somewhat still wild, cats are very resistant to the dangers of medicine, or just about anything. Still, I will figure this out. I might make my own armor out of pvc or such, and a little ingenuity, when I have a few more nickles to put between thumb and index finger.
There is a little thrill working with the the wild ones near water though. It's been a long time since I went into danger, I had almost forgotten the adrenaline rush thing.
When you take the kitteh to the vet, ask them for advice on bathing.
ReplyDeleteI will do that, now that you mention it, Jean. I am not hugely hopeful, after my internet search. The internet usually suggested simply not to wash the critter, other advice was equally not helpful. Then again, the cats I saw looked rather clean. I really got the feeling that the cats were washed fairly regularly. Further, none of the workers looked all that scarred. Their methods, however, might be simply thick rubber gloves, experience, and a bit of brute force.
ReplyDeleteI will check. Thanks for the notion. Never mind my minds working and cynicism. (well, it may seem like cynicism, but in this post at least, and about your thoughts, there is none... just a little disappointment with the interwebz)
Brushing is worth doing but forget washing. They will come to fear you and that blows the whole point of having cats.
ReplyDeleteYou might have a point there, about them coming to fear me. Well, if I did it too often in any case. Still, I have to think that an occasional washing would not be all bad. If I could figure out how to do it without serious blood loss. At this point it is a contest of wills. With Sam, I think a wash every few months would be fine. With Sassy though, I will do it until she learns to clean herself well enough not to stink. At least she is relatively doable.
ReplyDeleteOh, the good thing is that Sam, even if she was a danger, was trying with all her will not to hurt me. I sensed it and realized she was avoiding hurting me. She had the chance a time or two. It was her spasms, and the potential for accidentally catching me (at which point I think she would have just gone with it) which caused me to desist. Those two do love me, nearly to going into water. That is saying something.
I have seen a spray type cat cleaner that could conceivably be sprayed on a cloth and rubbed on the cat. Less traumatic for all involved.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would do, is find a good burlap sack, and place the cats inside and tie it off. Put it in the washing machine and you're golden. Extra points for a side loader.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I think I saw something about putting them in the toilet and closing the lid, but that was written by a dog, so I'm not sure you can trust it.
D.C.,
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look into the spray stuff. I have my doubts, but I think that is a guy thing (which is often a good thing). Reagan said "Trust but verify". I hate optimists. :p
Giraffe,
That IS a thought. However, on doing a little research, I think both suggestions were theorized by dogs. Gotta love the effort though. Washing machine. Ha! Don't... tempt me... Frodo.