Kitten bathing issues

Eliza32

Hi there,

I have a kitten for the last four days and she has learned to clean herself but not to great standards! she is litter trained but today, afterwards she was very smelly and dirty on her rear. I tried gently cleaning with some baby wipes but I feel she might need a bath. I don't want to scare her as she's my baby!! Does any one have any tips on gentle cleaning of kittens. She is so clean she's a little angel!! uses the litter tray and wipes her little pawsies on the newspaper afterwards, she's such a dote, but I just want to give her a good clean down there as she sleeps snuggled up to me!!!

aonb

how old is the kitten?
when I found Tux (motherless kitten), once she recovered from malnutrition etc etc, I was worried that she hadnt learned how to clean herself from her mother, and would end up a pretty sorry mess!

She has learned by instinct now - 6 months later - and while not spotless, seems to be doing a pretty ok job When she was smaller (grubbier!) I used to take a few babywipes - sensitive (non perfumed) and give her some pretty thorough cleanup every day. She will soon get the hang of it, and have lovely grooming sessions - seems to be quite hypnotic!

boomerang

I'd be more concerned as to why she has such a messy bottom... Has she been treated for worms?

mymo

As above, has she been wormed?

Also what are you feeding and how old is she?

I've had a few younger ones that were a bit messy in that department at first, it's usually sorted after worming and finding the right food.
If she's under 12 weeks I find royal canin babycat a good starter food, builds them up nicely and seems easy on the belly. I usually move them on to a good quality kitten food once they get to a good size and weight.

For worming kittens under 12 weeks or so, I use a liquid wormer called parazole, you dose by the kittens weight, and give it for three days, it's easy on the little bellies.

Irish Stones

Eliza32 wrote: »

I feel she might need a bath. I don't want to scare her as she's my baby!! Does any one have any tips on gentle cleaning of kittens.

In my experience, the younger the kitten is, the easier and less stressful the bath will be.
You could even get the cat used to the bath so that when it will be an adult it won't have fear of water.
Once that you have followed the tips of other posters and ruled out any possible cause, if you still want to bath your cat you can do as follows.
Take a plastic basin, pour some warm water in it. Do not fill it. Water must be warm not hot, feel it with your hand. Put a towel on the bottom of the basin so that the cat can have a grip with its feet.
Use a liquid soap for pets, rub gently and then rinse by pouring a little water with your hands on the little cat.
NEVER pour water on the cat's head!
I think you could ask someone for help in this thing just in case that the kitten gets nervous.
Never act roughly, do not shout even if the cat scratches or bites you.

Alternatively there are foams to dry wash a pet. Put some foam on its fur, rub with a cloth and then clean it up.

El_Duderino 09

Yeah I wouldn't worry about it too much. Baby wipes sound like a great idea. It's more than just cleaning it's also about building the bond between mother and kitten. It would be fun for her as well as cleaning her.

I'd do a bit and watch her for a minute to see if she gives it a go herself. Demonstrate and encourage her. Cats hate being dirty so it should come naturally with a bit of encouragement.

Good luck with your new kitty

Eliza32

Thanks for all the advice guys, I tried out the baby wipes again and they seemed to work better this time. She seemed to actually enjoy the little session we had and she was grooming me also!! She is about 9 weeks old, and I don't think she has been wormed. She is due at the ISPCA Vet on Thursday evening so hopefully she'll be treated then. I have her on Canin kitten at the moment with sometimes a little whiskas mixed in but she really likes the Canin and since she's been on that, she's been having well formed stools so I think that's the food for her.