Our feline friends love to explore new places and sometimes these places are not so clean. You will usually find your cat in a dumpster or maybe she slipped into something unclean or just rolled around in her litter box, all of these are reasons to clean your cat. Normally you don’t have to worry about cleaning your cat as they are excellent at cleaning themselves and don’t require your help. But extreme incidents call for immediate action.
Now don’t start wearing your gloves just yet, there are many ways you can clean your cat without water! No way, sounds too good to be true, right? But it is. Due to general dislike of cats with water, there is dry shampoo available made specifically for cats to bathe them. You can also use baby wipes to groom your cat and other alternatives are available for bathing your cat.
We are going to list some of the bat bathe alternatives and also their benefits and which is the best method. Let’s get started!
Cats can clean themselves
Cats a self grooming creatures. They spent many hours in a day cleaning themselves. Then why do we need to bate our cats? Sometimes cats can get themselves beyond dirty that you can’t just wait for them to lick themselves clean. And since your cat is too scared to take a water bath that she would take her claws out at the sight of it, it is better to try alternative options of bathing.
Cat cleaning without water
Have we ever thought about the reason why cats are so afraid of water? Well, there are few reasons to it. Firstly, your cat is not accustomed to water, it is not in their nature to bathe in it and hence cats generally don’t like change or new things. Cats also don’t like water because they have a thick fur and it takes longer for them to dry themselves. Cats also feel vulnerable as they feel sluggish and think they won’t be able to act quick in case of a prey.
Since we don’t want out cats to be in stress or unhappy, we should try to find alternatives of bathing our cat and luckily, we have those.
Alternative ways to bathe your cat
- Using cat wipes
Cats wipes and similar to baby wipes, the only difference being that they are made specifically for cats. You can easily buy these from at pet store but make sure to consult a vert or buy one which is alcohol free. Before introducing the wipes to your cat, you might need to use positive reinforcement because as stated above cats like to do the cleaning themselves and don’t want you to do it.
Cats wipes are great as they help to deodorize your cat and remove or eradicate any allergens she might have on her body. You can buy scented cat wipes as well, but make sure your cat is okay with the scent. And also, they are waterless so it’s a major plus for your cat.
- Grooming tools
There are several reasons why your cat is not able to groom herself properly, that’s why you can buy some high quality grooming tools so she can get the same amount of cleanliness as always. One of the tools is a brush, these special brushes are available for both long and short haired cats.
You can also find a de-matter brush which is used to detangle your cat’s hair. These brushes work in the same way a cat cleans herself. It helps in distributing the cat’s bodily oils throughout her body.
You can also buy clippers or ear cleaning oils to better groom your cat.
- Dry shampoo
These shampoos are a blessing for all cat owners. Now you can give your cat a proper bathe without using water. Dry shampoos are available in many different scents and ingredients. Find one which is made with natural ingredients or consult a vet for this matter, dry shampoos require no rinsing at all. A dry shampoo can be applied easily just by using your hand, rub it on your cat’s coat and remove the excess foam with the help of a cloth or just your hands. For better distribution, you can use a brush to rub the applied foam throughout her hair coat.
Dry shampoos are also available in the form of sprays and powder. Both have slight disadvantages. Sprays can frighten an animal, the sound it makes is not liked by pets. Whereas powder causes whitening of the fur and waste of the product as well, and you would have to do a careful cleaning afterwards. That is why dry shampoo in the form of foam is considered most suitable for cats.
Is waterless shampoo good for cats?
Dry shampoos provide your cat with a cleansing very much similar to regular cat shampoos. They remove dirt and deodorize your cat’s fur. They are extremely easy to use and show immediate results. But that’s their only main purpose, they are used for quick cleaning. Just because you are using a dry shampoo, doesn’t mean your cat doesn’t need additional cleaning.
If you are concerned on her health, then don’t worry, dry shampoos are perfectly safe, and they do their job well. Just find one with the right and natural ingredients. Buy one that takes care of odor, excess dirt and also softens your cat’s fur.
Conclusion
as we all know,, cats are afraid of water, and we have listed some of the reasons why, the most important being that they are not accustomed to it because they never had a need for it. Cats are perfectly able to clean themselves, but wen your cats get too old or injured or really dirty and her self-grooming just isn’t enough, its time for a bath. There are many waterless alternatives for a cat’s bathe and all of them work. Just make sure that when you are cleaning your cat she should be relaxed and have patience with her to come to terms to it.