My cats are getting a little, shall we say, pungent. I know they clean themselves all the time, but they clean themselves with the tongues they eat cat food with. :p Can you bathe a cat?

You can.

Buy a bunch of bandaids first. :p

Yep, you can bathe a cat.

First, give them a good all over brushing to get out as much fur as you can. Then the fun part. Don't try to submerge them in water, that won't work. You'll need a shower hose. Grab them by the scruff, spray them down. Don't run the water over their heads, that just makes them freak out more. Shampoo with cat shampoo. Human stuff isn't the right ph. Don't use conditioner, it makes their fur greasy. Rinse well, wring them out and give them a good towel dry. If you're strong enough, you can try to blow dry them. That's the part that usually freaks them out the most. When they're dry, brush them out again.

Takes practice, but I've never met a cat I couldn't bathe. If all else fails, buy a metal wire kennel, put the cat in and hose them through the bars.

http://videoforcats.com/cathumorbath.htm

Get yourself some Paralube eye ointment at the vet prior to the bath. You put a bit in the cats' eyes to protect them from soap and stuff. Also, stick a cotton ball in each ear so you don't get water in their ears.

I just bathed one of my cats last week for the first time after he got himself stuck in the ceiling and came out covered in more soot and crap than I could wipe off with babywipes. I had neither paralube, nor cotton balls, nor cat shampoo, nor a shower hose... but it worked out okay anyway. He didn't try to scratch me. I washed him in the tub under the tap, though I left the drain open, with Suave shampoo, just didn't wash his head so much, and then I towel dried him really well, and it was warm enough that I didn't torment him with the blow drier. He was so shiney and smelled so nice afterwards!! Not that he usually smells BAD...

If your cats' mouths are especially stinky, you should have the vet look at them. They may have an oral hygene issue that needs to be attended to.

How did he get so stinky? haha

I have these kitty baby wipe type things, seems like a less traumatic alternative.

I have to wash my cat soon. She is old and doesn't lick, plus she's been having soft stools (under tx by vet). I often use wipes, but when it gets warm I will wash her. My sink has a sprayer, but I found the shower stall works well because she knows she can't go anywhere. But I can only pour water on her, I have no sprayer. :(

I would love to bathe my 'fat cat' but I'm afraid I will scare him to death! He's too chubby to clean the lower half of his body, so sometimes I notice flakes, like dandruff. Maybe I'll be brave and give a try.

I would try a wet cloth or one of those kitty wipes before I did a full on bath, those tend to end in loss of skin unless your cats are really mellow.

I'm another that just uses the wipes for the cats. But he's very clean, and doesn't go outside.

Do you think the wipes will help the 'dandruff' effect? I thought he might be too far gone for that. I will give it a try. He's an indoor cat so there's no real 'dirt' that he gets into. It's just the flaking and oily look to the fur near the base of his tail.

I am so lucky on that front. My darling fur-baby Socrates has been bathed since she was a little kitten, so she has no issues with it... So I know thats of no use to you now, but in case you or anyone else gets a kitten, bath them from the first week you have them every couple of weeks. In the case of your cats, you should be able to bath them, but you might want a little assistance, because yes the fur might fly, and if your cats will let you, perhaps clip their claws before you bath them too.

Ooh, I forgot about those kitty wipes. My mom uses them. Thanks for the memory jog!

Their tongues aren't really stinky, but they do get to go in the backyard on their harnesses. Of course they like to roll in the dirt -- whoever said cats were clean and finicky animals was on crack. :p