Bathing Your Siamese

Siamese cats, like most cats are very clean creatures. There are times when they may need to be bathed. Even the most conscientious of owners may find fleas from time to time or perhaps your Siamese finds a way to explore under an oily car.

While Siamese are curious and love to be around humans, like many cats, they tend to dislike water. Some Siamese are very curious and dont mind getting a bit wet, but this is an unusual cat. Even Siamese who like water, tend to have very different ideas about water if they think they are going to be dunked in it.

It wise to take precautions to protection oneself first. This means dressing appropriately. While many owners jump in the shower with their dog and bathe both themselves and the dog, this is not a safe idea for a cat owner. Wear a heavy long sleeved shirt and pants. Keep your feet covered as well. While gloves would be a great idea, its also important to be flexible enough to move quickly and dexterously while bathing your cat.

Have a place thats comfortable for you to bathe your Siamese. While the bathtub is handy, consider whether you can lean over the tub for time it takes to lather the cat and rinse. If using a sink, consider how high the faucet reaches. The ideal place is a large kitchen sink that includes a sprayer nozzle. However, many kitchens do not have doors and its important to be able to confine your Siamese should they (or perhaps when they) get loose.

Its easiest to bathe a Siamese if you have assistance. Even the most gentle-tempered Siamese is likely to fight a bath. Consider the person the cat is closest to and who can handle the cat best. This person should be the cat handler. The other person should lather the cat with the shampoo and do any rinsing.

After youve found the place to bathe your Siamese, its helpful to have a little water in the basin you are using. Bring your cat in the room and close the door. Dunk the cat as quickly as possible and then lather up the shampoo. Be careful of the cats face. Getting water (or worse, shampoo) in their face will terrify them and youll have a really frightened and angry cat on your hands! Follow the directions on the shampoo label. Some flea products require setting for a few minutes.

If your Siamese had a particular area that got dirty while they were investigating, concentrate on this area with the water and shampoo. Remember that if you are trying to do a deep cleaning, this can be uncomfortable for your cat. Be patient with your Siamese. Theyre confident that whatever they got into will eventually come off, and they dont care if that place is your expensive sofa.

After soaping the Siamese, rinse the cat off. If you have no sprayer available to rinse the cat, have the other person pour cups of water of the back of the cat (or the area that is dirty). Make sure you avoid getting water directly in their face. A bit might drip down from the head if you are washing around the ears, but do your best to keep it from being directed at the face. Wash all the shampoo off thoroughly, usually going through and rinsing twice.

Have heavy towels ready to wrap your Siamese in after the bath. Pat them dry with the towels as much as you can. If you have a nice space heater in the bathroom area, this can be a good place to leave the cat while you help brush them out. Blow dryers may be a great idea for dogs, but many Siamese dislike the sound. However you dry them off, be sure to get them fairly dry before you let them run around again. You dont want your Siamese to get chilled. Siamese, like many cats, can be very prone to colds.

Once dry, consider that youve successfully bathed your Siamese. It probably didnt go as easily as described here. Siamese can be very stubborn and few cats enjoy the bathing experience. If your Siamese is far too stressed or you had to abort the attempt, many veterinarians who specialize in cats will bathe a cat for an owner for a fee. Often at the veterinary clinic, they will give your Siamese a tranquilizer to calm them during the process. This may be the easiest way to get your cat cleaned if all else fails.

Bonnie Koenig lives with her three cats. She and her Siamese, Cheysuli, maintain their website My Siamese

Training Your Siamese - Three Ideas to Keep In Mind
Siamese cat owners understand that their cats have a strong will. Stubborn is too mild a word for these cats. Although Siam...

The Indoor Siamese - Living Longer, Living Better
Siamese cats are wonderful people-loving cats. They are stubborn and demanding and its difficult to deny them anything. Som...

Siamese Cats
The Siamese, (if you please) are very wonderful cats.Their history is a little sketchy as no one knows the exact place of the...

Cat Litter Box Odor Is there a Solution?
Like many others, I am a perpetual cat lover. I mean my love for cats is not sporadic. I suppose, in a way I am addicted to c...

Newborn Kitten - Tips On Chosing A Newborn Kitten
Kittens are often the best cats to start out with. With a newborn kitten you are starting with a clean slate and you will ha...

How To Treat A Kitten Old About 2-4 Weeks
A young kitten can eat only milk. But if you have to feed it by yourself, you have to find some tools to help you feed them. ...

What Is The Persian Cat?
A show-quality Persian has an extremely long thick coat, short legs, a wide head with the ears set far apart, large eyes, and...

Proper Tattoo Aftercare
Tattoo aftercare is as important as selecting the proper tattoo design and its placement. A beautiful tattoo can become a com...

Taking Care Of Your Pet Cat
Before purchasing for yourself a Siamese cat or a rag doll as your pet, make sure that one, youre not allergic to cats and se...

Ideas for a Creative Cat Litter Box
When it comes to arranging facilities for your cat, you have quite a few options on what to use for a cat litter box. From t...

The 30 Second Guide to Grooming a Maine Coon Cat
Maine Coons are a semi-longhaired breed and have a heavy thick coat. Frequent grooming is required to prevent the fur from ma...

Inexpensive Cat Toys Your Cat Will Love To Play
Owning a cat does not just mean taking care of it and feeding it; it also means that you should get it some toys so that it c...

Office Stress No More
Desktop stress is very common in office workers or anyone who has a desk job and uses a computer for more than eight hours a ...

Water? How Much Does Your Cat Need
Like people, cats need water even more than food. Even a 10% loss of water can cause serious illness in a cat. So how muc...

Understanding The Changes of Your Aging Cat
A cat will not always be young and sharp, and after it grows old, its senses will become duller, such as vision worsening and...

Great Gifts For Cat Lovers
There are a lot of great gifts that you can give to cat lovers, although photo frames are among the most popular. Photo frame...

Plastic Feeding Bowl Can Make Your Cat Sick
What do you use as a feeding bowl for your cat? A normal feeding bowl from the pet shop? Or some cheap container you were go...

A Cat Tale
My son and I have a cat. Her name is Princess, aka Sugar Bear or Bear. She is part Himalayan and part Siamese. I was just thi...

Have You Ever Thought Of Feeding Your Cat With Raw Food?
Do you believe in feeding your pet cat the way nature would with fresh raw meat? Well, if you are shocked by this notion, do...

Cat Litter Boxes
As the market for pets is expanding, there are more and more choices available for pet owners now, and instead of plain cardb...