How to give a stray cat a bath? Plus some other questions?

Question

A stray cat showed up on my porch after a flood recently hit my area. After petting her I noticed her fur had little black crumbly stuff throughout and upon further investigation I saw a flea or tick, I don’t know what it was, crawling through her fur. So I gave her some advantage II and that seemed to have helped. However her fur still has the black stuff in it, and it gets under my nails and flakes off her fur whenever I pet her. Also a dead flea or something fell out of her fur also.

Is there a method I could use to give her a bath without getting scratched up because her nails are VERY sharp? Also she was very friendly when I attempted to approach her so I believe she used to be someone’s pet. Yet her fur has fleas or something, she’s very skinny, and one of her canines is chipped, so I don’t think she was well taken care of. I think she has worms also, is there a good brand I could buy to get rid of her worms that doesn’t need a prescription?

I wish I could keep her because she’s soooo cute but I live with my cousin who is allergic so it’s not possible. :(  In the future I will be getting her spayed since she will be an outside cat, but this is the most I can do for her at this time.

I tried to add a few photos but i keep getting an error message. i wish i could add photos though, shes so cute!

heart o&#39; gold · Accepted Answer

Bathing a cat is...dangerous at best...to you!
My animals LOVE being cleaned by being gently "petted" with a wash cloth or hand towel soaked in warm water and wrung out.  I wrap the warm, damp, wrung out cloth around a couple of fingers and "pet" them and it wipes them clean...slowly.  My animals, including my cats, have always really grooved on this.  I think to them it feels like being groomed by their mama.
It will take a while, probably in more than one session, to get her really clean doing it this way.  Try petting the fur first in the direction that it grows, then in the other direction to really get down to her skin.
The black dirt stuff you are seeing in her fur is digested blood (flea poop).  It will turn the cloth red as it dissolves so you'll need to change areas of the cloth you are using and rinse it well or discard it and start with a fresh cloth.
You can buy non prescription worm on line or at walmart or other stores, just google cat wormer.
I hope you get to keep this kitty, she sounds really sweet!

Lydia · Answer

First, I would put up posters around town to see if she is someone's cat who possibly ran away with your phone number on it. If no one calls then make sure you 100% ready for a cat and are willing to deal with the money and time it takes. Then if you decide to keep her find s nearby vet and have her get vaccinations and see if she has worms, mange, fleas, ticks etc. If you decide you can have her then take her to a nearby no-kill animal shelter or see if someone you know would like her.

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How to give a stray cat a bath? Plus some other questions?

2 Answers