Giving a cat a bath

Bathing a cat can be a tough job, but with these steps a single person can safely and easily bathe a cat with only a small amount of fuss. Here is an easy way for one person to bathe a cat without getting scratched

How to bathe a cat

Step 1: Assemble the basic ingredients:

1. A clean sink or bathtub.
2. Cat shampoo - very important (the cat may lick the remnants of the shampoo from their coat after the bath, so the shampoo must be formulated to be non-toxic for feline ingestion). Available at pet stores.
3. Two to three towels.
4. A cup (normal drinking glass) and a bowl (preferably a mixing bowl that can hold enough water to rinse the shampoo off the cat). 
5. Cat treats for you to feed to the cat after the bath.
   

Step 2: Prepare the ingredients:

1. Fill the sink/bathtub with lukewarm water. The water shouldn't be hot to the touch, but it also should not give the cat the chills.
   
2. Pour a good amount of the cat shampoo into the sink water as well, making it a soapy bathwater.
   
3. Fill the cup with lukewarm water and mix it with the cat shampoo.
   
4. Fill the bowl with clean lukewarm water (this will be used to rinse the cat after shampooing).
   
5. Lay out a towel beside the sink (for drying the cat after the bath) and take the other towel and lay it out on the floor.
   
6. Gather the cat into the washing room (usually the bathroom) and shut the door. If the cat escapes, this way you will not have a wet cat running around the house.
   

Step 3: Readying the cat for the bath:

1. Pet the cat and have it lie on the towel on the floor. While the cat is stretched out on the towel, wrap the cat tightly in the towel, making a "cat burrito" as veterinarians call it. The cat should only have its head out of the top of the towel wrap; its feet should be safely and comfortably contained in the wrapped towel. (Wrapping a cat in a towel is a method often used by veterinarians to contain a cat while giving it shots.)
2. With the sink full of water, hold the cat facing you and away from the water and slowly lower the cat burrito into the water. The cat should not see the water while you are placing it in the bath.  Make sure to hold the cat tightly in the towel so that it cannot wiggle out.
3. The cat may not notice that it is getting wet for a few moments; if the water temperature is right it may be comfortable to be petted for awhile. Once the cat realizes that it is wet it will try to escape.  Hold the towel tight around the cat and press down upon its shoulders. The cat should be able to be restrained with one hand by keeping pressure on its shoulders.
4. Soak the cat in the water, holding it down with one hand. Never allow water to get near the cats face, especially its eyes. After soaking for a while loosen the towel of the cat burrito and use your one free hand to massage the soapy water in to its the hind legs and stomach.
5. Loosen the towel so that the cat's back is no longer covered and pour the cup of soapy water onto the cat's back.
6. Pull the plug on the sink/bathtub and drain out the soapy water.
7. Pour the clean water in the bowl over the cat and be sure to get all of the soap rinsed out of its coat. If the cat doesn't get too upset, you can turn on the faucet water and rinse the cat some more with that water.
8. Take the cat out of the bath and wrap it in the second towel, leaving the "burrito" towel sitting in the sink.
9. Help the cat dry off and give it treats.  If you have a space heater you can place it in front of it, or if your cat doesn't mind you can try to dry its coat with a hair dryer (some long haired cats may require their coats being dried with a hair dryer).

Cat Bath Video

Further Reading

4 Ways to Bath a Cat