Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA
Very Active Member
So, if you have been following Jeddie's saga, you know that he has filthy paws and because of that his face is getting dirty and he is generally having trouble keeping clean. And I am having trouble getting his paws clean. I think they are dirty because he drools on them when he sleeps. They were pretty stinky!
Today I found an on line guide to washing your cat - with photos. It kept talking about protective clothing for some reason :roll: Anyone know what "long-sleeved gloves" are?
In the section on cleaning off grease like motor oil, they suggested using a food-based oil as a "solvent" to soften and mobilize the gunk. Something like butter (or crisco or bacon grease). Hmmmmm.....
So, I scooped up Jeddie and took him into the kitchen where I rubbed butter all over his paws. At first he thought, "hey, a snack" and tried licking it off, but pretty soon he realized he was being held against his will. I took him to the sink and poured warm water over his feet and got the butter really soft and gooshy, then I poured baby shampoo right on his feet and lathered it up. At about this point I had a very mad cat trying to grab whatever he could with his buttery-lathered paws. The hardest part was rinsing. It took a lot of water to get all that out and I had to hold his paws under the running water. You can imagine how well that was received.
Finally, I wrapped him in a towel (a LOT more than his front paws were wet by then, but I only had one towel and it was his) and gently dried his feet. They are really small when they are wet. Then I put him on the bed and patted him and praised him and I think he forgave me.
His paws are not totally white, but they are not gray and they smell like baby shampoo instead of something you left in the back of the fridge too long. The big question is: will he let me do this again in another week?
Today I found an on line guide to washing your cat - with photos. It kept talking about protective clothing for some reason :roll: Anyone know what "long-sleeved gloves" are?
In the section on cleaning off grease like motor oil, they suggested using a food-based oil as a "solvent" to soften and mobilize the gunk. Something like butter (or crisco or bacon grease). Hmmmmm.....
So, I scooped up Jeddie and took him into the kitchen where I rubbed butter all over his paws. At first he thought, "hey, a snack" and tried licking it off, but pretty soon he realized he was being held against his will. I took him to the sink and poured warm water over his feet and got the butter really soft and gooshy, then I poured baby shampoo right on his feet and lathered it up. At about this point I had a very mad cat trying to grab whatever he could with his buttery-lathered paws. The hardest part was rinsing. It took a lot of water to get all that out and I had to hold his paws under the running water. You can imagine how well that was received.
Finally, I wrapped him in a towel (a LOT more than his front paws were wet by then, but I only had one towel and it was his) and gently dried his feet. They are really small when they are wet. Then I put him on the bed and patted him and praised him and I think he forgave me.
His paws are not totally white, but they are not gray and they smell like baby shampoo instead of something you left in the back of the fridge too long. The big question is: will he let me do this again in another week?
