Teaching Dirty Cat to Wash Self

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mistafurlee - 17 Nov 2003 04:07 GMT

My cat is messy in cleaning himself. He doesn't clean his eyes so I
always see yellow eye crusties on bottom of his eyes. Other cats I see
and used to own lick their paws and wipe their faces and eyes. My cat
never. Also, my cats paw pads are always dirty with dirt. He never
cleans his underpaws.

Is proper cleaning taught by the momma cat? Did my cat get separated
too soon from momma cat to learn the proper cleaning technique?

Or, do male cats seem lazier, sloppier than female cats?

Is there anyway to teach an old cat new (cleaning) tricks? Should I
use a fake cat paw damp with water and wipe his eye? Should I clean my
eyes like a cat in front of my cat? Or should I show my cat a video of
cats cleaning themselves properly and thoroughly?

My cat also hates baths so I don't know how to keep him clean.

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m. L. Briggs - 17 Nov 2003 05:44 GMT

>My cat is messy in cleaning himself. He doesn't clean his eyes so I
>always see yellow eye crusties on bottom of his eyes. Other cats I see
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
>My cat also hates baths so I don't know how to keep him clean.

Yes to all of the above.

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Barb Beier - 18 Nov 2003 13:12 GMT

>Is proper cleaning taught by the momma cat? Did my cat get separated
>too soon from momma cat to learn the proper cleaning technique?

Maybe. Archie came in as a stray at 9 months and he never cleaned
himself. He didn't purr, either. About a year later, I took in
another stray (Bubba, an older cat who, unfortunately, died suddenly
just short of two years later, probably from heartworms), and after
watching Bubba, Archie began cleaning himself regularly. He also
started to purr. I guess purring comes naturally to cats, so maybe
that just started because he saw Bubba enjoying the loving he'd get
and Archie figured it was all right to relax more and enjoy it. He
also saw me brushing Bubba, but it took about four or five years
(several years after Bubba's demise) before he allowed me to do it.
Now he craves it.

>Or, do male cats seem lazier, sloppier than female cats?

Not necessarily -- Archie's quite a neatnik now.

>My cat also hates baths so I don't know how to keep him clean.

They have shampoos you can just rub on and towel off now so the cat
doesn't have to go into the water. However, the cat will probably
still hate it (Archie does on those rare occasions when he needs one).

Barb

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mistafurlee - 19 Nov 2003 10:56 GMT

>Maybe. Archie came in as a stray at 9 months and he never cleaned
>himself. He didn't purr, either. About a year later, I took in

You know what ... my cat doesn't meow much. If he wants to go outside,
he just stands besides the door and looks at me and hope I am paying
attention and get it (if I don't notice him, my cat just plops down
and goes to sleep). All my other cats over the years meow all the time
and especially if they want to go outside.

>>Or, do male cats seem lazier, sloppier than female cats?
>
>Not necessarily -- Archie's quite a neatnik now.

I guess my cat is just one of the lazy cats.

>>My cat also hates baths so I don't know how to keep him clean.
>
>They have shampoos you can just rub on and towel off now so the cat
>doesn't have to go into the water. However, the cat will probably
>still hate it (Archie does on those rare occasions when he needs one).

I wonder if there is a way to teach my cat to love water like those
fishing cats and tigers. :)

Barb, thanks for sharing your experience. I will try to get my cat
some good influences (and maybe show him some cat cleaning videos or
maybe some tigers playing in the water).

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