Cats naturally dislike being wet and being forced to do anything, so the
trick to bathing them is to make it pleasurable to them, or at least not
unpleasant. That means, make the way you handle the cat into a show of
affection, and don't scare them with the water.

You might try this... one time only... see how it goes. I think if you're
sensitive and know your kitty well, it just might work. I have been able to
bath almost any reluctant cat this way without being harmed:

First of all you must be in the bathtub *with* the cat... Bring her into the
bathroom with you and close the door. Sit there (outside the tub) with her
while you run about five gallons of warm water into the tub. Hang up your
clothes and put a couple of large bath towels on the floor ready to grab,
then pick up kitty and hold her like a baby as you step into the tub and
slowly sit down. At this stage kitty has no idea there is even water in the
tub. The water needs to be off while you are getting in and sitting down.

Once you are settled into the tub holding kitty, let her tail dangle into
the water a bit. If she doesn't start tearing you to pieces then slowly let
her back feet get wet. Ideally you would be sitting cross-legged in the low
end of the tub with some little bit of water under your legs, and you set
kitty down in that opening in your lap where the warm water is just about
half an inch deep.

If this works out well, then just play it by ear, grab a handful of water in
one hand and hold the scruff of kitty's neck in the other just to steady her
as you gently release a little water on her back and rub it in.

Keep this up until the kitty is wet to the skin all over with warm water. If
you can run more water slowly and quietly into the tub without scaring her,
it helps, to keep the water nice and warm, which cats like. The shampoo will
penetrate better and be easier to spread around if the cat is already
completely wet, too.

Don't go on to the shampooing stage unless you're sure you can keep control
of the cat. It's pretty easy if you've gone really slow up to that stage and
have not let kitty become spooked. If she is a little bit spooked, you can
calm her down by talking softly and gently to her and holding the scruff of
her neck with one hand and rubbing her with the other hand (working in the
shampoo).

The end stage is the hardest, you must drain the tub and then pour fresh
warm water over the kitty to rinse out the soap. Ideally you would have a
couple of one-gallon plastic jugs already filled with warm water and sitting
within easy reach of your free hand.

Finally, after kitty is well rinses, pick her up and stand up in the tub,
squeeze the excess water out of her legs and tail, then set her on one of
the towels, still holding the scruff of her neck, and grab the other towel
and toss it over her back, then rub her dry.

Maybe you could ask a groomer for advice on this.  They might have an idea
of other waterless products that work.  Good luck.
Christine

I don't know. With my (much) older cats, it was just hard. Their fur is
just not easy to keep nice, maybe impossible. Kitty IS very old and
well, like with us, there isn't a lot you can do with fur at that age.

Maybe rub her down with a warm, damp washcloth? I don't know how much
good that would do, but maybe it would be worth a try.

That sounds like Yoda. He is so old now, and he doesn't groom himself.
He just looks dirty. I wipe him down with a wet washcloth sometimes
(warm). He doesn't seem to mind. He's shorthaired, so that makes it
easier.
My old Cherokee didn't mind a bath at all. I'd just plop him in the
sink, lather him up, rinse him with the sprayer. Then set him on the
cabinet and dry him with the blowdryer. I never bathed him until he,
too, got old and nappy-looking because he didn't groom himself very
well.

Sherry

A bran bath works nicely. Get some dry bran (from a supermarket) and
heat until hand-hot/body temp in microwave or very low oven. Hot enough
to warm, but not enough to scald. Now get the bran in your hands and
massage it into the base of the coat as much as you can, and work it in
all over but especially on her back and flanks, as much as she will let
you, for as long as she will tolerate it. Brush it all out gently. If
she will allow, stroke her fur with a soft cloth, chamois or just your
hand to smooth and shine the coat.The hot bran absorbs some of the
grease and dirt without the stress of a bath. Repeat on a regular basis.

This is obviously a bit messy so I think if you can stand her in a place
you can sweep, or in an empty bath, it will make life easier! I used
this on an elderly foster cat who came in with undiagnosed hyperthyroid
and had several layers of unshed fur - several bags of dead fur later
and a bran bath, she looked much better!

HTH

Deb.

Billy and Lily are pretty amazing, too. I am honored that they trust me as
much as they apparently do.