kitten's first bath
I gave Monty his first bath! Yay! I was surprised at how well it went, actually. I made sure that there was a warm bath set up and that I had a small saucepan for quickly pouring water over him for rinsing. He was fussy once he realized that I was holding him in the bathroom with a drawn bath and a closed door, but he didn't try to scratch me at all. He just stood there, wet and scrawny and undignified, making the most pathetic yowling sound while I held his scruff and shampooed and rinsed him.
I worked fast, the whole washing process went much faster than the drying process. That took forever... and two towels. He got pretty irritated with me by the end of the drying process, even though he kinda likes being dried off, he was trembling by the end. (With fear? Anger? Coldness?) At the end, I wrapped him up in the dry towel, gave him a treat, then put him wrapped up in his bed. And he got out of bed immediately and "ran away" for a couple of steps, mostly because he hadn't gotten a chance to run anywhere yet and he felt the need to point out that he wasn't a willing participant. Then he looked out the window and went back to his bed.
About an hour later, though, when he was completely dry, he was very affectionate. As in "here, let me wrap my tail around your face" affectionate. And his fur is soft again! I thought that it was soft when he was a kitten and was getting coarse because he's becoming an adult, but really, he needed a good shampoo. I'm really glad this went well, so hopefully neither of us will be afraid to do it again.
Next up: clumping litter! I've been looking at better litters or even an automated litter box, but I haven't found anything completely awesome. (Even though I went out clenching a 20% off coupon in my fist.) Any recommendations or warnings?
I worked fast, the whole washing process went much faster than the drying process. That took forever... and two towels. He got pretty irritated with me by the end of the drying process, even though he kinda likes being dried off, he was trembling by the end. (With fear? Anger? Coldness?) At the end, I wrapped him up in the dry towel, gave him a treat, then put him wrapped up in his bed. And he got out of bed immediately and "ran away" for a couple of steps, mostly because he hadn't gotten a chance to run anywhere yet and he felt the need to point out that he wasn't a willing participant. Then he looked out the window and went back to his bed.
About an hour later, though, when he was completely dry, he was very affectionate. As in "here, let me wrap my tail around your face" affectionate. And his fur is soft again! I thought that it was soft when he was a kitten and was getting coarse because he's becoming an adult, but really, he needed a good shampoo. I'm really glad this went well, so hopefully neither of us will be afraid to do it again.
Next up: clumping litter! I've been looking at better litters or even an automated litter box, but I haven't found anything completely awesome. (Even though I went out clenching a 20% off coupon in my fist.) Any recommendations or warnings?