Washing a cat in an apartment building

First, the fleas have to come from somewhere, but indoor cats can get fleas. Accidentally importing flea eggs in blankets or other used cat bedding is a good way to go about that one, or by having the cat get out for a few minutes and meet another cat (or go where a hedgehog or other wildlife has been).

Second, you'd probably want to use your own bathtub for cat-washing for all sorts of reasons, not least of which is that if the cat objects strenuously, having them escape into the apartment is a lot easier to deal with than having them escape into a communal area (and has less chance of random people walking in and getting latched on to).

Indoor cats can get fleas. They can be tracked in on people's clothes, they can come with the cat (from the shelter or home it came from), the cat can pick them up if it goes outside with its owners, or the apartment can have an infestation.

My apartment building had built in laundry rooms in each apartment, but that isn't always the case. I would bathe my cat in the bathtub given the option. I'd be afraid the cat would escape in the laundry room.

Its a kitten, kitchen sink, then you don't have to bend over.

Many adopted cats will have fleas coming in. But yes, indoor cats can DEFINITELY get fleas anyway. I've known of quite a few cases.

I don't remember what we did for all of our cats growing up, but my cat (the one I was responsible for) we adopted as a kitten, and I took her in our closing shower stall with me. That way she couldn't get away from the water. She was miserable, but she didn't have anywhere to run or squirm to, so she just sort of hunched over and took it and I got her bathed and got her out of there, poor thing.

Cats get washed in the kitchen sink. Unless we're talking about Lions, Tigers and Bea... Um... Panthers. Yeah, Panthers. Washing doesn't help with fleas, even with flea soap. It does get the flea dirt off, which turns the bath water rusty colored, since it's essentially dried blood. But you also need to flea bomb the apartment and have the cat professional flea dipped to get rid of the fleas.

Most cats will not like a bath and will happily take your eye out.

Jeff (where did that glass eye roll to now?) the Cat Launderer

This may be a ridiculous question, and perhaps I'm missing the point, but why would you bathe a cat which had fleas? Surely you'd just buy some spot on flea treatment like advocat or frontline, and some flea killer spray for the apartment? At least, that's what I'd do if my cat got fleas. Or do your MCs just not know anything about cats?

I thought the only reason to bathe a cat is because it gets covered in something that would be toxic for it to lick off, like motor oil.

I did once attempt, with a friend, to wash said friend's cat. Quickest way to trash a bathroom that I've ever found.

If I remember correctly -- and it's been a long time -- we *did* wash the cats as part of the de-flea-ing process. IIRC it wasn't to get the fleas off, but we had to "flea dip" them or something and then wash that off so they wouldn't eat it. IIRC. I might not. (And flea treatments might have changed since then. This was in the 90s. ::shudder:: )

Once helped a friend with a very young kitten that was infested with fleas. Too young to use something like Advantage, which it what people these days use rather than bathing, which is not very effective even with flea shampoo. Dunked tiny kitty in the bathroom sink full of water. Then had to flea comb all the fleas that fled the water and covered the poor little things head and face. Still not greatly effective, but it helped.

If it's a kitten, kitchen or bathroom sink would be what most cat owner's would choose, I think. Bathtubs are big, and you have to bend over.

And yes, indoor cats can get fleas, especially if you are on the first floor. Fleas will hitch a ride on a person's pant leg, for example, especially when the weather is warm and dry, like in the autumn, and fleas are looking for a more hospitable home.

Hmm, are you in the USA slhuang? Because I've had cats all my life in the UK and we've never bathed them as flea treatment. Maybe this is a culture gap thing? We used to use aerosol flea spray (yeah, cats like that as much as they like having a bath!), then more recently pump flea spray (not much better), then from the 90s onwards it was a spot treatment on the back of the neck.

The flea dips can be toxic, but you can get medicated shampoo to help get rid of fleas and treat the skin for any allergies. It's also good to wash away the flea dirt and the eggs. Poor kitty will feel much better even though it won't enjoy the bath.

One of my kittens was poisoned by flea shampoo designed for dogs. So you have to be very careful.

I've never given an adult cat a bath, but kittens can get really messy and don't always clean themselves properly.

Yeah, it's been a long time since I've owned a cat, about 40 years, but I'm sure we only used to comb ours when it got fleas.

And yeah, it didn't like that either!

usuallycountingbats said:

Hmm, are you in the USA slhuang?

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Yes, I am. That's a good point! Where and when is your story set, OP?

Oh, and as to the OP's other question -- I've lived in a lot of apartments with a lot of laundry rooms, and not one of them had a sink.

For the amusement of everyone who's ever tried it: How to Bathe a Cat

Note: Some cats don't mind water, others actively like it - if they know it's coming. I had one who turned the tap on and sat under it, and I have two more who won't get out of the sink if you turn the tap on on them while they're in it.

Mark Moore said:

I'm considering writing a scene in an upcoming story where my two MCs wash MC #1's kitten.

First, do indoor cats get fleas?

Second, assuming this apartment building has a laundry room (I'm going by TBBT here, so please correct me if they usually don't), would there be a large sink in there, or would my MCs have to make use of MC #1's bathtub?

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For #1, Indoor cats are less likely to get fleas, assuming they don't already have them (and a stray kitten, or a kitten purchased from someone who isn't keeping them in hygienic conditions may come to you with fleas). But it's certainly possible to acquire them while living in an apartment if there are other animals in the building that bring them in (like a neighbor's dog, say), or if fleas hitch a ride on the humans' clothes from outside. Dog and cat fleas tend to become more of a problem in warm climates where there is no hard freeze in the winter, and at sea level (I lived in Boulder CO for a few years, and dog and cat fleas were almost nonexistent, even though no one used spot ons like advantage. They didn't thrive at the altitude, evidently). There is something called chicken fleas as well, which can live in old, wood frame buildings in farm country, and literally come out of the woodwork to eat you and your pets alive.

As a side note, I live in CA, which was flea central when I was growing up. But I haven't seen a flea or flea dirt on one of my animals in over a decade. I assume this is because of the prevalence of various spot on remedies like frontline. I use these on my dogs, but not my indoor only cats. But I live in a house and not an apartment.

2. It depends on the apartment building. I lived in a number of different apartments when I was in college and grad school, and some had rooms with laundry tubs and some didn't. It was largely a function of the size. Larger complexes with more washers and driers in their common laundry area were more likely to have "full service" laundry rooms.

But you could wash a kitten in your kitchen sink or bath tub as well.

Frontline or Advantage - for fleas. Haven't used dips and powders in about 17 or 18 years. They're much more toxic and much less effective.

As far as bathing a cat - firstly, only if you must! Secondly, a trick that sometimes works is to place a small screen in the tub. You then put the cat in. A number will then stick themselves to the screen with all 4 feet while you bathe. It beats having 18 claws stuck in you.

If you’re in the US and this is a contemporary story, then no need for flea dip, as has been said. I flea dipped my kitten in 1989 because she was COVERED in fleas (from the pet shop who was giving away kittens in advance of going out of business) and there was no Frontline or Advantage back then.

Since then, it’s flea stuff on the back of the head once a month if they manage to escape out the door (one of our cats is a champion door-darter).

Depending on how much your characters know about cats, the best way to bathe a kitten would be to get a one or two gallon container with a very wide mouth (pot, pan, large Tupperware) and fill it with warm (cat body temperature) water. The larger the container, the harder it is to control the kitten. The narrower and taller the container, the better. Lower in back feet first and if possible, let the kitten rest front paws on the top of the container (not always possible for kitties trying frantically to escape).

Use the kitchen sink, not a laundry sink. You’ll get better leverage if you’re not leaning over. And lots and lots of towels. If they’re washing the kitten because it got into something greasy, use a bit of Dawn dish soap. Keep it out of the kitten’s eyes. Rinse thoroughly. Dry off with towels. Love and cuddle (if possible) afterwards and then let it go off and lick itself dry.

Take pictures. Wet cat are hilarious.

For a full grown cat, I sit on the edge of the tub and use a 5 gallon bucket. Boy do I hope I don’t have to do that again soon.

Cat owner here. Indoor cats can get fleas. We have bathed our cat for various reasons, including because we have used flea shampoos, or because they got into something dirty, or had an "accident" while in a travel cage and needed to be cleaned up.

We lived in an apartment and NEVER would have considered bathing the cats in the laundry room. Just taking the cat down there would give it a chance to escape and it the chance gets higher during the bathing process. Always the sink or tub for us, depending on the size of the cat and if we wanted to stand or kneel.

As to why she has to use the laundry room, just have her move with dirty laundry. I've done it. Yeah, it's nice to not do that, but it happens. You get all caught up in cleaning out the old place, packing and moving, and you might not get all the laundry done. Plus the stuff you packed and moved in might get bad, especially if you had to clean out the old apartment really thoroughly after you emptied it or if your carrying and unloading boxes on a hot day.

I'd find having to do laundry right after you moved, either because you moved dirty laundry or because the stuff you wore got trashed, more believable than washing your cat in the laundry room

I don't think I've seen a laundry room with a sink but the more problematic idea for me is the whole 'let's bring the cat down to the laundry room to use that sink' thing. It strains credulity in a big way because just why would you do that, you know? Also, it'd make me think your characters were assholes, exposing the LAUNDRY room to fleas.

I also didn't think anyone bathed cats for fleas - they have the pill thing and the neck thing now.

As to bathing cats in general, only if there's some particular deal.

cornflake said:

I don't think I've seen a laundry room with a sink but the more problematic idea for me is the whole 'let's bring the cat down to the laundry room to use that sink' thing. It strains credulity in a big way because just why would you do that, you know? Also, it'd make me think your characters were assholes, exposing the LAUNDRY room to fleas.

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That's a really good point. Everyone's clean laundry would then give them flea infestations. (Fleas bite people, too, and can carry all sorts of nasty things.) Even without the fleas, I agree that it would feel weird to bring a cat to a public sink for this. Good point.

(Cornflake, I had no idea you were such a considerate breakfast cereal. Probably because none of your neighbors have ever started a sentence with a coordinating conjunction.)

I wash kittens in the sink and cats in the tub. But I only wash them if they get really dirty. Cats keep themselves pretty clean. My tub has a small rod that holds washcloths, maybe about two feet high. When I wash my big cat, he grabs on to that and stands up holding onto it for life. My little cat will pretty much stand under the faucet and not complain. I know none of this is really relevant but I like my cats a lot.

Mark Moore said:

I'm considering writing a scene in an upcoming story where my two MCs wash MC #1's kitten.

First, do indoor cats get fleas?

Second, assuming this apartment building has a laundry room (I'm going by TBBT here, so please correct me if they usually don't), would there be a large sink in there, or would my MCs have to make use of MC #1's bathtub?

Click to expand...

My cat refuses to clean herself so she gets a bath once a week in the bath tub - no water in the bath, I use the shower head. It used to take two of us, one to hold her and one to soap and rinse, but she's gotten better. Don't get me wrong, she's never going to ENJOY it, but it's easy enough. Just be ready with a towel - our cat Rimmer has an old brown one that she gets wrapped in after a bath, she looks like a jedi.