Persian Cat Bath Preparation

There are several things to consider when you are preparing a bath for your Persian cat. What types of  "tools" and supplies do you need to bathe your Persian cat? With a little advanced planning you can make the cat grooming and bathing experience a positive one for both you and your Persian companion. 

Supplies to consider having on hand to prepare for bathing your Persian cat vary, the following list is just some of the basic items you might want to have laid out for the bath before involving your Persian cat:

Apron (optional)
Towels
Shampoos
Goop Hand cleaner (for degreasing)
Hair Conditioner
Hair detangler (optional)
Dish soap (Dawn or Ivory work great for degreasing a Persian coat)
Slicker or pin brush
Combs
Nail clippers
Ear cleaner
Toothbrush (yes, human toothbrush) (One for their teeth, and one not for brushing their teeth!)
Q-tips, cotton balls
Non-slip mat for the bottom of the tub or sink

Then next thing to consider is where do I give my cat a bath, the bathtub or the kitchen sink?  The kitchen sink seems to be the easiest place, especially if you have a sprayer hose and you are to old to get on your hands knees, or like me you don't want cat butt where you fix your food!

Persian Dematting

Removing mats and knots in your Persian's coat is VERY important.  If we can tell you one tidbit of information about grooming, it is to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER EVER put a matted cat into water. Water will make the mats tighter and it is not likely that you will ever get the mats out without shaving your cats coat off. 

Dematting tools range from tools that cut the coat off, scissors to combs and brushes to dematting rakes.  We prefer a wide metal tooth comb for dematting and/or a seam ripper to pull apart the mats.  The wide metal tooth comb works well in separating the hairs and detangling or pushing under the mat before cutting, to protect the delicate skin.

If your cat is extremely matted, rather than pulling on the coat, or trying to cut at the matting, it might be better for both you and your Persian cat to "throw in the towel" and call in a professional groomer.  Your local groomer can give a couple of different cuts that look cute.  Depending upon where the mats are located on your cat, a lion cut might be more suited for a cat that is matted all over.  The lion cut is just as it sounds, when completed it is similar to what a lion would look like.  The hair is left in place on the head and neck, tip of the tail and legs then the rest of the cat is shaved short.  If your Persian cat has mats basically on the stomach and in the armpits, a line cut might be the better option.  A line cut is a cut where the hair located on the stomach area is cut off in a line on the underside of the cat.

Unless you are a groomer by profession, we never recommend taking a pair of scissors to an animals coat.  When you are attempting to trim out a mat your cat could move ever so slightly and you can have an emergency on your hands.  The skin of your cat is very thin and can cut very easily with a pair of scissors. 

If you feel you must "cut" out a knot I recommend putting a comb between the knot and the cat's skin before cutting otherwise you may have an emergency on your hands. The comb will keep you from cutting the skin..

My favorite comb

greyhound 4 1/2 inches but you may like the bigger one

Persian Degreasing

After your Persian cat is brushed out and all the mats have been removed, it is time to degrease the coat prior to bathing.  Degreasing a Persian will take some time, practice and patience on both your part and your cat.

There are a few good products that we recommend to use to degrease your Persian cats coat. One product (pictured) is Groomers Goop. If you choose to use Goop to degrease your Persian coat, do not use any formula of Goop that has pumice in it. Goop is available at Walmart in the automotive section or Groomers Goop thru http://revivalanimal.com/ .

You put the Goop on the coat BEFORE wetting it down, rub it in and rinse well. Then follow with Dawn dish soap to complete your degreasing. Some people even like to use Ivory dish soap for the lighter cats.

Persian Cat Bath

Now that you have degreased your Persians coat, it's time to move onto the shampoo phase of  grooming your Persian.

There are many types of shampoos that will work for your Persian.  The shampoo we grab for the most is  Pantene's Full & Thick. Although you can use several different shampoos on the Persian's coat, just keep trying  until you find a favorite. 

 Once you have worked the shampoo thoroughly into the coat, it is time for another rinse session.  We have a general rule of thumb on rinsing, whenever you think you have the shampoo rinsed out, rinse, rinse and rinse again. It is very important to make sure you get all the shampoo out of the coat.  If you fail to rinse all of the shampoo out of the coat, it will appear dirty and greasy within a few short days.

If you are concerned that you haven't gotten all of the shampoo residue out.  You can put a little white vinegar in a container of water and pour the water solution over the coat, (about 1/2 c to 4 c water) or you can "float" the coat using a large (large enough to submerge the whole cat) container filled with warm water and a cup of vinegar..

I like to use baby shampoo on the face, rinse downward so the water does not run up that flat little nose.

I also use cotton balls with with a little vinegar or hydrogen peroxide to clean inside the ears.

If your climate is dry you may want to finish up with a hydrating conditioner, once again rinse, rinse, rinse and then when you think you are done, rinse again or your cat may look greasy!

Drying Your Persian after the Bath

Once you have your  bath completed,  it's time to move onto drying your Persian cat.

Do NOT rub the cat dry, you will put those knots right back in! I wrap the cat in a towel and then take paper towels to squeeze or pat dry and absorb the excess water paying special attention to those feet and tail. Then I wrap the cat in a new dry towel.

While you have the cat wrapped in the towel, now is a good time to trim those claws.

For drying, I have found that unless you have "professional grooming space" it is easiest to dry your Persian in a bathroom so that you can close the door.  Bear in mind that this bathroom may end up looking like a war zone before you're done, especially the first few times you attempt to dry your Persian.  I take a towel and lay it over my lap while I am sitting on the floor.  I put the cat in my lap while the cat is still wrapped in the towel, I turn the blow dryer on and lay it on the floor to develop a warmer temperature and to get the cat accustom to the sound. I like to hold them by the "scruff " to keep them from moving or scratching. I start with the tummy, and then the back end so by the time I get to the head they are more comfortable with the noise and wind.

  Please note, the human blow dryer is sufficient, but there a couple of things to consider, firstly the air pressure isn't very strong so drying your Persian cat will take some time.  Secondly, the human blow dryer will get very, very hot.  The air coming out of the blow dryer will need to be periodically cooled by hitting the cool shot button every few seconds.  You can easily burn your cats skin and dry them out (causing your cat's skin to produce more oil and grease).
You can find a good professional dryer at  http://revivalanimal.com/  like the Air Force Commander, which blows the water out of the coat rather than using heat.

Comb your kitty daily to avoid mats, and use a slicker brush, brushing the wrong way to fluff the coat and remove any lose hairs.