Mustang Bombays - Bombathing

Bombay’s have little undercoat and are pretty good at grooming themselves, but the occasional bath is still a good thing. Think of it like this; if you owned a Black Jaguar, (the car, not the cat) wouldn’t you keep it waxed and shiny? Bathing keeps any dandruff in check, the coat looking its best and can help minimize any allergies. (Ours, not theirs) In fact, one family of 3, two of whom have a cat allergy, has successfully dealt with their allergy by bathing their Bombay weekly. Frequency of bathing should be every 1 to 3 months, depending on the individual cats coat condition.

Your kitten will have been bathed one or two times before you get them, so it won’t be entirely new to them. Some make more of a fuss than others, but should tolerate it enough so as not to be difficult to handle. I find that alternating between placing one hand on the shoulders, just behind the neck and holding a front leg just below the shoulder, and then using the other to do the washing works well to control even the most difficult cat.

You can use either a dip or shower method, water temperature should be about 107-110°F. The dip method uses two clean, empty; medium sized litter pans filled with water. Place both pans in the tub with enough space for the cat to stand between them. Place the cat in one pan and use a cup to thoroughly wet the coat all the way to the skin. Remove the cat from the pan, shampoo, then place the cat back in one pan, rinse, and then switch to the second pan, while refilling the first pan which will be used for a third and final rinse. This method works, but bending over the tub can be hard on your back, so I prefer to use the shower method in a sink.

For the shower method, use a hand-held shower attachment that slips over the tap in a sink or tub, a regular handheld shower head would also work if it will reach the bottom of the tub and still allow enough room to work. Water pressure at the head should be fairly low, not only for the cats comfort, but if it’s too high it will spray everywhere. Placing the shower head in direct contact with the cat minimizes over spray and makes it easier to thoroughly wet the coat.

Once wet, run about 3 beads of shampoo down the length of the back, then put a silver dollar (or “Toonie” ) sized puddle in one hand and apply shampoo to the belly, then lather up the entire cat. Do not attempt to wet or apply shampoo past the back of the ears or above the lower jaw, so as to prevent any shampoo getting in the ears or eyes which will lead to a very unhappy camper. Once the entire cat is lathered from head to tail, it’s time to rinse. Be sure to remove ALL the shampoo, continue rinsing till you don’t see any more bubbles going down the drain.

Once done rinsing, run your hands over the body to squeeze the excess water from the coat. Use one towel to remove the majority of the water and a second dry towel to finish drying. Now place the cat on a flat solid surface and turn on the heater so it’s blowing on the cat, this prevents the cat from getting cold, and speeds the drying process. Use the flea comb to brush the coat till dry. Once about 75% dry, you can alternate between the comb and a rubber curry brush if you wish, or just keep going with the comb. Use care with the curry brush as it can remove too much and leave thin patches. There will be a few spots such as the belly, right between the back legs that won’t be completely dry, don’t worry too much about those, as kitty’s patience will be getting a little thin at this point anyway. Start to finish, this should take about an hour.

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