Mr. Whiskers Meets His Match

After reading the Holiday issue of Allergy and Asthma Today in which Mr. Whiskers lamented getting dunked and bathed regularly by his allergy-prone family, my daughter-in-law, Kristin said she’d been bathing her cat every two weeks for years, ever since he was eight weeks old. Her reasons had nothing to do with allergies or asthma and everything to do with completing microbiology courses in medical school. Just because cats spend a lot of their leisure time preening doesn't mean that they're clean, she told me.

After Kristin and my son married, their combined menagerie consisted of a cat and two dogs, and before long, they added two precious boys to the family. So during the Christmas holidays when she offered to show me how to bathe a cat, I grabbed my camera and headed up the stairs behind her. Also pictured in the photos are JD, my 2-year-old grandson, and the family cat, Cat.

First you have to catch the cat!

Important: Clip the cat's claws!

Firmly and calmly hold the cat in place while drenching his fur. Be careful to keep water out of his eyes and ears.

Apply cat shampoo from head to tail.

Gently massage the face and tear ducts.

Rinse cat thoroughly.

These are the faces of a clean cat and a happy Kristin!