Removing oil from pets?

[JoZ]

I just had a female barn cat spayed, and in case she roams (she hasn't yet) I had her ear clipped. I found out from the clinic that this is a recognized sign of a neutered animal, so she won't be shaved or, worse yet, opened up if someone finds her and takes her in.

Well, she's doing great. But it seems the ear is itchy, and somehow she has chosen to scratch it on something greasy. That one ear and half her head is covered in motor oil or engine grease of some sort. We are looking around but have no idea where she is getting this mess.

I wiped her off carefully but it didn't really get the oil out. She is not tame enough to bathe easily (is ANY cat, LOL?!) but I need a better way to get this off. Tonight when I was working on it, the cut edge of her ear started to bleed a bit -- it was looking totally healed until now. Last thing I want is an infection caused by open wound + dirty oil.

Have you had to remove motor oil from a pet, and if so what did you find that works? Something dry like baby powder or cornstarch would be preferable but I could probably wipe it with a wet cloth too. But what to wet it with that will WORK? TIA

[Candle]

Kitty burrito with a couple of towels, and some anti-bacterial soap? The other method is to put a rubber coated wire sink grate down in the sink, have a helper/sacrificial person scruff kitty, and kitty will put all claws around the sink grate and feel much more secure than if they were on a slippery surface. Same principle works with dogs in the shower using one of those suction-cuppy shower mats. Then proceed to wash ear, then use same soap to wash cuts on sacrificial person. :winkgrin:

[billiebob]

Actually, I have been in the position to remove motor oil from a barn cat. My method was shampoo based on the idea that it degreases our hair. Not so much with a kitten COVERED in motor oil (it had actually fallen in an open container--yikes! but it survived and is healthy to this day). The vet tech who rides at our barn took it in, and at her clinic they washed it with Dawn dish soap. I remember seeing commercials when I was little for Dawn involving birds that had been in an oil spill. Good luck!

[SuperSTB]

Kitty burrito with a couple of towels,

okay, spewed ice tea on that one!

[Evalee Hunter]

. . . . at her clinic they washed it with Dawn dish soap. I remember seeing commercials when I was little for Dawn involving birds that had been in an oil spill. Good luck!

Yes, they do use Dawn on birds following an oil spill. However, although they considered making a commercial of it, they never did. The lady from Tristate Bird Rescue was supposed to say, "I wash all my ducks in Dawn". Maybe you saw a news report. They decided there could be potential liability problems since Dawn was not formulated for washing animals so no commercial.

[TikiSoo]

I work on jobsites with tons of black grease around and my golden retriever goes on every job with me. Last year unbeknownst to me, she got too close to a gear and got blobs of grease on her neck ruff. That grease got all over my truck seat, my coat, her seat belt, oy!
Any dishwashing liquid takes grease out better than anything. You can follow up with a rubbing alcohol on a washcloth rinse, or even a leave in conditioner if you're worried about drying out the skin.

[Alagirl]

maybe if you stick kitty 4 feet up n a tree to wash it? :lol:

[JoZ]

Thanks for the ideas... guess I'll arm myself with Dawn and patience, and see what I can do.

Kitty burrito with a couple of towels, and some anti-bacterial soap?

One of my indoor kitties got her name this way! Took her in from the barn as a sickly kitten right off her (rather neglectful) mom -- the transition to cat food gave her horrible diarrhea. I work at home, so every afternoon at the warmest part of the day she had a warm soapy hiney bath, after which I wrapped her up in a towel like a... you guessed it... burrito. Tucked her in beside me in the armchair I sit in for work, a little kitty bundle with just a head sticking out, and there she would sit until I unwrapped her. It was touch and go for a while but she's a sleek healthy adult housecat now -- named Burrito.

[x-rab]

If the cat is too wild for bathing, try dusting it heavily with corn meal. let it sit for a while, then bush the cat. Corn meal absorbs the oil and you bush it out. Don't think it will work on grease though. Was the original dry shampoo.

[Candle]

I was going to suggest Dawn soap, but I wasn't sure if it was going to irritate the cut on the ear any further. Good luck :D

[Nes]

Yes, they do use Dawn on birds following an oil spill. However, although they considered making a commercial of it, they never did. The lady from Tristate Bird Rescue was supposed to say, "I wash all my ducks in Dawn". Maybe you saw a news report. They decided there could be potential liability problems since Dawn was not formulated for washing animals so no commercial.

No they did do a commercial about it - maybe it only played in Canada?
I remember it quite clearly with those cute little ducks!

Maybe you could get some tranq from your vet?
Or prepare to make that burrito with more then one blanket! Personally I go for the light water on a rag, then shampoo then NICELY chuck cat into bathtub/sink of water for rinse & GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Worked when my boy peed all over himself in the cat carrier :D

[Horsegal984]

If you have a walkin shower with full door I have found that putting yourself and cat in the shower with the water off. Let the cat walk around the bottom of the shower and just follow with the shower head, to the cat it's raining. Turn water off, shampoo well, and then repeat walk and follow process to rinse well. Worked with all my cats, they didn't claw me up because they didn't seem to make the connection between me and the water. Seemed to believe that it was just raining on them.

And yes, dishsoap will work well to break up grease and oils. It's also the best thing to get flea and tick spot ons off if accidently applied to the wrong animal(Advantix to a cat etc)

Katherine
Vet Tech

[Laurierace]

Unquestionably the best is to use original Dawn dish detergent. All my animals get baths from virtually day one so I don't have any problem bathing them but I have heard that you can place a window screen in/over your sink and bathe the cat on that. Apparently they are so busy hanging onto the screen that they are unable to scratch or run away. Not sure if it works but sounds like it is worth a shot.