Hi everyone, I am the new owner of a beautiful baby boy Bengal. My cat Tito decided he wanted to play around with the large olive oil jar that was on the counter. He ended up smashing the bottle onto the ground and is now covered in Olive Oil. I have read that this is not harmful to the cat so that is a relief, but does anyone have any experience getting something like this out of his fur?

Any tips are GREATLY appreciated. I spent alot of time reading through this forum before I got my cat, and I am hoping that someone out there can help me with this problem.

Thank you in advance.

I think if that happened to one of my cats, I would bring the cat to the groomer at the vets for a bath. No way I would try to give one of my cats a bath. I can't even cut one of their nails.

I was told by my breeder not to wash the cat, as oil repels water and this is just going to upset an already freaked out cat.

My little guy seems to be getting back to himself today, but that oil is still in his fur. If anyone has any suggestions I appreciate it. My breeder suggests letting things take their natural course opposed to bathing him with soap/chemicals etc...

Some warm water with a little bit of Dawn dish soap will remove the oil. They use Dawn to remove crude oil from birds and animals when there is an oil spill, it's about the safest thing you can use to bathe a cat or dog and it will break down the oil on the fur.

Bathing a cat is not easy (or safe ) so my suggestion would be to mix up some warm water & Dawn and use a wash cloth to wipe him down. You can do it in the tub and make sort of a game of it by distracting him with toys that roll around the tub while you wipe him down.

_________________
Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Your kitty should be grooming and removing the olive oil. It may take a few washings. The olive oil will not harm your kitty. I don't know if kitty wipes would help. What I would have done was use paper towels to absorb as much of the olive oil off your kitty as possible. Then, let the kitty deal with it, unless you were worried about the kitty jumping up or laying on furniture that could absorb the oil. I am pretty sure in a couple of days, your kitty will be back to normal -- UNLESS your cat refuses to groom where the oil is. If that is the case, then by all means let a groomer take over. I hope you've relocated the olive oil so this doesn't happen again. You have a bengal and they are known for getting into things and managing to break anything glass.

Olive oil can go rancid if they don't get it clean enough right away. I've done a quick dusting with baking soda and a thorough rinse in the kitchen sink before. Maxwell got into an entire can of full-featured coconut milk, a jar of coconut oil, evoo, and once flipped a can of palm shortening on himself. I also learned very quickly that a cat that pulls an oil or oil-based product off himself though grooming will like develop major tummy issues for a few days. I bathe my boys intermittently for this very reason. If they stink or get into something, I can get them clean without a huge to-do.

_________________