Senior cat smells - options other than a bath?

Hi all, Minion was diagnosed in May with diabetes and with hyperthyroidism before that. With these conditions and the start of some arthritis, he hasn't been feeling great for a while and I've noticed he doesn't groom much. At this point, the top of his head and his back end smell gross. I brush him, which he loves, but that doesn't do anything for the smell. I also bought cat wipes but they seemed a little dry and didn't seem effective. I'm very tempted to give him a bath, but my goal is to keep his stress level as low as possible (and a bath would definitely be stressful).

Does anyone have any creative ideas for how to clean him up?

 

Warm wash cloth

 

http://www.metpet.com/Reference/Grooming/Bathing_the_cat_dry_baths.html
http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/cat-grooming/vets-best-dry-clean-waterless-cat-bath

 

Some cats who don't groom themselves will end up with smelly, greasy patches along their back. These also can cause the cat to itch pretty bad too. It's called "stud tail" or "feline acne" when it's on the face. My older cat has some trouble with this, and when it got real bad, I got a Wahl clippers and shaved her in the worst area. This way, I could wash and actually get the soap down through the fur to the areas. I used anti dandruff shampoo, just make sure you are able to rinse it, and don't use a ton. Also, using a light oil like grapeseed or apricot oil (not olive, yuk) can help dissolve the junk.

For my other cat, who has a lot of fur on his rear, we shave this area pretty regularly to make sure he's not carrying around anything that should be in the litter box.

Also, smelly head can be dental related. My cats teeth got so bad at one point you could smell it from across the room when he yawned. Smelly butt can be infected or full anal glands which your vet can help you with.

 

Baby wipes work as well to try and clean them up

 

Wipe down with wet towel. Something done for show cats (at least in the past) is using powder and brushing it out.

 

Thanks for the ideas! This is my first time caring for an aging cat; there's definitely a bit of a learning curve

 

I am a groomer. I shave lots of kitty behinds

 

there are no rinse shampoos--I am not a big fan of them because I just don't think it makes sense--
BUT.... my boys are 16 and 17-
they are both short/medium hair and I began shaving them last year.... to my surprise they love it especially my diabetic. I actually shave them outside on the front porch because they enjoy it so much and don't even want to wander off--
no hairballs and my big guy had a clean bum (we shave that every few weeks)
also just FYI if you wet the behind and there is any poop left it will smell worse

 

There are cat wipes - might be the same as baby wipes but more $$ - but thought I'd mention it as an option!