Does anybody know the best and safest way to get blood out of the fur of a cat?

This afternoon I was having a snooze on the sofa as I had a runny nose and felt like I had flu coming on and the cat came to join me. I woke up to find my nose hadn't been running as I had thought, but bleeding. The cat was asleep with blood all over it

After I'd sorted myself out, I tried to wash the cats fur with a piece of old sheet and warm water. A bit came out, but not much.

I've noticed that since then, the cat has been grooming the affected areas.

I want to get rid of it as my heart misses a beat every time I see it and I momentarily think that the cat has hurt herself and is bleeding.

Any ideas anybody, bearing in mind that the cat licks the affected areas.

Take her to the vets. She might need medical attention.

Full on warm bath using cat shampoo. The cat will probably hate it, and you will need to rinse the shampoo out so be prepared to lose some more blood!
If you can't get cat shampoo I would think baby shampoo would be ok - their skin is more sensitive than ours so normal shampoo should be avoided.

She's not hurt, it's MY blood!


Thank you- I have never bathed a cat before; didn't know cat shampoo existed!

I'll take a trip to town tomorrow 😃

As an aside, I remember being told that if a dog ever gets the taste for blood (particularly human blood) it can turn it vicious.

If this is true, does this also apply to cats?

We used to give our old family cat the blood from liver - he didn't turn vicious on us!
TBH by tomorrow I expect she'll have cleaned it all up herself.
I've not had to use it so far, but I do keep a bottle of cat shampoo just incase she ever comes in with engine oil on her from sitting under cars (something that did happen to our old cat).

A bath is the answer but prepare for the noise of a dying cat and possible hospital treatment for yourself if you haven't got her used to having one

That's good, I'd hate for her to turn into one of those cats from 'My Cat From Hell'!

There is a lot of blood on her, don't think she'll be able to get all that out. I can tell that she knows that something is on her as that area is sometimes flat and wet from where she's been licking.


I've never bathed any one of my cats before, so it will be an interesting event!

I think it might come to just having to wait until it grows out, but I don't know how long it takes for a cat to grow a new coat.

In the wild, cats must get blood on themselves from killing and eating their pray, so you'd think that nature would have given them a way of dealing with it. If a cat smells of blood, it may make it a target for enemies or predators who think that the cat is injured and weak.

I don't think cats would kill anything with vast amounts of blood in them - not much blood in a mouse!
There are plenty of tips on how to bathe cats on t'internet. Good luck!

If its on the body, the simplest solution is to cut the hair with scissors. It's similar to what Vets do before operating, they shave the area. Cats arent fashion concious, they wont mind as long as they are sharp scissors.

Sometimes your moggy comes in and has got some paint on it or something, I just cut the affected hair off, much less traumatic and stressful for you and the cat than bathing.

If you want to spend money at the vets or try another solution I'm sure there is one.

Thanks, i'll see what it says on the internet


Ohh but it's a large area- I would have to cut off a lot of fur. Thanks for the idea though.

I'm gobsmacked! You were right, i've just checked and it's ALL gone!!!

She must have been licking and licking the affected areas until it came out. It wasn't much if an issue on her black fur, but it was all over her large white area at the side.

I have a shirt that I can't get blood out of- tried biotex etc- and it's still there.

I wonder if cats have some special enzyme in their saliva or something for this very purpose; I know that their saliva contains some sort of anaesthetic to numb their pray from their bites.

Maybe it was that rough tongue that did it!?!?

Nature knows best - you only need to worry if it is non biological material or chemicals eg tar or bleach. You blood was probably a nice treat!

Interesting that her fur didn't stain. Its the iron in blood, I think, that produces the brown staining - presumably it can't bond with fur like it does with cotton? Or maybe its because her fur has some natural oils in it keeping the iron from bonding. I recall that wool needs treatment to remove the lanolin.
The rough tongue helps and her front teeth are called 'comb teeth' as she uses them for combing stuff out of her fur.

Yes, they could all be possibilities couldn't they.

Do you mean what I call her fangs at the front? If so, I never knew that she used them to comb her fur. I always assumed that she would use them to attack and hold prey.

Can't you just put them in the washing machine on cool?

No, the very little teeth between the fangs.

Thanks- I never knew that. I have seen her pulling her fur upwards with her teeth, I guess this is to stop it getting matted.

Do their mothers teach them how to do this as kittens, or does it just come naturally I wonder.

Incidentally, there's a programme on Channel 5 right now about cats that I'm recording to watch later. Channel 5 being Channel 5 have called it 'Psycho Pussies- When Cats Attack'. I'm waiting for the follow up 'Cats On Benefits'

It might prove interesting to look at the scenarios where a cat can turn on humans.

Week 3 is about the British Shorthairs complaining that the Siamese, Somalis and Persians etc are taking all their housing.

Kitty will be fine, not too sure about the owner though. Sounds unpleasant.


Glad to see that the commitment to quality programme content in this country isn't dead.