Louise | 
01 22nd, 2009| 
I live in a suburb in an area that has plenty of trees and bushes for skunks to live and hide in. And they do just that. During the summer months you can smell the skunk’s odor for quite a distance. Living so close to skunks you eventually realize there is no such thing as a “safe distance” from them. When I see one coming my way I do an about face and leave quickly.
There is nothing worse, however, than a cat or dog that has had a confrontation with a skunk. Neither the cat nor the dog will wave the white flag of surrender until they are sprayed. Then the meowing and the yelping begins. If the eyes are sprayed the acidic spray will burn the eyes. They then have to be washed with plenty of cool water until the eyes are back to normal. This is not an easy chore. Especially, with a cat. Have you ever tried to bathe a cat? In order to do this correctly you must first get the right outfit for yourself. That would consist of a wet suit or scuba gear, an oxygen mask, extra heavy rubber mitts to keep the pain from scratches at a minimum, unless you like pain and a copy of your last will and testament in the event you don’t survive this attempt.
I tried to bathe one of my cats once. After all he did go to be groomed once a month and was just as good as gold. Soooo why not do it myself. Well, I was lucky I closed the bathroom door because it kept the mess we made within the bathroom walls. I used nice warm water but when it hit the cat the fun began. First, he hissed and spat at me then the teeth and the claws came at me. I was not prepared and got some good size scratches. He then, soaking wet, jumped out of the tub and ran all over the bathroom. The place was soaked from ceiling to floor. It looked as if a hurricane had come through. Needless to say that was the first and last attempt to bathe this cat. Although after I wiped everything down I had a very nice clean bathroom. What I wanted was a nice clean cat.
If your pet has had an unfortunate incident with a skunk use this homemade skunk odor remover recipe: 1 part water (warm), 1 part white vinegar, one teaspoon each of dishwashing detergent (not the kind for the dishwasher), baking soda and 3% hydrogen peroxide. Gage the amount you want to make according to the size of your pet. Mix the ingredients well and pour over the pet and let it stand for a while. It would be a good idea to have the pet on a leash to keep it from running away. After a while you can rinse it off and wipe it dry. This should be the end of the skunk odor. Good luck.
