How do I clean an aggressive cat's private area from diarrhea?

Question

I have a cat that I took home while she was pregnant and now she is almost due this month. She currently has diarrhea that gets stuck in her private area, and she has started to smell bad. She's aggressive and doesn't let me clean her; she has long fur. I took her to the vet. The vet told me they can't do anything for her until she gives birth, and I'm scared that her private area will get worse with diarrhea stuck in her fur.

I tried to clean her with a towel and warm water, but she runs and I can't hold her until I finish because she's pregnant. I'm so worried and don't know what to do with her.

Answer 1

I am not a cat experienced person, but I found a website, maybe useful for you: "cat friendly clinic". They store a lots of videos about cat handling (I assume more for assistant staff and vets).

There is one video about the "Towel wrapping a cat". Additionally, there is a pictured instruction (in German language) on this Vet's Website (where I took the picture below, showing the first 4 steps of 10).

German to English:

1. Place your cat in the middle of the towel, with the towel extending about about 1¹/₂ of a handwidth away from the cat's front. You should optimally place the cat laying on the towel, rather than sitting up straight. This result is usually achieved by applying gentle, but constant pressure on the cat's back with your hand and forearm - please give your cat as much time as it needs!

2. Pull the front edge of the towel over your cat's forelegs.

3. Put the towel around your cat's neck.

4. Hold the towel tightly together on the nape of the neck with one hand, so that your cat cannot move its forelegs over the towel.

I assume, if one uses this method, the power of holding the cat would not be this big, as without towel, and additionally the pressure is shared equally over all parts of the cat, not accumulate and injuring one part (for example the belly).