Kitty dandruff?
Karen AKA Kajikit
specks that look like little flakes of skin... do cats get dandruff?
And if so, what do we do about it? I think that might be why she likes
being petted and groomed so much - she probably itches!
srid...@aol.com
Cherokee got dandruffy, but only on his back and toward his tail once
he got older. The problem was, the remedies I heard about all involved
bathing, and he HATED baths worse than the probably hated the flakes.
He didn't scratch though; does Scouty scratch a lot?
If it's not scabby or severe, it's probably just dry skin and not
allergies. Cheryl & Karen both know a lot about skin problems in cats;
maybe they'll chime in here.
Sherry
Magic Mood Jeep©
Karen AKA Kajikit purred:
Yes, cats get dandruff for much the same reason as humans do: dry skin
(scalp in humans). Some of mine have it, and it's not prevalent unless we
brush them.
I'm sure there are a lot of people with advice for this, but the best bet
would be to call your vet's office and ask for advice on treating it
(hopefully they won't ask to see the cat before suggesting treatment).
Treatments will range from vitamin supplements to get more 'oil' in the
diet, to medicated shampoo baths (not something one wants to do with a cat
:D).
Karen AKA Kajikit
No she doesn't scratch at all that I've noticed. I only noticed it
because I was grooming her and her fur was full of tiny little white
flecks, especially towards her tail. I wondered if maybe the
Indoor-hairballcontrol-lite kibble we've been feeding them doesn't
agree with her?
Karen
SUgar had dandruff until I started making the majority of her food wet.
Pearl's dandruff is a sure sign her blood sugar is up. You should add
some canned food in. Do 50/50 and see if there is a difference. Going
wet would also help the girls slim down, if you could bring yourself to
go 100 percent wet and also lower their chances of developing diabetes
(sorry guys, but this is just plain true with cats. I can't tell you
the number of newly diagnosed cats I've seen go off insulin in days or
weeks switching to canned now.)
Bobcat
Our little Sophie has a few whitish specks, but of course her fur is
jet black so they show up more than on most cats. There aren't many of
them and she's in no discomfort, so I've decided not to act on them for
now. I don't know if that's wise, but I've noticed lately they're
receding since the onset of warm humid air, so it may have been a mild
case of dry skin in the winter when the house was dry. Any commentes?
srid...@aol.com
Could be. That makes sense to me, though I'm not an expert by far. But
I *do* know that diet directly affects the coat; you can see it happen.
Lite kibble is probably drier and with less fat than regular food;
that's what makes it lower calorie. Fat & moisture is what keeps their
coats shiny. I think Karen had a good suggestion re: canned food. It
wouldn't hurt to try it for a while and see what happens.
Sherry
Winnie
Magic Mood Jeep© wrote:
> Yes, cats get dandruff for much the same reason as humans do: dry skin
> (scalp in humans). Some of mine have it, and it's not prevalent unless we
> brush them.
>
> I'm sure there are a lot of people with advice for this, but the best bet
> would be to call your vet's office and ask for advice on treating it
> (hopefully they won't ask to see the cat before suggesting treatment).
> Treatments will range from vitamin supplements to get more 'oil' in the
> diet, to medicated shampoo baths (not something one wants to do with a cat
> :D).
Be sure to check with your vet with medicated shampoo. When Rusty had
ringworm,
the vet prescribed a human dandruff shampoo which kills fungus.. Rusty
lost
a lot of fur before getting rid of ringworm. The vet said the fur loss
is from the shampoo, and
my washing the floor with diluted bleach. The bleach residue on the
floor is bad for his
fur too.
At one time Rusty had dandruff. I can't remember what the vet said
about it, but I do remember buying a speical 'moisturiser' from the
vet. Rusty has always been on premium and mostly prescription food.
So in his case, it is not the food. But from my research, a cat may
get dandruff from a poor diet.
Winnie
Mischief
Kristi
jmcquown
Yep, Persia has dandruff. Around the base of her tail. And that's why she
does 'elevator butt' when scritched and brushed in that location.
Jill
Karen AKA Kajikit
The funny thing is, they've been GETTING canned food at least once a
day - Tessie eats the lion's share (because it's primarily for her and
she gets first go at the dish) then I put it down on the floor when
she's done and let Scouty and Silver finish it off. Scouty likes the
canned food and she makes sure she gets some too, though probably not
a lot given how fussy she is and how GREEDY her sissifur is!
Karen AKA Kajikit
wrote:
>it's just kitty dander. A good bath or wipe down will fix it. :)
A wipe down might work... but it would need three strong men in body
armour to successfully bathe Scouty! She has a VERY strong sense of
self-preservation :P
I groomed her till her coat shone today to try and get the dandruff
out... she loves being groomed :) But alas the dandruff was still
there when I was done.
mlab...@yahoo.co.uk
Wow, I'd never heard that before. Otis has always been on wet food, as
he can't eat biscuits because he doesn't drink enough with them and got
stones, he's still diabetic though.