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"Many diseases show up first in the skin," says Dr. Jean Hofve, a holistic veterinarian and author of "The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care." "It's impossible to diagnose skin disease just by looking at it."
A veterinarian can analyze a cat's skin cells under a microscope and perform blood tests or biopsies to narrow down the cause of the dandruff.
"What we generally think of as dandruff is usually nutrition related. It is most common in overweight cats, and in cats eating mostly or only dry food," says Hofve. Therefore, says Dr. Hofve, dry kibble should be reduced or eliminated. Kibble is low in moisture and will dehydrate cats and, in turn, their skin.
"Canned, raw, and homemade foods are more likely to contain higher-quality ingredients, and therefore better quality and fresher fats," said Hofve, who also recommends looking for cat food labeled "all life stages" for higher protein and less carbohydrates.
Adding certain supplements to your cat's food can also help prevent dandruff. "The second thing I recommend is to add a good source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids to the cat's diet," said Hofve. "Omega-3s are essential for the proper function of every cell membrane in the body, but in particular, the skin, and the immune and nervous systems rely on them."
Hofve recommends "oils made from smaller, non-predatory fish such as sardines, anchovies, and herring, or cod liver oil. It is also important to choose an oil that is fresh, pure, and free of contaminants."
If your cat's dandruff is simply a case of dry skin, bathing the cat and adding a humidifier to your home could help. Dr. Donna J. Spector, a board-certified veterinary internist, recommends using only detergent-free shampoo. "Halo Herbal Shampoo contains natural botanical oils and extracts that nourish the skin and coat instead of stripping the skin of its essential oils," said Spector.
Keep in mind that cats love to keep clean. If dandruff is concentrated in one area on the back -- namely, near the tail -- this might be due to an inability to reach the area during grooming. This can be caused by developing arthritis as well as obesity.
Your cat's grooming skills may also be lacking due to mouth pain caused by poor oral health. Keep track of all of these factors so that you can discuss them with your veterinarian.
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My housemate has a cat with dry skin that required periodic injections of steroids. About four months after changing her diet to include anchovy-heavy dry food, she has not had dry skin or needed an injection for a year and a half (so far)!
I feed a mix of dry foods, about 20% of which is "Eagle Pack's Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine and Salmon" meal. Please note that the formula for this particular food has changed and I haven't used it the new stuff yet.
Interestingly, "it cured my cat's dry skin" was a repeated theme in the comments section of the website for this product.
Wow, I know a lot of vets that would honestly cringe at most of this article. Some holistic stuff is ok like hydrotherapy and accupuncture. All I'm saying is if your pet has minor stuff and you believe holistic is the way, feel free to try whatever the holistic vet recommends whether it's heat rocks or the power of healing thru holding hands lol. I wish I was kidding about the holding hands thing lol. What a scam, why didn't I think of this first!? Anyways, when your pet has a real medical issue or tea tree oil is just making a mess all over your house, whatever the case may be, please make sure you get real medical attention! Your pet is depending on you guys!
This article has NO mention at all of BRUSHING your cat. I was taught to brush my cat, working in long strokes from the nape of the neck and down the back over the hips and back legs. Oil glands are at the nape and you spread the oil over the fur that way.
I've never fed any of my cats anything but good quality dry food -- unless they were ill and needed something easier to chew, then I gave canned food. The first vet I had, an excellent young man fresh out of vet school, told me canned food would rot their teeth and shorten their lives. Our cats drink plenty of water, which I can tell when I clean their recycled newspaper, flushable litter.
Concerning canned vs. dry -- I suspect that buying canned anchovies and mincing them up to add TO dry food would help skin conditions. But seriously, get a good brush to mimic Mama Cat's bristly tongue -- our cats adore being brushed and will ask for it!
We had 3 or 4 cats for many years. One of the cats had a terrible skin condition with greasy flakes and the others did not. The vet offered many suggestions. None helped. When our only male cat died (he was a bully and had targeted the cat with the skin condition for years although she was sweet and just tried to avoid him) the kitty's skin condition cleared up in less than a month. For the rest of her life, her coat was fine. The vet said in her case the dandruff-like greasy flakes were caused by stress. Poor kitty. At least the last few years of her life she had some peace.
I have a stray cat that stays outside that I feed and it has a place to sleep on a covered walkway. Every winter when she needs her fur, she looses it from her backside to almost the middle of her body. In the summer it comes back in. This has been happening for about 3 years straight. Any ideas anyone?
change the food to a better quality.....and give some canned, too.i had two cats that did that years ago when they were young....as they got older and I changed foods they never had it again it again...it was both cats so I figured it was an allergy or something...royal canin has a food for the skin...maybe you can try it.
DONT WORRY BOTH MY CATS HAD THAT SAME CONDITION, I ASKED THE VET AND HAD THEM CHECKED MY CATS SEEMED TO BE DOING IT OUT OF BOREDOM, SPRING CAME AND THEY BOTH WERE FINE, YOU SHOULD TRY AND FIND THE STRAY A HOME THOUGH CALL YOUR LOCAL VET, WE JUST RECENTLY FOUND A HOME FOR OUR STRAY WE WERE FEEDING AND THAN BROUGHT HER IN WHEN IT GOT COLD, THE VE FOUND A COMFORTABLE LOVING HOME FOR HER, THERE OUR A LOT OF OLDER PEOPLE OUT THERE LOOKING FOR A LOVING FELINE FRIEND.
I don't how some of you claim to be animal lovers when you allow one of your pets to bully another one. This isn't humane at all! Think about if this was a child in your home getting harassed or beat up by another child. Stop this nonsense- animals don't have voices and it's a darn shame to allow them to go through something like that even if it is from another one of your pets.
Lisa, i agree with your statement.... however.... do you have an answer as to what we as cat owners are to do with the bully???? because i have a bully..
it is awful.... am i supposed to lay him down???? am i suppose to give him away to where he will do it to someone else's cats???? it is easy to say this should not be, but not so easy to stop... cats do not mind, cats can not be obedience trained.... and no matter how hard i whop him, spray water on him, throw him out the door..... it does not change.... waiting to hear your reply...jude
There's no way for an owner to control a bully. I have one, too. He stalks the 'target' cat, one of the two older cats, and when nobody expects it, he pounces on the innocent cat, and bites him, makes him scream, and then runs away like a coward. Usually I can divert some of these malicious attacks, and I've been thinking of finding the 'bully' a home for awhile, but I can't subject someone else to that behavior. It's criminal, but there's nothing I can do short of bringing him to a cat behavior specialist, and that's out of the question. So, Lisa, what do YOU suggest in changing the 'bully's' behavior? Got any brilliant ideas?
Mia, is my cat Toulouse sneaking over to your place? He acts exactly how you describe. I too would love to hear what Lisa's suggestions are for addressing this behavior.
Jude....I agree...I have a bully one but she doesn't hurt anyone she just hides behind things and jumps out and swings her arms like a ninja....she is the smallest one and I think thats why she does it....they are used to her.Most cats will seperate and keep their distance.....this has been going on for 14 years now........I yell ...she runs....I have 8 cats.... they think she is nuts...some of them just stand still when she charges...then she just walks away....If its really bad put one in a room when you are not there.....but keep trying....My daughter in -law has allot of cats and a couple of them pick on this one that is real shy so she has a room for just her with every toy there is...the cat is happy!...some of the others won't in so they can visit then they leave,....its funny
..andy...you did okay...there is always one that is the agressor...Most cats will adjust....it caused tension for the other but no different then cats that are outside and have to survive on their own and fight off other cats....I really think some cats ' skin is different then others and it didn't have anything to do with the bully..
First, my cat with dandruff responded when I gave her Fish Oil mixed with B12 Methyl for her Diabetic damage to her back legs. The B12 METHYL really works with a cat that has problems walking on back legs. Crush up the B12 and mix it with a cut open capsule of Fish Oil and you just killed two birds with one stone. The B12 Methyl really does help them walk normal no matter how bad. I have seen this now sevearl times with my diabetic cats, my friend's diabetics, and have told others and they have been shocked as well by how the B12 METHYL works. Second, that Fish Oil made her flakes go away and gave her a gleaming coat. The same for our Dogs as well. We have a hound puppy (10 months old) that was hit by a car (escaped by his "loving" owners), and the fire dept brought him to my Vet and his back legs would not move. Bad damage to his spine. But she saw some movement in back legs and decided to not put him down. We took him and I fought like crazy working on those back legs/clawed paws and gave him a TON of the Vitamin Bs, Fish Oil, and other vitamins to get the nerves to regrow, etc. He can walk and run but has a bit of a gimpy right leg movement.
--Also, we too have had several bully cats and it is hard to keep them seperated (in different areas of the house for years). I have screamed and chased and really had to seperate them physically. My husband and I lived in a house divided because of the cats and the bullying. So, you try like crazy but I think you MUST seperate them physically so you don't have an overly stressed cat that will get sick, etc. Different rooms, levels of the house, etc. But seperrate them as it is NOT fair for one to bully another or several others.
For the bully issue: Feliway hormone diffusers worked pretty well with our 6 cat group. It worked better on some than others, but really helped. They are expensive and you have to place them in the right areas. We also have added lots of toys, a huge cat tree in front of a window with birds and such to watch. Keeping them busy and entertained seems to be the most important thing in keeping the bully activity at a minimum. We have several different personality clashes and have to set up different interest toys, like cat nip in a cardboard box or sack for 2 of them and a bungie mouse for another one. Lots of love & attention helps more than punishment. Good luck!
I strongly agree with Dr. Hofve regarding the issue of dry food.
Dry food is simply not a health diet for a cat. It is cheap and convenient - which are all perks for humans - but it is not a species-appropriate diet for an animal with a low thirst drive and one that is designed to eat a high protein, low carb diet. ....with all of the protein coming from *animals* - not plants such as corn, wheat, soy, and rice.
Keep in mind that even the 'grain-free' dry foods are water-depleted which wreaks havoc on the entire body - most notably the urinary tract.
If Man would start feeding cats a more appropriate diet (which dry food is not...) I, and my colleagues, would not be so busy.
Lisa Pierson, DVM
catinf.org
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
Feline Urinary Tract Health
Feline Diabetes
See, I find this odd, b/c every vet I've been to for my cats (I did a Q&A with nine feline vets in my town to find which one I was most comfortable with treating my pets) they all said that canned food is the cheap alternative for pet owners, and that it can cause serious issues with gingivitis and plaque due to getting easily stuck between teeth.
None said to give one specific over the other, but all agreed that dry food (Hills, Innova, etc) were excellent for maintaining good dental health, and that supplementing dry food with oils or fish or such things for any vitamins or whatnot that the dry food was missing was a great way to go, esp since most of canned food seems to be water.
RE: best food for cats - I had spent 30 years feeding my cats and dogs "premium" cat and dog food that I bought at the animal clinics. I thought I was doing the best for them. When 3 of my cats became diabetic and they were not obese, I was confused. So I did my research and was surprised to find that the expensive food I had been feeding them was killing them!! I tried switching them to the "new" expensive all meat protein food and they could not tolerate it. They threw up, had loose stools and oohh the stinky poop!!! Finally, my vet found that my 12 year old diabetic male did best on Purina DM dry & a little insulin. But I knew that he wasn't getting everything he needed because he was still thin, weak, and just not happy. We found some amazing food by accident that I now mix with the Purina DM and feed all my cats. Catswell Brand Happy Hips + Breathies + Vitakitty Chicken Breast Cat Treats. It is organic chicken "jerky" with no preservatives. For our other cats - We had to find something to prevent diabetes and give them the nutrition best suited to our little predators. We had to settle on a dry food because it was what they liked and it didn't give them any stomach/bowel issues. But they were really having problems with dry skin and low energy.We got free Catswell Treats samples in an internet order for something else and they went wild over them especially the surviving diabetic one! Now we cut up the strips of chicken & mix the 3 different formula treats together then serve it daily in a 1/2 & 1/2 mixture with the Purina DM.- after a year they all have soft silky fur and very little, if any, flaky skin. They also are more lively and overall more healthy, even our oldest kitty, 19 yrs, is more limber. My diabetic kitty has reduced his insulin needs by two thirds & plays chase me with the youngest cat. I recommend these products to anyone to try. They have vitamins, omega fatty acids, chlorophyll, glucosomine, and high quality protein.---- (FYI - you have to store the Catswell in the freezer or it gets moldy- due to no preservatives & high moisture content.) It's not a mouse, but it works for us.
Hey there Jude
I read your comment and have a question for you. Has your "bully" cat been neutered? I had a male that was a bit of a bully and although we didn't have him "fixed" for that reason it sure did fix his cat-titude.
Drat...I just typed a detailed response to Manda but it got lost in cyberspace so this will be brief...
Whenever the 'canned versus dry' debate ensues, I simply ask peopel to appeal to their common sense and look at what a cat is designed to eat...and that would be other small animals which are:
~70% water
High in protein...animal-based protein, not plant-based
Low in carbohydrates (less than 5%)
Now look at dry food:
Only 5-10% water
Much of the protein is plant-based
Most dry foods are VERY high in carbohydrates (35-50%)
It is cooked at very high temperatures for a long period of time
It exerts NO beneficial effect on teeth - no matter how many times lay people and veterinarians continue to perpetuate this myth. (I challenge anyone to show me any proof that dry food is beneficial for teeth.)
Cats like Opie (see the Feline Urinary Tract Health page at catinfo.org) would not be suffering so much if fed an appropriately hydrated diet.
Cats have a low thirst drive and do NOT make up the water deficit at the water bowl.
Please do some homework in this area. Sadly, most veterinarians are poorly educated in the area of feline nutrition and please note that the feline specialists on VIN (Veterinary Information Network) STRONGLY advocate the feeding of canned food over dry food.
Again, think logically. Does dry food look *anything* like a mouse in terms of composition (calories from protein/fat/carbs) and water content?
Lisa Pierson, DVM
catinfo.org