Dandruff & Shedding

j171978

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Princess is shedding like crazy and she has dandruff too. Is there anything I can do?
 

jen

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Well it is shedding season so that is one cause. Also, dandruff typically is the result of food quality. It could be other things as well, but the first thing to figure out is the food you are feeding. What brand? If it is a low quality food like 9 Lives, Friskies, Whiskas, even Purina, those are not very good quality foods. It would be kind of like a person eating fast food everyday. Cats just get unhealthy and fat and lazy.
 

coaster

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Add some Omega fish oil to your cat's diet. Works wonders for coat quality and dandruff. Buy a bottle of capsules at a health food store. Stick a pin in the capsule and squirt the fluid on food. One a day until improvement seen.
 

sharky

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at this point I would check the linoleci/omega 6 leval in current food if it is below 3% change to one that is higher and add the oils..
 

yasmine

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My baby has really bad dandruff...vet told me to try selsum blue unmedicated...bad choice!!!!!! She developed a bad skin condition that made her hair fall out in chunks and her skin had this brown gooey substance...it really scared me b/c the top of her back was becoming bald. Anyways after many pills later, we finally got it cleared up....now i just brush her daily- it seems to help with the dandruff and shedding.
 

aussie_dog

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Has she done anything that could cause stress? Cats shed hair and skin when they're stressed, some more than others. When we went to get Buffy after she was spayed, she was spotted with dandruff and her coat was extremely dull. She was back to normal the next day. And Buffy got out last week and got into a fight with a cat and she was shedding hair (in chunks) and dandruff. She was back to normal by the next day, 2 days max.
 
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j171978

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She is a very anxious cat to begin with but is there any dandruff shampoo for cats that we can buy?
 

loveysmummy

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I wouldn't take a chance in stressing out a cat with a bath/shampoo if she already has skin problems.
The main culprit is usually food quality/allergies.
Food with high corn content for example can cause dandruff/allergies/dry skin.

What is she eating?
 

coaster

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A cat with dandruff doesn't need human dandruff shampoo!! What was that vet thinking of, anyway?
 

eburgess

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Try brushing and bathing her. I think they make dander bath wipes. They help alot with the extra fur and is alot easier then water and soap.
 

jen

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Actually I thought bathing a cat dries out the skin, if that is the case then dont bath her!
 
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j171978

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I found some waterless foaming wash stuff for her at PetsMart but haven't used it yet. I think I am going to do it on Saturday.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by j171978

I found some waterless foaming wash stuff for her at PetsMart but haven't used it yet. I think I am going to do it on Saturday.
be prepared for alot of hair flying...
 

jen

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I know myself and one or two others have asked what brand of food you feed your cats because that is a major cause of dandruff and other problems.

So what brand of food do you feed??
 
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j171978

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Purina One - Weight Managment right now but my switch kind not brand.
 

mzjazz2u

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Originally Posted by coaster

Add some Omega fish oil to your cat's diet. Works wonders for coat quality and dandruff. Buy a bottle of capsules at a health food store. Stick a pin in the capsule and squirt the fluid on food. One a day until improvement seen.
You can buy fish oil or flaxseed oil in a bottle as a liquid too. I put a little bit on my cats food too. You only need to give 1/8 to no more then 1/4 tsp a day though.
 

buzbyjlc10

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I bought a bottle of Shed-X (I believe that's the name... I'm not at my place at the moment to look) that I put in his food when he starts shedding badly... definitely seems to help... he also gets a monthly bath and I try to brush him as much as possible (I bought one of those round, metal shedding tools and it's AMAZING for pulling out dead hair!)... I wouldn't give your cat an actual bath if he's not used to it - Oliver loves his bath time and even tries to play in the tub while I'm showering, but those "waterless" bath products usually work pretty well too... good luck!
 
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