Dry Coat

So I know I should really talk to the vet, but I just wanted to post this here first. Levi's coat seem to get dry & he gets dandruff. It lasts a couple weeks then it's better for a month or two. So I guess what might cause this & is there anything I can do that will not involve expensive tests at the vet? (I would normally never think twice about it, but we took a 6% paycut a work a month ago & I'm still adjusting to that) I will call the vet, but since it's not consistant I get the feeling it's weather realted and not a health thing.

Have you changed foods??

If not it is likely the season call the vet //// olive or salmon oil will help added to the food

I would add a good essential fatty acid supplement (Omega 3 oil) to a high quality diet.

It could be a couple things.

- Food. If it's poor quality, your cat may not be getting all the nutrition he needs.

- Allergies. If it happens only every few months, it might be seasonal allergies. My parents have two out of three dogs that get ultra-itchy and flaky during the summer. Only allergy shots cure it. Sensitivity to something in our yard is the only thing our vet can figure is causing it.

- Illness

How old is Leo - depending on his age maybe a blood test might be order.

Levi just turned 3 this month. I feed them Nutro Natural Weigth Management. I was wondering if maybe the weight managment doesn't hav enough fat in it for him, but the other 3 had great coats. I've had him since he was 5 months old & he has never had a soft coat, but he just seems to have these times of dry skin. Also, I'm not sure he does the best job cleaning his back. He sometimes gets oily skin on his back above his tail. I thought maybe it was stud tail, but he's neutered and usually if I just brush him the excess oil goes away.

Try taking him to a groomer...

wt mgmt is 10-13% fat the regular is 19% ... you may be on to something.. every cat is different

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

I would add a good essential fatty acid supplement (Omega 3 oil) to a high quality diet.

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Some cats seem to get dandruff around shedding season, and generally such a supplement, for example salmon oil, helps.

By all means check it out, but in the meantime, add about a teaspoon of olive oil to his food a few times a week (which contains the omega 3 fatty acids).

It might help, and it's good for hairballs too.

And as far as I know, can't hurt.

I would try switching foods to see if it helped any. About a year ago I bought a few bags of Iams dry food for my four cats (because I had some coupons). Three of my cats did okay on it, but Sabrina (my all black cat) got a horrible case of dandruff. I switched them all to Natural Balance (reduced calorie) and they're all doing great on it. It took about 2 months after the food change for Sabrina's coat to be dandruff free again though.

Originally Posted by luvmy4cats

I would try switching foods to see if it helped any. About a year ago I bought a few bags of Iams dry food for my four cats (because I had some coupons). Three of my cats did okay on it, but Sabrina (my all black cat) got a horrible case of dandruff. I switched them all to Natural Balance (reduced calorie) and they're all doing great on it. It took about 2 months after the food change for Sabrina's coat to be dandruff free again though.

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I know why... the omega 6 in the fisrt one is about 2% the omega 6 in NB is 3% ... this kitty is currently getting 3.5%....