Supplements for coat condition?

Hi Was wondering if anyone gives their cat supplements for coat condition?

A bit of history about my Jaffa. He's nearly 9 years old and has always had unusual fur (he's ginger btw) - it's coarse and wiry and more like the hair you'd find on a dog than normal cat fur. It's short and lies very close to his body. It's always been in pretty good condition though - when the sun shines on his back you can see it's shiny. However, even as a kitten it was always very thin, especially on his back legs - you've always been able to see his skin through it. As he's got older it's thinned out even more and now it's getting very thin on his back legs and recently I've noticed it's very thin on his tummy and seems to be thinning behind his ears. None of this has happened suddenly and he's not showing any signs of ill health so I dont feel it warrants a trip to the vets although I intend to ask about it when I take him for his next vaccinations at the beginning of September. A couple of years ago one vet did mention it when I took him for his annual check up and asked if he felt the cold (he does - he glues himself to the radiator when it's on!) and said he could have some minor problem with his immune system. We think he may have had cat flu as a small kitten but I don't know his full history as he's a rescue cat. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. The vet didn't pursue it or recommend any tests and I don't think there's any health problem - apart from a few bouts of conjunctivitis in the past few years he's hardly had a day's ill health in his life. He's also not pulling the hair out or washing excessively. I think it's probably just genetic.

I did wonder if stress plays a small part. I don't think it's the cause since he's always had thin fur but could it excacerbate the problem? Although it's not got worse all of a sudden it is in the past few months that I've noticed he seems to have thinned out a bit more. He's had a stressful few months starting with the death of his brother last October (it hit him hard and it was several months before he was himself again) and culminating with a new kitten arriving 6 weeks ago (they're getting on great but a boisterous kitten around the place has probably been a bit stressful for him).

Anyway - sorry for the long ramble but the point of this post is I was wondering whether I should give him a supplememt such as evening primrose oil to help slow down the thinning process and/or help his fur in general. Has anyone any recommendations of anything that might help?

btw - I'm not bothered about him losing his hair - I'd love him even if he was completely bald - but I'd like to help him keep in tip top condition and slow down the balding process if possible!

I'd have his thyroid checked out. Many cats his age develop hyperthyroidism, which can lead to hair loss. It's a treatable condition. He could develop heart problems if he has it, and it's not treated, so definitely have a senior blood panel done, and go from there.

hmmm... haven't really thought that it could be something like his thyroid. I'll get that checked out when he next goes to the vets but he's not showing any of the symptoms.

forgot to mention his food - he eats a mix of good quality dry (James Wellbeloved) and wet (used to be felix/whiskas pouches but I'm now giving him mainly hi life pouches for their higher meat content and lack of additives).

I've been recommended SA-37 by a good friend of mine whose cat has dandruff and food allergies!

I haven't tried it, but am definitely going to!

It might be worth a try!

That looks like it might be worth a try - thanks. I presume you just mix it in with food? Do you know if it has any taste? Does your friend's cat eat it mixed in with his food ok?

Originally Posted by urbantigers

That looks like it might be worth a try - thanks. I presume you just mix it in with food? Do you know if it has any taste? Does your friend's cat eat it mixed in with his food ok?

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It definitely is worth a try! As far as I know, he eats it very well mixed with his food (he's a fussy little thing! ) It doesn't appear to have any taste, as far as my friend has mentioned!

I will be buying some soon too, so I'll let you know! (or, we can try it together and compare notes!) If you like, I can order two batches and send you one if you fancy!

Have you noticed any coat difference since using James Wellbeloved?

I'll definitely give it a try. Jaffa's a greedy thing and happily eats crushed up tablets in his food.

I switched to the James Wellbeloved a few years ago after my other cat had a bit of a skin problem (never really found out what it was - vet tested for ringworm and a few other things but they were all negative) and a few people suggested it might be a bit of a food allergey. The James Wellbeloved was advertised as being a bit of a hypoallergenic food so I tried it and I did notice an improvement in both their coats. They were eating iams before that and there was nothing wrong with their fur then but I do think it got even better on the JWB. Incidentally, I've recently got a new kitten who was fed on Purina Pro Plan and I was originally going to switch Jaffa onto that and gradually swtiched him over. I then had a change of mind and decided to put the kitten onto JWB. I've only just got Jaffa back onto the JWB so I think I might see some improvement in his fur now that he's back on that.

I use James Wellbeloved too and noticed a real difference in Willow's coat - has has a bit of dandruff too! It's good stuff!

That's brilliant that Jaffa is happy to eat tablets in his food! I've never had a cat happy to do that, they'll eat around it!

We'll have to keep eachother informed if we try the SA-37 and see how both our kitties do with it!

My Jaffa will eat anything, bless him - he's not going to let a tablet put him off his meal - it all just goes down the hatch, lol!

After getting him checked out by the vet-I too would chk his thryoid as well as a skin scrape to make sure there are no skin troubles I would supplement with Missing Link. I have mentioned it on a few other forums, but all 5 of mine are on it and it works great for not only the hair condition but overall as well as keeping hairballs down to a minimum. My husband brought Dusty home a few months ago-he found him as a stray, and his coat sounds alot like your kittie's, but after almost 3 months of Missing Link on his food daily his coat has imporoved dramatically! It is now soft and has a better look to it-not so greasy and ragged it is soft and smooth! I would make sure your kitty is 100% and then think about supplements.

Originally Posted by urbantigers

My Jaffa will eat anything, bless him - he's not going to let a tablet put him off his meal - it all just goes down the hatch, lol!

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Sounds like you have an easy ride with Jaffa! :lol1:

Well that missing link stuff sounds great too. Don't know what to try now! Guess I'll give the SA-37 a go first as it's cheaper!

I'm reluctant to take Jaffa to the vet at the moment as it stresses him out big time and he's not showing any real signs of ill health. His coat does look in pretty good condition (although I think it's been better), it's just the thinning I'm wanting to address at the moment. He's also recently been to the vets for a dental and he had a couple of blood tests then to check his kidneys and liver were ok before having the anaesthetic. I will of course take him if he starts showing any signs of ill health or his coat starts to look in poor condition.

Yes I do have an easy ride with Jaffa, Sar! He'll eat anything and has never turned his nose up at anything in his life! He has even been known to eat tablets whole - once I chucked him a couple of treats then threw a tablet and he just swallowed that as though it was a treat! Nothing really touches the sides with Jaffa so he probably can't tell the difference between tablets and food!

Krill oil would certainly help.

It could also be just a coat mutation/abnormality. You say it looks healthy, just feels like a dogs? There is a breed of cat called a wirehair that has a similar texture to the coat. There is nothing wrong with the coat, its just a mutation.

I've seen household pets in cat shows where the judge will remark on a coat abnormality. Again, its not the cat, but just its genetic makeup that causes it to be that way. In this case the cats hair stood up a little more than usual (fulle bodied, with a slight wave) and had a coarser texture.

If the coat is unhealthy in anyway then you might try adding some canned salmon to the diet or try using salmon oil in his food. The omega 3's and 6's help fur coats and skin condition considerably.

Well I've ordered some of the SA-37 so I'll see if that helps at all, and will make a note of the other suggestions.

Solarity Bengals - that's interesting about the wirehair cat - I've never heard of that breed. I think it probably is just an abnormality of the fur - I'm just unsure whether the thinning of the hair is related to the hair texture or something different. Your cats are stunning, btw!

Wanted to mention that thinning hair of the back of the legs is sometimes caused by stress/overgrooming...if the stress continues it can spread to any "washing spots". If you look closely at the back of the legs, you might notice the skin a little thickened/bumpy. This is from the constant irritation of the coarse tongue on a thinning coat.

Also, there was just a scientific study out of New Zealand that between 30-70% of omega fish oil is rancid, so you may wish to investigate that.