Ridiculous amount of dander problem

[ebess]

Hi everyone -

So our black cat, Arthur, lost his brother last year (also a black cat). Arthur is about 14.

Before now, Arthur was always pretty clean. Now, he is COVERED with dander. (I guess it's dander - little while flakes.)

Frankly, it's disgusting.

I comb him regularly and that gets some of it, but not much. We gave him a bath and we must not have done a very good job, because we barely scratched (pardon the pun) the surface of the dander. He's still covered in it, mostly on his back.

What can we do, here? He's not liking it, we're not liking it... something must be done!!

 

[otto]

Dander is what forms on a cat's fur when he washes himself. Arthur has dandruff from dry skin and poor coat.

The first thing to do is to take Arthur to the vet. A sudden change in coat or skin quality can be a sign of several illnesses, such as kidney disease or hyperthyroid. He should have a complete blood profile, including thyroid, and a urinalysis at the check up.

What are you feeding him? He should be on a high quality canned diet. Adding fish oil to his daily intake can help improve his skin and coat.

Bathing him will only make the problem worse as dries the skin out even more.

Please keep us posted on Arthur.

PS I'm sorry for your recent loss. Was Arthur very close to him?

 

[ebess]

Hi otto -

Thanks so much for your kind response.

We took him to the vet, actually, about a month and a half ago because he started fussing over the dry food he had been eating and had been vomiting about once per week. She did some bloodwork and it came back clean. His urine was slightly dilute but she didn't think it was enough to cause what was going on.

At that point we changed his diet to an all wet food diet. The vomiting stopped, which was good. He happily eats his wet food and gets the equivalent of a can a day (2 small cans of Fancy Feast, one in the morning and one at night). (Indeed, he wants more than that - he is used to having food in his dish at all times, but he needs to lose a little weight so I have been keeping his intake under control!)

He had the dandruff problem at that time and she didn't seem all that concerned about it. I thought he just needed a good groomer!

Interesting on the bathing making the problem worse. So should I just continue to comb him? I can't imagine that he's comfortable with it!!

We are undergoing a very stressful time right now because we are about to embark on a cross country move. So on top of it all, Arthur is dealing with boxes being packed, etc.

I could also use some support around what to do with him for the plane ride. The vet wanted to use "natural" methods to calm him down, but I gotta tell ya, I am not comfortable with that. IMHO, he needs to be sedated or it is going to be a VERY unpleasant journey for everyone. But the vets I talk to seem very resistant to that. I'm frustrated!

Anyway, thoughts?

 

[otto]

Add some fish oil to his daily diet. I like the Welactin brand made by Nutramax made specifically for cats and dogs. It will take a few weeks to see improvement.

Yes, bathing strips the oils from his skin, which dries the skin even worse.

As for sedating a cat while traveling I am totally adamantly against using any sedating drugs for a traveling cat.

Cats can have bad reactions to sedatives. Sedatives depress the respiratory system, and can slow heart beat.

It will not reduce stress, in fact, in my opinion, it causes MORE stress, because not only is he stressed about the situation, he feels "funny" which makes him feel vulnerable.

The other reason I caution against using drug sedatives is because I used sedatives to travel with my cat Baby (rb 1/98) from Texas to New York in 1984. It changed his personality, permanently, for the worse. He went from being a happy cheerful outgoing friendly cat to distrustful of everyone but me, to the point of hostility to anyone who came in the house.

Arthur is going to be stressed about the move no matter what you do, but he will be okay. Get him a vet check as soon as possible after the move, and get new blood work. Senior cat's health can change very fast, and stress can cause issues such as kidney failure and urinary tract disease.

I recommend using nothing stronger than Rescue Remedy for the trip, in fact I would start using the Rescue Remedy right now.

 

[otto]

PS oh yes, by all means continue to groom Arthur daily. It helps remove loose fur (helping to cut down on hairballs) and helps distribute the oils of his skin evenly.

Not to mention it is a wonderful bonding experience.

 

[ebess]

Rescue Remedy... got it.

Fish oil... got it.

Yeah, taking him to the vet again is one of the first things I plan to do when we're there.

I really appreciate all of your wisdom here!

Anything else on traveling with him? I'm also a little concerned because he is a bit big and the carrier we have to use will be smaller than he is used to.

 

[Willowy]

2 cans of Fancy Feast a day, without any dry food added, doesn't seem to me to be quite enough food for a grown cat. How much does he weigh? How much should he weigh (which is what you should be basing his caloric intake on)? The Fancy Feast can says "one can per 3 pounds daily", so unless he ought to weigh 6 pounds (very small for a male cat), that's probably not enough. Older cats do need fewer calories but that's still not much. Poor guy must be hungry.

Yes, fish oil should help with the dandruff. It did wonders for my mom's dog. Plus using a Zoom Groom (or similar rubber curry brush) helps, too. Cats love those.

Is he going to be in the cargo hold or in the cabin with you during the trip? One reason vets don't like to sedate cats is that they can't regulate their body temp when sedated, so they have to be watched very carefully so they don't get overheat or get hypothermic. Basically, when traveling with cats you (and he) just have to deal with it. It's not going to be fun for anybody, but it'll be over with quickly.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Willowy

2 cans of Fancy Feast a day, without any dry food added, doesn't seem to me to be quite enough food for a grown cat. How much does he weigh? How much should he weigh (which is what you should be basing his caloric intake on)? The Fancy Feast can says "one can per 3 pounds daily", so unless he ought to weigh 6 pounds (very small for a male cat), that's probably not enough. Older cats do need fewer calories but that's still not much. Poor guy must be hungry.

.

A lot depends on the individual cat. I've never known a nine pound cat to eat 3 cans (3 oz) a day, that sounds like way too much food.

Tolly eats two cans a day of Innova (3 oz cans) and weighs 9 pounds. (he could weight ten and still be lean, he is a big boned cat) When he was on fancy feast he only ate 1 1/2 cans, but was too skinny. he's not a very enthusiastic eater.

Jennie eats 1 1/2 can of Wellness (3 oz) and weighs 10 pounds. She is a bit over weight but goes food crazed if I try to keep her to only one can a day on which she maintained a healthy weight of 9 pounds.

Caloric content in cat food vary widely. Tolly's Innova is 89 calories per can. Jennie's Wellness is 120 calories per can. She and Tolly are getting approximately the same amount of calories a day (180), though they eat different quantities. Mazy gets about 190 calories a day on her prescription c/d and weighs 8.5 pounds which is perfect for her.

Tolly (11 y) and Mazy (6y) are both very active cats. Jennie (4 y) prefers a more sedentary life style.

I just checked Fancy Feast Website. They do not list caloric content.

 

[ebess]

Willowy, thanks for the different perspective - I had never thought to look on the label! And thanks again otto for all your insights.

Currently (or last time he was weighed, rather - beginning of April, so I guess 2 months ago) he's 16.3. Vet says he should be 13-14. He has been on the Fancy Feast 2-can diet for a while so he has probably lost a little. This whole conversation is convincing me that I should take him back to the vet again one more time before we leave (on the 7th - yikes!), if for no other reason than to weigh him again.

I'm thinking that a Fancy Feast breakfast/lunch/dinner is probably OK. All of this will get easier after the move - currently we live in Brooklyn NY and one of the things that has been frustrating is creating a consistent diet of the same food, all the time. We don't have a car and often have to take what we can get at the grocery store. (We're moving to Portland OR)

Another thing that has changed with the diet is that for the first time in our lives, he has TRAINED us to get up at 5 am to feed him. I have ALWAYS resisted that - I am sorry, I am just soooo not down with being bossed around by an animal, even one that I love as much as him! - and so far it has worked. Not anymore. He has me completely at his mercy! (He gets on the bed and literally hovers over me; when it's time to wake me a gentle nudge to my face - !!! - with his paw does the trick)

He will be in the passenger cabin with us, on JetBlue. I have a couple of concerns:

1. That they'll say he's too big to fly. We got him a Jet Blue carrier, so we *know* it'll fit under the seat. It's definitely too small for him, but honestly I don't know what to do. He will be under the weight limit, that is for sure.

2. That he will make a CRAZY amount of noise. This is the bigger concern. (At the end of the day, we WILL be getting on that plane - I can tell you that!)

Another thing I picked up recently was one of those lavender calming collars - anyone ever use those?

 

[otto]

Yes, I would definitely have another check up before you go. Peace of mind is worth it. I understand how worried you must be over this. It will get done, and be over, but still, you worry.

I'm sure your vet has already told you that weight loss in cats should be done very very slowly. No more than a pound every four months.

Double check with the airline on rules and regs. Ask them what will happen if Arthur cries. Babies cry on flight too, after all.

Don't feed him the day of the flight. He might be uncomfortable in a small space, but he will be with you, and it won't be forever.

It is easy for me to be saying this, but if it were me in your shoes I'm sure I would probably be sick with worry over it all.

Get started with the Rescue Remedy now, to help him cope with all the packing and stuff. He will be picking up on your stress too.

Please do keep us posted!

PS Rescue Remedy can help you, too!

 

[lynsgems]

One more vet check would be a good idea, and if all is healthy you can get his health certificate at the same time. You'll need this for his flight anyway. Since you're taking him in the cabin with you, you'll have to remove him from the carrier when you go through security. Please put a harness and leash on him so when you take him out he won't be able to escape your hold. There are many horror stories about cats freaking out, jumping and being lost in the airport for hours. You certainly don't need any more stress.

Although he might make some noise initially, he should calm down once the travel starts. Since he'll be under the seat with you, even if he does make noise it shouldn't be loud enough to hear over the airplane noise and distract or bother anyone. Please don't tranquilize him. It's certainly not safe as other people have said and it would be horrible for something to happen while you're in the air with no way to respond to an emergency.

Safe travels to you and good luck with your move!

 

[addiebee]

The dander issue can be due to upset - my vet told me that in addition to blowing coat when they are stressed they can toss up more skin dander too. My Archie does that at the vet. OPs here have given good advice re diet and additives. You can also get some Feliway spray and spray the carrier 15-20 mins before you put him in there. And it may help with his transition to a new place, too. You can get the plug ins for your new home.

 

[strange_wings]

Also, if he has a favorite blanket at home or if you could lay a towel down for him to sleep on at home before you leave, that would smell familiar to him when added to his carrier. If you have an old t-shirt that you can wear around the house/sleep in and at that to his carrier it could help comfort him, too.

I don't know about the lavender collars. I know the other types of calming collars can seriously mess up some cats, though. If you'd like to try lavender you could always try some dried lavender in a satchel and putting that in the carrier with him - but test out how well he likes the scent before confining him with it.

 

[Willowy]

Originally Posted by otto

I've never known a nine pound cat to eat 3 cans (3 oz) a day, that sounds like way too much food.

Really? It just doesn't seem like enough to me. Maybe with some dry food added in but as a sole diet it just....doesn't. Most cats I know who eat canned food only eat 2 5.5-oz cans (11 oz) a day, and 3 3-oz cans (9 oz) a day would be less than that. Of course caloric content does come into play, though.

If this is to be believed, most FF varieties average around 80 calories a can. http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html And if cats need 15-30 calories per pound daily, a 12-pound cat (or a cat who should be 12 pounds)should be eating 180-360 calories a day, depending on activity level. So 160 would be lower than recommended, even for weight loss. Although if it's one of the higher calorie FF formulas it might be enough. Hmm.

 

[otto]

11 oz a day, oh my gosh! Tolly eats 6 oz a day, 180 calories, if that. And he is a nice solid 9 pounds. He is a very active cat, plays tons.

Do your cats free-roam outside?

<oops, sorry for the thread drift, ebess!>

 

[Willowy]

Originally Posted by otto

11 oz a day, oh my gosh! Tolly eats 6 oz a day, 180 calories, if that. And he is a nice solid 9 pounds. He is a very active cat, plays tons.

Do your cats free-roam outside?

<oops, sorry for the thread drift, ebess!>

Hehe, yeah, some threads get a little sidetracked.

I don't feed my cats canned food only. I mean the cats I do know who eat only canned food get 2 5.5 oz cans a day. Of course, they may not eat all of it, I don't know. I just know their owners crack open a can in the morning and a can at night and call it good. And I believe it is the cheap stuff.

I haven't traveled with a cat in cabin before, but my cousins did move up from Panama with their kitty in an underseat carrier. He's not a yowler, though, and they said he didn't make a peep the entire time.

If your vet thinks a mild herbal calmative might help, it would be worth a try. I really don't think a stronger sedative would be a good idea. Some cats have weird reactions to sedatives and actually get more agitated.