If your cat has a lot of loose dead skin cell flakes caught in his fur, you may be dealing with cat dandruff. Its not unusual for dogs and cats to experience a bit of dry skin during their lifetime, but its important to identify the underlying cause of the problem. Common causes include allergies, diabetes, poor diet, fur mites, and even sun burn. Here's some tips on identifying the root cause of cat dandruff and how to deal with the problem for good.
Dandruff is loose dead skin cells from the outer layer of your cat's skin usually visible in his fur. He may even scratch himself bloody resulting in missing patches of fur. The most common causes of cat dandruff are:
Kittens Cats
- Feline diabetes;
- Fungal infection;
- Environmental allergy;
- Food allergy;
- Poor diet;
- Parasites including fleas, mites and especially the Cheyletiella mite;
- Low humidity environments;
- Sunburn
Four steps to get rid of cat dandruff for good:
Step 1: Take a trip to the vet to rule out a serious medical conditions. You are going to need your vet to help you diagnose feline diabetes, a skin fungus or to pinpoint a food or airborne allergy.
Step 2: Get your cat on a proper high meat protein diet. You may think your cat is eating high quality cat food, however, commercial pet food companies are good at advertising poor quality cat food as a high-end product. Commercial cat food is packed with vegetable proteins, not meat proteins. Vegetable proteins don't help you cat one bit. Read the ingredients. If corn or soy grains are listed first on the list of ingredients you are feeding you cat vegetable proteins. You want a cat food product, preferably canned, that contains a meat protein as the first ingredient.
Step 3: Remove complications caused by a dry climate and sunburns. In a dry climate, your cat's skin (your skin too) benefits by adding a humidifier to your home space. If you have a fair skinned cat, typically white fur feline, give her plenty of places to get in the shade when she is outside.
Step 4: Now for the parasites. If you ever hear someone talking about 'walking dandruff' they are talking about the Chyletiella mite. These cat parasites are large enough to see with the naked eye. They are often the cause of skin problems and cat dandruff.
You can treat skin parasites fairly easily, but you are going to have to treat all the animals in your household, the carpeting, the bedding and maybe even your family members. Use hot water and Oxyfresh or your favorite detergent to wash cat bedding, sheets, blankets and anything that you cat likes to lie on. Get out the vacuum and go over the carpet 2 or 3 times a week.
Finally, get rid of the Cheyletiella mite once and for all using a flea and mite prevention program like Revolution, Frontline or Advantage. You will need a vet's prescription for these products but they are highly effective at controlling fleas and mites.
You can help your cat's skin heal naturally using a homeopathic remedy such as Equisetum arvense and Taraxacum officinalis. The herbs are known for their ability to soothe your cat's skin sores and keep his skin hydrated. Fucus vesiculosis is a sea vegetable used in natural remedies to support the thyroid. The thyroid is key to producing hormones that are necessary for maintaining skin and coat. You can even add a tablespoon of olive oil to your cat's food once or twice a week to stimulate natural oil production.
So there you have it, how to get rid of cat dandruff for good by ruling out serious medical conditions like feline diabetes, making sure your cat is eating a high meat protein diet, adding moisture to your home environment with a humidifier and eliminating fleas, mites and especially the Cheyletiella mite. Your vet will need to help you to diagnose physical problems and to provide a prescription for flea products like Revolution. However, you can include natural cat skin care products to help your cat heal and provide long term relief from cat dandruff and other feline skin problems - no prescription required.
Cat Dandruff - 4 Steps to Get Rid of Cat Dandruff For Good