Jeffy my black male cat, 12 years old. He has a terrible dry skin problem. I have to bathe him weekly and gently scrape off the old skin. It makes him miserable and looks horrible. What can I do to help my boy?
2006-10-30 06:01:44 · 16 answers · asked by eddie9551 5 in Pets ➔ Cats
What are you feeding him? Cats start getting problems as they age... much like we do... but a lot of it can be corrected by feeding a high quality food. That said, you cannot BUY a truly good quality food at the grocery store or walmart. Look for a food with meat as the first few ingredients, NO corn, NO byproducts.
I had a 15yr old cat who had grown very arthritic, had very poor skin and coat and was just fading fast. I switched him from Purina Maxx Nutrition (which I naively thought was good) to Felidae and within two weeks he was running and playing again. His coat became gorgeous, his eyes were brighter... it definitely made his last couple years much more active and happy.
Good foods are hard to find in some areas. Felidae is available in some feed/farm stores in my area, so you might try that if you dont' have a high-end or "natural" pet store (NOT a chain like PetSmart) in your area. There's also the internet, which makes it possible for us to buy anything from anywhere. :)
I'd try switching foods, space out the baths (excessive bathing dries skin out on any animal... cats aren't meant to bathe the way we do) and see if that helps. Adding some fish oil and vitamin E to the diet can't hurt either, although a truly quality food should have enough oils in it to keep a cat healthy.
2006-10-30 06:20:37 · answer #1 · answered by kittikatti69 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why do you have to bathe him weekly? That's probably drying out his skin a lot. Cats don't usually have to be bathed very often.
When you DO bathe, use lukewarm water (room temp, not warm or hot) so you don't strip the oils from his skin.
Use a good quality shampoo with fatty acids or aloe and oatmeal.
Don't ever use a flea shampoo.
Brush your cat every day to stimulate the oil production and get rid of excess dead skin stuck in his coat.
Feed a high quality diet and add fatty acids (I like the premixed 3V-Caps liquid you squirt on the food, but there are other brands and other things you can use).
2006-10-30 14:09:08 · answer #2 · answered by Lauren M 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
His dry skin can be caused by too much bathing (you wash away all the natural oils) or from an allergy (pets who weren't allergic to things when they were younger can "grow" into an allergy, just like a human).
Give the vet a call and see what he says. He'll probably want to see your cat, just to see what the area looks like, maybe take a scraping to see if anything else is going on.
2006-10-30 14:06:32 · answer #3 · answered by BVC_asst 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get him off a dry food diet for sure. The skin is the major organ of elimination for his body and dry skin would indicate he is in a constant state of dehydration from a dry food diet.
If you use some canned meat with him (not grocery store stuff) you can get some salmon oil or flax seed oil from a health foods store and add it to his food. I also think you are bathing him excessively so cut that out and see if you can get him better hydrated from the INSIDE.
2006-10-30 14:13:52 · answer #4 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should have him seen by a vet. There are a number of different problems that could be causing his dry skin, and he could have other problems that you aren't aware of. Your cat is elderly, and skin problems can also reflect disorders or problems with other parts of the body. Digestive problems, for instance, can be an underlying cause of some skin conditions. Sometimes an elderly cat develops that kind of skin problem because they aren't grooming themselves normally, and there are a number of problems that can cause a cat to quit self-grooming, all which need vet attention and diagnosis.
2006-10-30 14:13:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The dermatological dehydration problem that your cat is experiencing may be due to his older age in which his physiological system is deficient in properly producing the natural oils that lubricate his skin and coat. It may be solved via a dietary supplement of Omega-3 essential oils combined with a dietary change and augmented with a topical lubricating regiment. But definitely check with your veterinarian to obtain the correct diagnosis and recommendations for insuring the health of your cat.
2006-10-30 14:26:19 · answer #6 · answered by . 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might want to make sure your kitty has the right amount of essential oils in their diet, this should correct the dry skin problem. Or start giving them some fish oil mixed into the wet food every day.
2006-10-30 14:05:34 · answer #7 · answered by sibohan2004 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Feed him eggs and fish (high in oils). Sounds like his skin isn't making enough oil. Or he may have an allergy to something in your house. Vacuum every day, even your couches and upholstery. I disagree with the bathing suggestions. I would keep him out of water. Poor thing. I hope he gets better.
2006-10-30 14:14:16 · answer #8 · answered by ♥gingeylynn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
After you bathe him, use conditioner. Something like Suave for dry hair conditioner. And you could also use a leave in conditioner after the regular conditioner. If this doesn't work, the vet would probably be the next thing to do. Good Luck.
2006-10-30 14:04:33 · answer #9 · answered by giwsd 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You can simply buy Fish Oil capsules (found at Wal-mart in the vitamin section) and put them on your cat's food. You will start seeing a difference within a week or a two...works great on dogs too!!
2006-10-30 14:11:29 · answer #10 · answered by Tina T 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋