Dry, flaky skin

I haven't been around the board in a while but I do have a quick question. Do any of your cats have dry, flaky skin? If so, do you give your cat anything for it?

 

Cheryl, that's a good indication of a diabetic cat not being regulated. Getting the blood glucose down does help to eliminate the flakes.

Can you tell us, is this a diabetic cat to whom you are referring? If so, can you tell us about the diabetes and the treatment so far (what insulin, how much) and what the kitty eats.

 

Emmy eats Purina DM and is on 1/2 unit of vetsulin. She is 18 years old and has been diabetic for 8 years and will not eat anything other than DM. She has been well regulated on 1/2 unit of vetsulin for quite some time now. In the last 6 - 8 months Emmy's fur has been getting matted and she has had dry skin so I have had to get her shaved regularly and about 2 months ago the vet did a full blood panel to check her overall organ functions. Everything came back normal which surprised the vet because of the dry skin. I didn't do anything about it then because it wasn't too bad but now that it is sooo cold out her skin is getting a bit more flaky.

When Emmy was first put on vetsulin I asked a question about it on FDMB and got chewed out up and down for trusting my vet (who has managed her diabetes for the full 8 years) and I was basically driven away because people told me I was killing my cat. I am pretty sure that her being alive with Diabetes for 8 years means that I and her vet have been taking care of her properly and are not killing her. I just wanted to give you that little bit of history because I do trust that the people on FDMB really do have a lot of feline knowledge and the cats best interest at heart but I really don't want to get chewed out again for how I manage Emmy's diabetes. Anyway, there is a bit of her history and any ideas on what to do to help her skin would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi Cheryl!

I haven't personally used it, but I've read that adding fish oil (I believe salmon is a popular one) to Emmy's food can really help with dry skin. I believe that it's available in many health food stores or even the vitamin aisle. You're best bet is to get capsules because the oil can go rancid quickly once opened.

Hope this helps!

 

Maui had this problem for years. Long before the FD diagnosis.

It was only after the diagnosis that I discovered it was the dry food that caused the skin problems. So, since I don't know if you are feeding dry or not, may I suggest that if you are, you stop feeding dry and see if it clears up.

Also, with the cold weather, if you don't already, you may want to get a humifidier for your place. This will help take the dryness out, which can also lead to dry, flaky skin.

 

Is your cat grooming? If not, that would definitely contribute to a greasy or flaky coat. Is the cat staying active or getting more lethargic?

It would be a good thing to check again with your vet. Make sure a T4/Free T4 was included in the blood work. If not, you should consider having it done. There could be a problem with the thyroid.

Also if large urination clumps are seen, have the vet check the urine with a specific gravity check and a basic urinalysis. I had taken Plague in months ago for large pee clumps but nothing was found in his blood work, urinalysis or exam. It continued and his coat got flaky, so I brought him back again - nothing on the tests. Then when the Plague's coat became really dandruffy, I had him checked again and they found out he was in early renal problems. Adding extra water to his food and getting him CRF-appropriate foods helped him a lot. So, your cat's problem could just have been too early to detect when he was seen a couple months back.

You can also try fish oil to help improve the coat, but you really want to dig out the underlying cause. And yes, allergy (including food) can cause a dandruffy coat.

laur

 

Some cats develop dry flaky skin in the winter time, just like some people do.. Try using a humidifier to add moisture to the air.

 

Thanks for the info. I will try the fish oil because she just won't eat anything but dry purina dm. When she had teeth problems we went through a whole ordeal trying to get her to gain weight because she just stopped eating. She is a very picky eater. Also, she is in very early stages of renal failure but again, couldn't get her to eat the kidney special food. She isn't grooming at all which is why she started matting up and needed to be shaved so that along with the cold weather could be making the problem worse. I will take all of your advice and see what we can do. I just don't want her to be itchy so I will work on it. Thanks! ;-)

 

Oh, you have a food fussy! Some of us have those too. :smile: You might try crushing some dry food into a coarse dust, then sprinkling that onto the wet food. Heavily at first, then easing off as time goes on. That worked real well for me when I needed to make a transition for one of my cats. You could also buy some Fortiflora and sprinkle that onto the wet food. So many people (including Dr Lisa) say that it works great to stimulate eating. Goodness knows all 8 of my cats go crazy for Fortiflora and will happily eat food they will otherwise reject. Like, they'll eat a layer off then I sprinkle a bit more. One packet can take care of several cats' meals. The only thing to be careful about is the empty packet, because the cats will drag it off and chew on it.

laur

 

Em used to have very flaky skin right above her tail. She couldn't groom very well because of arthritis. I bought a spray (haven't seen it since, but there are other brands and types out there I'm sure) that helped keep the coat shiny and healthy. It helped her skin quite a bit.

Connie

 

Fish oil is good. I used to squeeze the contents of a Vitamin E capsule (100iu) over my cat's food and I found that helped a lot. Some ground flax seed meal (about 1/8 tsp a day) may also help- omega fats are good for the skin. A thyroid check is a good plan - it may not have been included in the routine blood work.

After managing her diabetes for 8 years, you are obviously doing well. Kudos.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I went out and got some fish oil and of course she doesn't care for it but I will keep trying.

Karen - Emmy is hyperthyroid and that was checked with her full blood panel. Good suggestion though, thanks!

 

Interesting responses! Crash has struggled with itchy flaky skin his whole life. After DX, and while on insulin and through the summer, it got much better. Now that winter is here, it's back too. I notice more itching when he eats fishy food, less when he eats beef and chicken. I recently began to think maybe he was allergic to fish. Is there any fish in the DM diet? Maybe that and the dry winter weather combo is causing it. Good job on keeping kitty healthy and happy!

 

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Cheryl, I didn't recognise your name as you must have been on the board long before I came along (and we don't have the old profiles on which to rely). I've often said that Vetsulin has its place and it's clearly what works for you guys. Congrats for taking care of the FD for so long. I could not have known any of this when I first posted to you. It appeared to be a new person post. I certainly didn't mean to chew you or a new person out. Some people do not recognise the dandruff as a symptoms of unregulated FD.

 

Victoria,

I did not take your post as chewing me out. I merely wanted to give that brief history because as people want more info about Emmy's health and treatment I have had some people in the past, on the other board, rip me a new one. I really think someone told me that my ignorance would kill my cat, LOL. I firmly believe that if I have been able to keep this little creature alive for 8 years with her Diabetes, thyroid issues, arthritis, alzheimers (seriously she is a bit senile at times) , and occassional intestinal issues then I certainly have an idea what is going on. I can read this cat like a book!! Anyway, my screenname on the other board was Cheryl, Emmy and civie Maggie but I changed it when I signed up for this board because we lost our beloved Maggie over the summer to cancer.

Anyway, I really do appreciate the help this board provides because I truly believe that most everyone here loves animals as much as I do and there is a lot of people with experience and knowledge about a wide variety of topics. So, thanks again for your help!!

 

Victoria,

I was around 8 years ago when Emmy was diagnosed and I do need to credit the people on this board for helping survive. I was devastated and terrified and the support I received from the members of this group was oh so helpful and I am forever grateful. So, I do need to give credit where credit is due.

Oh, and I just re-read my last post and am a bit embarrased by my grammer, LOL. Oh well...not a big deal.

 

My eight year old Cagney was diagnosed with FD three years ago. He got really chubby and then lost so much weight he went from 19 to 11 lbs.
He began on 1 unit twice daily of Lantus and now he is up to 4 units twice daily.. After his six month exam earlier this year my vet has had me bring him in for fructosomine tests. He went from 3 to 3!/2 and now four in the last few months. She put him on the four units three weeks ago and I'm taking him in for another fructosomine test this week. I hope it reads in a normal range.
Anyway, I noticed his coat today and it is really flakey. He seems chipper enough but I worry about this flakiness. I'll start him on Vit E fish oil right away.
He is supposed to eat Hill's Prescription MD wet but hates it so I substitute with the Fancy Feasts Classic wet in the recommended flavors. He also gets into the dry MD as I have three other kitties here at home and they free feed on that. I only feed that because one of my other kitties vomits wet food and gets loose stools. It's hard to keep everything in order as I don't have a very big apartment and have four rescue kitties. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas. I read in earlier posts about early stage renal failure and am panicked. What should I ask my vet to do to see if this is a possibility?? I love my boy.

 

hi there howlsalot13. i might suggest you start a new thread since you appear to be new here (?) and pulled up an older thread. no biggie for now though if time is of the essence. i noticed your 911 icon on your post is why i suggest doing a new thread as a 911 icon started within an existing thread doesn't get seen on the main list of threads

i did want to ask if you are homesting at all? i'm guessing not since you mention getting fructosamine tests done. i think we need to cover some of that type of stuff as the lack of control of glucose levels and the full unit increases in doses could be playing into deregulation and why your kitty is having the dry, flaky skin.

as far as what the vet needs to do to check for kidney disease, i would suggest full blood workup if one hasn't been done for awhile. they need to look at numbers like Bun and Creatinine, and Urine Specific Gravity i believe. if money is tight, my vet periodically runs what she calls a mini-kidney panel in house when we are doing just re-checks on one of my cat's kidneys.