Flaky Skin

Now that Coco is doing well on wet food, I’d like to tackle one of the minor issues - her skin. Her fur is getting its shine back, but her skin is still flaky and dandruffy along her back. It doesn’t seem to bother her. She is brushed every morning. A bath is not an option. Neither of us would survive it. Any suggestions?

Oh and home testing is still very much hit or miss. Mostly miss. Two attempts this morning with an angry Coco and not enough blood to get a read. Sigh! Will try again this evening.

 

Good morning Kerri. I'm sorry to hear home testing is coming along slowly for you and Coco. Is there some food that she really loves? Perhaps start conditioning without testing as often as you can. Take her to the testing station, it's good to have one place where this happens. Then take out the testing equipment, let her see you do it. Rub her ears or use the rice sock, then give that treat. Maybe that will help reinforce the idea that testing is not such a bad idea after all. Idjit likes the freeze dried treats, but even better a chunk or two of cooked chicken breast. Plus, we always praised, petted and treated whether testing was successful or not. Every cat is different, but they are all pretty smart, so I think Coco is going to figure this out.
Re: flaky skin. Idjit gets frowsy in the summer. He goes outside and collects as much stuff in his fur as possible as gifts to his beans. So he gets a lot of brushing and combing. I have noticed that he just doesn't appear as sleek as before even with a good diet and the grooming. I decided to add a little oil to his food, I have some cod liver oil capsules and poked a hole in one, drizzled out a bit and mixed it in his food. I think the cod liver oil is supposed to help with skin conditioning. There are probably lots of commercial supplements out there, but I am starting with this for now. Let me know what you come up with, ok?

 

I really appreciate the tips! Coco isn’t one for treats (a bit odd for a cat) but she likes freeze dried chicken bites. So I’ll try that and start with conditioning today.
As far as her skin, I will try adding fish oil to her food. Crossing my fingers Miss Priss won’t turn up her nose at it. Will keep you posted.

 

I second the fish oil

 

Fish oil is worth a try. Max had flaky skin and it never got better with it though.

 

Aaaand in true Coco fashion, she turned up her nose at food with fish oil. Two meals in a row. Smh!

 

Max didn’t like fish oil either but I gave some to my kittens and one lapped it up. The other didn’t like it.

 

The flakes will go away once she's in better numbers. If the fur feels oily, rub a pinch of cornstarch into the fur. Leave it 5 min, then comb out with a tight tooth comb like a flea comb.

 

Maybe. Max was very tightly regulated but the flakes never went away.

 

If Max doesn't care for fish oil, maybe very small amounts of veg or olive oil? I also think I read something once about coconut oil, but I can't say for sure. The veg or olive oil might just go through, although in Idjit's case not a bad thing with hair balls.