Dry Skin - Dandruff?

New Cat owner: I have an adopted tortoise shell cat appx 5.5 years old. She appears to have mild dandruff. When I brush, comb etc. and look closer at her skin I notice its somewhat scaly in some spots.

Shes on Advantage, does not itch herself. Is a overweight at 15lbs (adopted her 5 mos ago).

How do I know its something more serious and do I just head to the vet to find out.

Thanks for your help, just so nervous and new at this and want to make sure she's good.

CaramelCat82 said:

New Cat owner: I have an adopted tortoise shell cat appx 5.5 years old.

Click to expand...

Welcome new cat owner! Thank you for adopting a sweet tortie.
There are many different things that can affect a cat's skin, e.g. diet, environment, allergies, etc. It never hurts to contact your vet since they know your recently adopted new girl best and her medical history. Here is an Article that may be helpful for you: Skin Conditions In Cats

There's a good chance that the dandruff could be caused by not grooming enough because she's overweight. My boy had that problem, but when he lost the weight he could groom much easier and his "sectioned" fur and dandruff were lessened dramatically. Do you find her fur looks a bit clumpy or feels a bit coarse?

Welcome to TCS
What is your cat's name?

What are you feeding her? Sometimes food can make a difference in a cat's coat/skin. I've found that adding a little salmon oil to the food (assuming she's not allergic to fish) helps with the dandruff, along with frequent brushing.

If she hasn't been to the vet, it would be a good idea to take her for a general check-up.

Jem said:

There's a good chance that the dandruff could be caused by not grooming enough because she's overweight. My boy had that problem, but when he lost the weight he could groom much easier and his "sectioned" fur and dandruff were lessened dramatically. Do you find her fur looks a bit clumpy or feels a bit coarse?

Click to expand...

Yes, I see her struggling a bit to reach her back. That would make a ton of sense. I have her on a diet with the vets guidance.

You could get some cat wipes to help groom her in the mean time, as well as brushing her more often (not sure how often you do) to help keep her clean. If that helps then that is probably a huge factor in why she has the dandruff.

What I would do, is take a warm damp cloth and run that down my boys back and sides, then I would brush him (for as long as he would let me), followed by another few swipes of the re-dampened cloth. (I'm too cheap to buy the wipes)
Sometimes I would take it a bit further and start with using a moisturizing spray made for cats, followed by the brushing, to make sure it was all thru his fur and reached the skin, then finish with the damp cloth at the end. The damp cloth at the end was just to pick up any loose fur and dandruff that I brought to the surface with the brushing.

If you notice that your kitty sheds a lot more than you think she should, being overweight can also be a contributing factor with that as well.
And I'm not sure if your vet mentioned this, but wet food tends to contain less carbs and fillers (huge contributing factor in weight gain) than dry foods. So replacing some of her dry (or all) for wet might help with better results.

Hi and welcome to the site, glad you have joined us.
One of mine had dandruff on her back. She has long and thick fur and struggles to groom that area. I brush her daily and add red salmon oil to her food twice a day. It soon cleared up. As others have said, there can be other reasons for the flaky skin so maybe a check up with your vet would be a good idea if it doesnt clear.

Willow had dandruff, dry skin and a tendency to get mats on her back and sides. Last year though I switched her from all dry food to had dry and half wet and not only has her dandruff cleared up but her fur is silky now and,this is the first spring in eight years where she doesn’t have a single mat.