Dandruff out of nowhere

[NabilBen]

Hi guys
My cat eats healthy, drinks a lot, plays normally and get brushed daily with the brushing gloves. However, I have discovered that his back is full of dandruff. It's like crazy full. I don't know where it's coming from. Could it be irritated skin because he's brushed daily and he's a short hair? That's what comes to my mind but he's being brushed daily when he was a kitten and this is the first time I see this amount of dandruff. My vet told that it's some reaction to something. Or could it be the weather. I have moved to the south of Morocco (Agadir city) it's really sunny all year long.
What do you think?

 

[Anne Valentine]

It could be dry skin due to the sun or no moisture on the air.

 

[verna davies]

A lot of cats cant reach their backs to groom and get dandruff in that area and the weather could be playing a part. Put a little coconut oil on the tips of your fingers and massage into the skin, it will leave the fur a bit greasy for several days but gets rid of the dandruff plus if your cat manages to groom there, the coconut oil won't harm him.

 

[NabilBen]

Thank you so much. I feel relieved now. I thought it's some illness of some sort. I'll keep you posted

 

[NabilBen]

Update:
The dandruff condition got worse over night. It doesn't seem to bother him at all. I asked a vet who works in the association where I adopted him and she gave me tablets. One a day for 30 days. I am familiar with the medicine because I used it to treat him when he had alopecia when he was a kitten. Attached is a photo of the medicine and the description of it if you want to take a look.

Description: The treatment of fungal infections of the skin, scalp, hair or nails where topical therapy is considered inappropriate or has failed.

When griseofulvin is given orally for systemic treatment of fungal infections, it enables newly-formed keratin of the skin, hair and nails to resist attack by the fungi. As the new keratin extends, the old infected keratin is shed. Griseofulvin is effective against the dermatophytes causing ringworm (tinea), including: Microsporum canis and T. Verrucosum.

 

[verna davies]

Did your vet tell you about any side effects to watch for?

 

[NabilBen]

The vet said nothing. But I have red online to limit his exposure to the sun this period

 

[Antonio65]

Dandruff might come from his diet.
Some foods can trigger dandruff more than others. Generally speaking, seafood is worse for this issue. So if your cat is eating seafood daily, or most of the time, this might be one of the possible reasons.

The heat, the stress for the new environment, the dry air, could also contribute to it.

The cat in my avatar developed flaky skin and dandruff post op, maybe the stress for the heavy surgery, the medications she got, who knows. My vet told me to give her a supplement of fish oil and natural cortisone, and it worked!
I live in Italy, so certain products might not be available everywhere, but what I used were
-Omega PET (fish oil)
-Cortipet (natural cortison)
They don't need a prescription because they are supplement.

The product your pet gave you is for fungi and I don't thing this is the issue your cat has.

 

[NabilBen]

I don't think it's his usual diet however I think you have a strong point about the seafood. My parents were taking care of him last month and they gave him so much crustaceans (shrimp, lobster, scampi....)
I also use pure salmon oil but it doesn't seem to work as well.
The dandruff doesn't seem to bother him at all. I am just afraid it'll develop into something bad. I was a bit off when the vet prescribed the medicine but my initial thought was prevention is always better.

 

[silent meowlook]

Is your cat overweight?

 

[NabilBen]

He's almost 7kg

 

[silent meowlook]

He probably cannot groom himself along the back anymore.
if he was mine I would switch to a high quality canned food fed two or three times a day, if he will eat it. And if he tolerates it daily brushing with a soft brush.

 

[NabilBen]

I managed to get this photo of some of the dandruff after applying the monthly spot on treatment (Broadline)

 

[verna davies]

His skin looks healthy to me from that photo but as he is 7kg, I would say he can't reach those areas to groom himself.

 

[OopsyDaisy]

I just noticed this with Lulu. She didn't have it to this extent before. I'm not sure if she's stressed about Ash, or if its the change in the weather. The house feels a bit dry. My hair was all staticky this morning. I'm going to get my humidifier fired up. Lulu isn't overweight so she should be able to groom back there. Does anyone know if it would be safe to use a little olive oil? I've used that before on a cat to remove a knot in the same area. A groomer suggested it.