Dandruffs?

Kat.

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Since I'm at home all the time these days, I've been brushing my cats more and noticed that one of them has a lot of dandruffs. He has a light coat so it took me longer to notice but now that I did, I can see that he has quite a lot! I would take him to the vet but my country is on a tight lock down and it's harder to get in for non-emergencies. Is this something I should be very concerned about? I ordered a supplement online for skin/coat but I could only find pills so I'm not sure if he'll even eat them. Anything else I could try at home, for example different food? He eats dry Royal Canin for breakfast/lunch and get wet food (Applaws) for dinner.

Thank you!
 

LTS3

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Dandruff doesn't need a vet appointment. Dry air can cause dandruff and flakiness. Try using a humidifier in your home. Adding omega 3 supplements to the diet can be helpful. There are pet ones you can buy in gel capsule or liquid form. The gel capsules can be snipped open and the liquid squeezed into food. Did you try a pet supply web site?

What other brands of foods are available in your country? Royal Canin isn't a very good brand. Can you feed more wet food than dry? Most of the Applaws wet foods are not complete diets so that brand would not be good to feed as the main food. Check the teeny tiny print on the label.
 

cat mom 8

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Cats are very picky about how their fur lays. Their tongue has little cups on it to hold the cat's saliva so they can
wet their fur when they groom. When the saliva dries and the cat moves, the dried saliva breaks into pieces, which
looks like dandruff. I just wet a few paper towels and wipe the little pieces off of them. A comb with close teeth can
be used to get it off their fur, too.
 
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Kat.

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Dandruff doesn't need a vet appointment. Dry air can cause dandruff and flakiness. Try using a humidifier in your home. Adding omega 3 supplements to the diet can be helpful. There are pet ones you can buy in gel capsule or liquid form. The gel capsules can be snipped open and the liquid squeezed into food. Did you try a pet supply web site?

What other brands of foods are available in your country? Royal Canin isn't a very good brand. Can you feed more wet food than dry? Most of the Applaws wet foods are not complete diets so that brand would not be good to feed as the main food. Check the teeny tiny print on the label.
Thank you! That's very helpful. I'll try a humidifier, I think that might help because the air in my apartment is quite dry.

Acana, Applaws, BritCare, Taste of the Wild, Hill's, Josera, Meowing Heads, Carnilove are available in my country, and I can also order from Zooplus. I'll look into complete diet wet foods and try to give him more of it.
 

cat mom 8

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And after you buy the humidifier and wet food, wet a paper towel and wipe the flakes of dried saliva off the cat
 
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Kat.

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And after you buy the humidifier and wet food, wet a paper towel and wipe the flakes of dried saliva off the cat
I will! Thank you :)
 

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Ok, you aren't going to see large flakes of what looks like dandruff if the cat is simply grooming himself. My cats groom themselves all day long and there isn't a speck of flake on them. If you are seeing large flakes, typically along the back or sides down to the lower back and hip area, that is dandruff. This can occur from *NOT* grooming properly. Reasons cats don't groom properly could range from a health issue (for example cats in kidney failure will have unkempt looking coats) to being overweight and they physically cannot reach there, to arthritis, to many more reasons.

How old is your cat?
 
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Kat.

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Ok, you aren't going to see large flakes of what looks like dandruff if the cat is simply grooming himself. My cats groom themselves all day long and there isn't a speck of flake on them. If you are seeing large flakes, typically along the back or sides down to the lower back and hip area, that is dandruff. This can occur from *NOT* grooming properly. Reasons cats don't groom properly could range from a health issue (for example cats in kidney failure will have unkempt looking coats) to being overweight and they physically cannot reach there, to arthritis, to many more reasons.

How old is your cat?

He's nearly three!

He doesn't seem sick in any other way so I hope it's nothing serious. He didn't eat the supplements I bought (it was in pill form) but I ordered some fish oil - hopefully it helps.
 

jen

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Could also be his diet. What does he eat?

Cats never seem sick. Cats hide anything wrong really well and when you notice they are acting odd or different, the issues are usually far advanced. This is why yearly check ups and routine bloodwork are SO important as cats get older. At 3 though he probably isn't sick, but he should still be grooming properly.
 
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