weird white dandruff-like things when I scratch him for a long time?

[rad65]

Whenever I pet and scratch my tuxedo cat a lot, like 20 minutes at a time, I always end up seeing what looks like dandruff in his black fur. Is this his saliva that I am frothing up by petting him so vigorously? He really likes it when I dig in deep while scratching him, and I feel like Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid, waxing on and off, when I pet him because he likes to be pet at turbo speed. TONS of loose fur gets dislodged every time. He's a DSH and I end up pulling a couple handfuls of fur off him on the more ridiculous days. I don't even bother brushing him anymore, as this takes the place of that. At first I thought it was saliva since it's not there right away but gets more obvious the longer I pet him, but I keep finding a lot of it when I pet him, so I thought I would ask and see if anyone else has come across this. I only have the camera on my phone and it's extremely hit-and-miss with his black fur, so I can't really show you exactly what it looks like.

 

[catwoman707]

It's cat dander. Let me guess, mainly along his back?

Caused by lack of grooming there since he can't reach so good and dry skin.

That's what you're seeing

 

[catsitter01]

It does sound like dander and with the weather changes, the air is dry and so is his skin. You might want to try using cat wipes, which will remove dander and any dirt and keep his fur shiney. Adding some oil or fats to his diet could help. I give a little mayo or butter to my cats on the end of my finger and they don't have dander flakes. A furminator will help a lot in getting rid of his winter coat that is shedding as well. Careful though, my DSH orange tabby loved my combing so hard that I didn't notice his fur was take off down to the skin. He never complained and just kept pushing me to keep combing. It did grow back but I was worried a bit at first.

 

[rad65]

It's cat dander. Let me guess, mainly along his back?

Caused by lack of grooming there since he can't reach so good and dry skin.

That's what you're seeing

Yes! Almost all of it is within an inch of his spine. Awesome, thanks. Now I know specifically what my dad and sister are allergic to 

. I never could figure out what dander was when I was a kid, and I never bothered to look it up once the internet became a thing.

It does sound like dander and with the weather changes, the air is dry and so is his skin. You might want to try using cat wipes, which will remove dander and any dirt and keep his fur shiney. Adding some oil or fats to his diet could help. I give a little mayo or butter to my cats on the end of my finger and they don't have dander flakes. A furminator will help a lot in getting rid of his winter coat that is shedding as well. Careful though, my DSH orange tabby loved my combing so hard that I didn't notice his fur was take off down to the skin. He never complained and just kept pushing me to keep combing. It did grow back but I was worried a bit at first.

I will have to find some cat wipes; they sound like they would help immensely.  I go in spurts of giving my cats butter; I'll have to start doing that again. I do use a furminator on him about once a week, but no real combing other than that. He doesn't really like brushes. I hate to admit it, but his fur gets a little less attention than my somehow-has-more-fur-than-10-longhaired-cats-combined DSH tabby cat who should have gone bald 100 times over with how much fur he excretes (a surprisingly apt word considering the volume of fur we're talking).

 

[catwoman707]

Pick up the cat wipes at a pet supply store, they are better.

Wipe over and over, going backwards, sideways so you're wiping his skin a good amt.

Once the dander is history if you continue to use a wipe this way weekly the problem will be gone They have moisturizers to treat his skin.