Our family cat (Freddie) has what i can only describe as dandruff (small white flakes) running through his fur. Apart from this he seems well.
I have been combing his fur and whilst Freddie likes this a lot it doesn't help the problem.
Have any of you experienced something similar with one of your pets?
Before I take him to the vet and incur a small fortune in bills are there any recommendations for something I can buy from the pet shop to get rid of these flakes and perhaps any suggestions as to why he might have this in the first place and what I can do to stop it coming back?
I have checked back on a previous thread and apart from regular brushing, oil supplements and shaving wondered if anyone had further advice.
Sounds to me like Freddies skin is needing oil? The sort of oil found in fish.
Steam him some fresh fish, and see how moggy he goes about eating it - if that is his problem.
You could try a little sunflower or Olive oil (I can`t recall which of those oils is for cats, one is for dogs, but some enlightened soul here could possibly point us to the true one?) ..... anyway, that oil sprinkled on some mince meat, about a teaspoonful.
Cats do need some oil in their diet, I was told that they need it, so always gave it to my cat, and she had a beautiful trouble free coat, but then again she ate a lot of fish as well, she loved tinned tuna/pilchards mixed with wholewheat bread.
Is Freddy from Europe? Or has he travelled here from another country? Maybe its the climate that is drying his skin?
Certainly try him with a bit of cooked fish. Just give a piece, covered with a kitchen towel, about 30-40 seconds in the microwave and then break it into small pieces for him to eat. Our cat loved to have fish this way and used to meow and meow at me while I was breaking it up. She wanted it NOW!
So he’s a talker too is he. Our cat always talked, but then I was always talking to her too. You should have heard her language when I picked her up from Geneva airport after she flew in from the UK. She had so much to tell me about the nasty, strange place she’d stayed in for a week before the flight and then she had to put up with a horrible, noisy airplane thing. One and a half hours non-stop. I thought my ears would never recover!
My vet (in the UK) said it was a combination of central heating and also the fact that she has a tendency to be slightly overweight.
I comb her fur regularly. It doesn't make the dandruff go away, but it does help prevent the more serious problem of her fur 'clumping' together in areas she cannot reach due to her roundness (like her spine). It once got really, really clumpy, and she had to be partially shaved...
Also, if I notice the dandruff and her fur getting a bit sticky, I cut down on her food intake. Just a bit.
... if you are looking for oil for your cat (rich with omega 3) than I can recommend the Salmon oil (from grizzly Pet products). I used to give it to my cat from time to time and I give it also to my dog.
Have you tried going to the nearby pet supply store (eg Qualipet, Fresnapf) to see if there is a therapeutic supplement you can give Freddie? Like many here have said, it could be dietary (perhaps you have to mix the 'light' dry food with dry food for 'sensitive skin'?- so buy a small bag of each and mix them in a bin?), or perhaps there could be a topical homeopathic that you could apply by brushing. Our cats had hairballs, and the clerk at Qualipet gave me a paste that I feed them from time to time and it has cured the problem better than I could have imagined.