Cat has dandruff. Any advice?

[minieggfannomore]

One of our (2) cats has dandruff. She is a black, short haired moggy but with a bit of oriental cat in there somewhere.

She eats Iams dried food and Sheba pouches (half a pouch once a day) and gets plenty of fresh water.

She doesn't scratch herself at all and I do try and groom her occasionally (she's hard to pin down!).

We took her to the vet who said the cat was healthy and didn't have a skin problem.

Have any of you had experience of a dandruffy cat? My husband keeps threatening to bathe her in Head and Shoulders.

[girlywhirly]

I have noticed that 'dandruff' seems to coincide with moulting in younger cats, now that the weather is warming up and they are losing their winter fur.

If it really bothers you, you could give a dribble of cod liver oil (from pet stores) on her wet food, this will make her fur really glossy and might help with the flaking. As the vet has given a clean bill of health, DH will just have to put up with it! I hope he was joking about the Head and Shoulders, it could make the cat seriously sick if it was ingested.

[minieggfannomore]

Yes the Head and Shoulders was a joke!

I will try the cod liver oil. Thanks girlywhirly. Does it have to be from a pet store rather than the chemist though?

[floweryblue]

Many, many years ago I think my parents were advised to put a couple of drops of olive oil on our cat's food.

[girlywhirly]

I got mine from a pet shop, apparently it helps condition fur or feathers in pets. It did give directions on the bottle. Not expensive, but it might have been weaker in strength than that intended for humans. Useful for elderly cats, as their skin dries out a bit and their joints benefit too.

[minieggfannomore]

She is not very old (3) but she is very greedy so will eat the oil for sure!

[Alice006]

Hi, my cat gets dandruff on and off, but it soon clears up if I give her tinned tuna in sunflower oil for a few days...