What is wrong with her fur?

[rosewater09]

I have a long haired calico, and recently she has developed quite a lot of matted fur, and I am wondering what I should do to resolve the issue. I brush her every day, she is fed a healthy (and expensive) holistic cat food recommended by our vet (she eats better than we do and rightly so!) so it isn't an issue with her food. I have cut off some of the bigger matted bits and have gently brushed through the smaller ones to try to fix the problem but for the past three days, every morning when I wake up and check on her she has more matted fur!

Overall she seems very happy, she is eating and drinking a healthy amount, purring, playing with toys and using her litter tray, so I don't think this is an overall health issue, but I have noticed over the past few months that she has dandruff (although I brought it up with our vet and she didn't seem concerned).

My mum was visiting today, and I mentioned the issue to her, and she let me know that when I was abroad last year for a couple of weeks, and she had our kitty that the same issue occurred but that within a few days our kitty seemed to resolve the issue herself and the matted fur disappeared. I am concerned that the matted bits are causing discomfort by pulling on her skin and I am wondering if anyone has recommendations for how to solve this?

Is she grooming herself as usual? Are her teeth ok?

Get a professional to give her a going over every few months. That's what I do with my long haired Persians. In the meantime ask the vet nurses to clip it off. Small matts I used to wait a few days till
The hair was a bit longer and brush them out.

What food is it? Does it contain cereals?

LEM, she is eating well and hasn't been complaining so I don't think it is an issue with teeth but I will take a look. What should I be looking for to know if there is an issue with her teeth? As for grooming, I saw her cleaning her paws and face the other day, but she is either a poor groomer or grooms herself when we are asleep because I rarely see her doing it (but this has always been the case).

Toddler: Do you take your cats to a groomer? I think our little girl would be a bit distressed by going out (she is an indoor kitty who is terrified of the outside).

demented, here is the ingredients list of her food. Happy to change it if there are issues.

White Fish, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Pea Protein, Whole Brown Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Potato Protein, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Flaxseed, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Oat Fiber, Natural Flavor, Whole Grain Oatmeal, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid (preservatives), Taurine, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Niacin Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), D-Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract

One of mine got a lot of mats when she had a thyroid problem. I'd have her checked for that at the vets and mine sells a special shampoo for cat dander which has essential oils in. This is very good for dandruff and better than shampoos sold at pet shops.

I'd have her, checked for thryroid, shaved for mats and bathed.

Rudgie, I will ask my vet, thank you. Are there other signs of a thyroid issue? She had a cold about 3 or 4 months ago, and we ended up getting a full lot of blood work done then so perhaps the thyroid issue would have been raised then?

Cats don't really need rice, oatmeal, oat fibre, etc. Mine eat food that is 70-90% meat with no cereals/grains (thrive, encore, purizon). Does she have wet food too as that's a good way of getting fluids in if they don't drink much?

Ask the vet Rosewater if she was tested before, if she was you shouldn't need her to be tested for it now. My cat went a bit thinner and was drinking more and eating for England.

Demented: What brand do you suggest? I am happy to switch her food as long as she is happy with the change. She doesn't like wet food, and won't eat it, and she is very particular and doesn't do well with change.

The food we have her on now was recommended by her vet, but if there is something better out there, then I am happy to start slowly adding to her current food to see if she is keen to change.

Thank you, Rudgie, I will call our vet on Monday.

OP, how old is she? Even though it's a problem she's had before, I'd want to rule out various health conditions, which is simple with a vet check and blood test. Matted fur can occur with hyperthryoidism, kidney disease and arthritis as they can easily reach to clean themselves. My vet used to cut my girls mat out as part of a checkup when she had hyperthyroidism, so might be worth asking the vet to do that anyway. Your vet can also examine teeth. Blood tests don't always cover hyperthyroidism, and even if the test did, things can easily change in a month or so.

Personally, I'd only look at changing diet when medical issues have been ruled out.

Ifonly: Thank you, kidney disease was ruled out a couple months ago when she had a cold and the vet told us that she is extremely healthy. She just turned 11. I will call about the hyperthyroidism though and get her in for a general check-up.