My lovely 6 year old black cat has suddenly developed what looks like dandruff. She has a lovely silky coat but when I stroke her, her fur seems to contain lots of tiny skin particles, like dandruff (which show in her black coat). Has anyone else experienced this with their cat and, if so, what is the best thing to do please?

Head & shoulders shampoo`?

he he - I very nearly put that in my OP, ie, please don't suggest that ... too late!!!

This might help Nicola...

Hope your cat gets better...

This cat preferred the washing machine, he had dandruff BTW.

Regular brushing plus adding oil to your cat's food should take care of this. Get yourself a double-sided brush like this one:



Start with the spiky side -- this will loosen the dead skin cells. Our cats absolutely adore it. Finish with the normal brush, to smooth the coat. Do this a couple of times a week and it should stimulate the skin and remove enough dead skin that the dandruff is significantly reduced.

You can also try treating the dandruff through diet, with a supplement like this:

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/c...at_supplements

Thanks TLD. Funny thing is I do give her tuna or salmon rich food, and she is an indoor cat, so it is unlikely that she has fleas (and I haven't seen any sign of them). I will take her to the vet to rule out diabetes.

Hi Nicola,

My dear Toutoune had this problem since ever. And it always been only on her back close to her tail. In her case, it was something like eczema. Long time ago, when I found out about it, I realised she had pain there when I stroked her. So long story short, it is because of this that I began to shave her.

It helped her a lot and she really enjoyed it. Now that she is so old, I don't want to do it anymore and the problem is gone...

At least one problem less....

I hope you'll find a solution.

Thanks Nil. She doesn't seem to suffer any pain when I stroke her so I am hoping that I won't have to shave her as I don't think that she would enjoy it! I am glad to hear that Toutone is around - I know that she is very old but I am sure that she is being pampered

I've read that dry food and dryness in the air may cause dandruff in cats. You might want to try fish oil supplements: cats love them.

Pictures, please!

My cats started getting dry flakes in their fur a couple of years ago. I find that with brushing their coats regularly the problem goes away.

You old pervert!!!

My kitty is exactly the same. He's black and white and the dandruff really shows.
He does enjoy water so pet shampoo has really helped keep it in control.

I'll join in on thanking on all the valuable tips here.

Try rubbing olive oil into the affected area for immediate relief, as advised by a vet once. Other suggestions per other members also good.

One of my mother's cats had problems with dandruff along his spine, especially down near the base of his tail. The problem for him was that he was getting fat and couldn't turn around to wash himself well - and he is a Maine Coon, so it took a bit for him to wash that long fur.

At the time, my mother had two cats, now she only has one (the other ran away when they were spending time with one of my sisters) and so there is less food around, I think he's a bit slimmer. Mom also got a brush similar to the one VI pictured and started giving him more regular brushings, I think the problem is at least decreased if not gone.

Tabitha has this from time to time. I was told that it was due to central heating... and yes, it was dandruff. Never heard of the oily foods solutions... I just brush her regularly.

She also had (when she was fat - well fatter than she is now) problems with washing her back, which resulted in matted fur. So the vet had to shave the offending areas...

I said my cat, not my pussy!

Totally!

You can all laugh, that was exactly my cat.... but in 3 colors. White, caramel and dark brown and with a smile on her face. I have some pictures but they are in the other computer and I am not going to search for them now. She loved to be shaved and she would always sit patiently until I was done. She really loved the feeling of our hands on her very short hair.

Anyway, yes, my cat was also fat back then and had trouble to clean her back properly why the skin problems coming from it. She is now having the opposite problem of being super skinny and not dandruff....

Perhaps this is linked to the seasonal change in hairs?

My dog tends to have dandruff in autumn and spring, when her coat is adapting to the weather change.