Kitty dandruff?

I groomed Scouty last night and noticed her fur is full of tiny white
specks that look like little flakes of skin... do cats get dandruff?
And if so, what do we do about it? I think that might be why she likes
being petted and groomed so much - she probably itches!

sriddles...

Cherokee got dandruffy, but only on his back and toward his tail once
he got older. The problem was, the remedies I heard about all involved
bathing, and he HATED baths worse than the probably hated the flakes.
He didn't scratch though; does Scouty scratch a lot?
If it's not scabby or severe, it's probably just dry skin and not
allergies. Cheryl & Karen both know a lot about skin problems in cats;
maybe they'll chime in here.

Karen AKA Kajikit...

No she doesn't scratch at all that I've noticed. I only noticed it
because I was grooming her and her fur was full of tiny little white
flecks, especially towards her tail. I wondered if maybe the
Indoor-hairballcontrol-lite kibble we've been feeding them doesn't
agree with her?

sriddles...

Could be. That makes sense to me, though I'm not an expert by far. But
I *do* know that diet directly affects the coat; you can see it happen.
Lite kibble is probably drier and with less fat than regular food;
that's what makes it lower calorie. Fat & moisture is what keeps their
coats shiny. I think Karen had a good suggestion re: canned food. It
wouldn't hurt to try it for a while and see what happens.

Karen AKA Kajikit...

The funny thing is, they've been GETTING canned food at least once a
day - Tessie eats the lion's share (because it's primarily for her and
she gets first go at the dish) then I put it down on the floor when
she's done and let Scouty and Silver finish it off. Scouty likes the
canned food and she makes sure she gets some too, though probably not
a lot given how fussy she is and how GREEDY her sissifur is!

Karen...

SUgar had dandruff until I started making the majority of her food wet.
Pearl's dandruff is a sure sign her blood sugar is up. You should add
some canned food in. Do 50/50 and see if there is a difference. Going
wet would also help the girls slim down, if you could bring yourself to
go 100 percent wet and also lower their chances of developing diabetes
(sorry guys, but this is just plain true with cats. I can't tell you
the number of newly diagnosed cats I've seen go off insulin in days or
weeks switching to canned now.)

mlabofski...

Wow, I'd never heard that before. Otis has always been on wet food, as
he can't eat biscuits because he doesn't drink enough with them and got
stones, he's still diabetic though.

jmcquown...

Yep, Persia has dandruff. Around the base of her tail. And that's why she
does 'elevator butt' when scritched and brushed in that location.