What Causes Dandruff in Cats and How Can You Get Rid Of It?

In the event you discover your cat has flaky pores and skin, it might be dandruff.

A mere bathtub won’t work, although. Particularly if there’s an underlying situation that causes flaky pores and skin. So, what’s cat dandruff, and what’s it not? We’ll find out about it on right now’s weblog.

Cat Dander vs. Cat Dandruff

In reality, cat dandruff is a bit of little bit of a misnomer. “Dandruff” is just a time period referring to flakes on the pores and skin, however it has a variety of causes.

Though seemingly comparable, cat dandruff is totally different from dander. Feline dander is a standard and wholesome shedding of pores and skin cells.

Dander can be regularly mistaken for a perpetrator in triggering an allergic response in folks. Nonetheless, the important irritant is the cat’s saliva, transferred to the pores and skin and hair when cats groom themselves.

What Causes Cat Dandruff?

Dandruff develops for a number of causes. Listed below are some: 

Dehydration. Cats want water—round one ounce per pound of physique weight every day. In case your cat shouldn’t be properly hydrated, it may well set off dandruff within the pores and skin and different pores and skin infections. As an example, an arid surroundings—an overheated house within the winter season—can even create pores and skin dryness.

Grooming Points. In the event you see flakes or hair clumps simply close to the bottom of the tail and the decrease again, your feline may not have the flexibility to get to those areas to groom appropriately. This concern is frequent in overweight cats as a result of they will groom themselves and take away useless pores and skin cells is proscribed.

Absence of fat of their food plan. Cats want a balanced food plan to proceed being wholesome. When you have a kibble-only food plan, they may not get sufficient diet and hydration from their meals. Like omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil can be important to maintain a wholesome pores and skin, so in case your cat’s food plan doesn’t have these essential vitamins, this can be the supply of their dandruff.

Many cats have undiagnosed meals allergic reactions that trigger pores and skin circumstances, akin to dandruff and irritation. In case your cat exhibits indications of a meals allergy, like consisting of scratching, biting at their pores and skin, looseness of the bowels, vomiting, and different abdomen points, name your vet.

Seasonal allergic reactions. Springtime and summer time have an effect on us people, particularly these allergic to plant pollen. Felines additionally take care of plant pollen or seasonal allergic reactions. Sometimes, your kitten will sneeze or cough, have watery eyes and discharge from the nostril. Contact allergic reactions can even injury your cat’s pores and skin. These irritants embody cleaning soap, hair shampoo, material softener, and different chemically based mostly gadgets.

Potential well being issues. Cat dandruff can generally have underlying well being points, like parasites akin to fleas that trigger injury to the wellness of your cat’s pores and skin and layer. These parasites make life uncomfortable on your cat, however you possibly can eliminate them by means of month-to-month preventatives. Verify your cat for parasite signs, and do not wait. Additionally it is vital to notice the distinction between an occasional flaky pores and skin episode from a persistent dry pores and skin. Seek the advice of your vet to get rid of potential well being points and discover the very best therapy.

What are the Indicators of Cat Dandruff?

With its telltale tiny, white flakes, feline dandruff is straightforward to identify in your cat’s hair, furnishings, and cat beds. Felines with dandruff would possibly scratch greater than typical.

Get in contact along with your vet if any of the next accompanies your cat’s half-cracked pores and skin. These signs can counsel an an infection or different well being circumstances needing medical consideration:

• Hair loss
• Itchy pores and skin
• Frequent grooming
• Redness of the pores and skin
• Lethargy or indicators that your cat is feeling unwell

The best way to Get Rid of Cat Dandruff?

As quickly as your feline has a clear invoice of medical well being and there’s no underlying trigger to fret about, what are you able to do to eliminate these flakes? 

• Guarantee your cat will get sufficient moisture of their food plan and is ingesting a lot of water. In case your cat likes working water, contemplate getting a cat water fountain to induce them to drink extra. Introducing moist meals into your cat’s food plan is one other easy means to extend hydration and enhance their pores and skin situation.
• Feed your feline a wonderful food plan, and add a scoop of moist meals to the combo in the event that they solely eat dry meals.
• Have your cat professionally groomed as soon as each few months and bathe them biweekly utilizing a hair particular shampoo that’s made for cats with dry pores and skin.
• Get an acceptable grooming brush and regularly comb your feline’s hair. This can assist to disperse pure pores and skin oils all through your feline’s coat.
• Preserve them on a month-to-month flea in addition to tick treatment.
• Use a humidifier so as to add dampness to the air.
• Change to cat-friendly cleaners and detergents that use plant-based, innocent merchandise
• Assist your cat preserve a wholesome weight. A cat’s complete wellness impacts their pores and skin, and cats can groom themselves successfully after they’re in form.

More often than not, feline dandruff is a benign drawback for a cat. Fortuitously, different pets do not choose them for flaky pores and skin and their coat well being, so in case your vet provides your cat a clear invoice of well being, dandruff shouldn’t be one thing that it is best to fear lots about.