My Cat has serious dry skin.....Any Ideas

[Guest guest]

I think you're not supposed to wash your cat. From what I understand, that

can make skin conditions worse.

 

My cat has bare patches on his thigh where his fur has fallen out, and each

time I brush him I get about four brushfuls of fur. But otherwise he looks

very healthy and I've just switched his diet to a human grade cat food with

all natural ingredients.

 

ILANA xoxo

 

doodle bug wrote:

What kind of diet is your cat eating?

Becky/Doodles

WinterFury <dancing_wolf3 wrote:

Hello

First let me say I enjoy reading the posts every day and learn quite

a bit, I don't post all that much because I do not know much in this field

but trying to learn. Anyhow my cat has very dry skin and is losing fur in

some areas from scratching. He also has some what looks like scabs, I figure

from scratching. A friend told me to use a oatmeal/aloe shampoo. Until

I can get him to the vet next month is there anything else I can do to ease

his suffering.

Dancing Wolf

 

 

 

 

Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day

 

Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following:

1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire.

2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy.

 

3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and

to

prescribe for your own health.

We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long

as

they behave themselves.

Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person

 

following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk.

It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from

list members, you are agreeing to

be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members

free of any liability.

 

Dr. Ian Shillington

Doctor of Naturopathy

Dr.IanShillington

 

 

[Guest guest]

Ilana,

What is different around your household??? Could it be stress? Or possibly parasites, ringworm? Here is something I found don't know that it will help or not?

Conditions that cause the hair to actually fall out, such as hormonal imbalances, are uncommon. Since some cats are secretive about their excessive grooming habits, your veterinarian may need to examine a few of the affected hairs under the microscope to see if they have been broken off from this self-grooming practice. Hair loss due to overgrooming is one of the most common problems seen in feline patients. Cats usually do this for one of two reasons. They may feel itchy, causing them to lick and break off their hair in those areas they cannot reach to scratch with their back legs. A few cats will overgroom as a nervous habit similar to people chewing their fingernails. It is sometimes difficult to determine which is the case in some patients. External parasites, especially fleas, are a common cause of overgrooming in the cat. Keeping your cat indoors is useful but does not completely protect him from flea infestation because fleas may enter your home on clothing and shoes. The fact that your other cat is unaffected does not eliminate external parasites as the culprit since some cats react more dramatically to flea allergy than others. Ringworm, a fungal infection, can also cause itching and hair loss. Your veterinarian may need to perform special tests to determine your cat's specific problem. Allergies that cause itching are very common reasons for self-induced hair loss. Cats can become allergic to their food (even foods they have eaten for years) and to inhaled pollens, dust, molds, etc. in the air. A special hypoallergenic diet trial may be necessary to determine if food is the offender. Allergic skin testing, similar to that done in people, may also be necessary to ascertain the presence of allergies induced by various inhaled substances. Unusually difficult or complicated cases may prompt your veterinarian to refer you to a board certified veterinary dermatologist for more specialized testing if initial tests and treatments are inconclusive.

 

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day

[Guest guest]

Oh my lord. THanks Suzi. I'm hoping that since we switched his food to a

better kind he'll clear up. He's an obsessive compulsive cat so I think he's

doing it to himself. I'm spending more time brushing him now as that really

seems to relax him (and it prevents all that extra hair from being ingested!).

Otherwise he's got a gorgeous, glossy coat with thick hairs. He always grooms

compulsively. You pet him and he has to lick the spot where you pet him.

Maybe he need St-John's Wort!

 

I'm keeping an eye on the patch. It hasn't gotten any bigger in the last

few weeks but then again, it hasn't gotten any worse. If it keeps up or gets

worse I'll bring him to the vet ($50 right there...) to have that fur examined.

There's nothing underneath from what I can see and he seems to like ti when

I examine that patch and rub it, so I don't think it irritates him.

 

I'll hold onto your post, though, just in case it turns out to be more than

just a bit of overzealous grooming.

 

Thanks!

 

ILANA xoxo

 

Suzanne Nottmeier wrote:

Ilana,

What is different around your household??? Could it be stress? Or possibly

parasites, ringworm?

Here is something I found don't know that it will help or not?

Conditions that cause the hair to actually fall out, such as hormonal

imbalances, are uncommon. Since some cats are secretive about their excessive

grooming habits, your veterinarian may need to examine a few of the affected

hairs under the microscope to see if they have been broken off from this

self-grooming practice.

Hair loss due to overgrooming is one of the most common problems seen

in feline patients. Cats usually do this for one of two reasons. They may

feel itchy, causing them to lick and break off their hair in those areas

they cannot reach to scratch with their back legs. A few cats will overgroom

as a nervous habit similar to people chewing their fingernails. It is sometimes

difficult to determine which is the case in some patients.

External parasites, especially fleas, are a common cause of overgrooming

in the cat. Keeping your cat indoors is useful but does not completely protect

him from flea infestation because fleas may enter your home on clothing and

shoes. The fact that your other cat is unaffected does not eliminate external

parasites as the culprit since some cats react more dramatically to flea

allergy than others. Ringworm, a fungal infection, can also cause itching

and hair loss.

Your veterinarian may need to perform special tests to determine your

cat's specific problem. Allergies that cause itching are very common reasons

for self-induced hair loss. Cats can become allergic to their food (even

foods they have eaten for years) and to inhaled pollens, dust, molds, etc.

in the air. A special hypoallergenic diet trial may be necessary to determine

if food is the offender.

Allergic skin testing, similar to that done in people, may also be necessary

to ascertain the presence of allergies induced by various inhaled substances.

Unusually difficult or complicated cases may prompt your veterinarian to

refer you to a board certified veterinary dermatologist for more specialized

testing if initial tests and treatments are inconclusive.

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day

 

Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following:

1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire.

2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural

remedy.

3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and

to

prescribe for your own health.

We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long

as

they behave themselves.

Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person

 

following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk.

It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from

list members, you are agreeing to

be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members

free of any liability.

 

Dr. Ian Shillington

Doctor of Naturopathy

Dr.IanShillington

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dancing Wolf, have the vet do a skin scrape test. It is a little sample of skin that he/she can look at under the microscope. The reason here is it could be anything from diet to parasites. Meanwhile, what does he eat?

 

Janet

 

-

WinterFury

herbal_remedies

Tuesday, February 18, 2003 6:31 AM

[herbal remedies] My Cat has serious dry skin.....Any Ideas

 

Hello

First let me say I enjoy reading the posts every day and learn quite a bit, I don't post all that much because I do not know much in this field but trying to learn. Anyhow my cat has very dry skin and is losing fur in some areas from scratching. He also has some what looks like scabs, I figure from scratching. A friend told me to use a oatmeal/aloe shampoo. Until I can get him to the vet next month is there anything else I can do to ease his suffering.

Dancing Wolf

 

 

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

[Guest guest]

Hi Dancing Wolf

 

What diet do you have your cat on? Really, as we look after

ourselves so we should treat our animals and feed them a species

appropriate diet. In the case of cats this means a high meat diet.

Being obligate carnivores they will get most of their needed

nutrients from meat.

 

If your cat is on a dry food, you need to stop feeding him that

immediately. Cats get 70% of their moisture intake from their food,

ie blood etc, and are therefore not wired to drink copious amounts of

water, which is exactly what they need to do if they're on dry food

otherwise they simply dehydrate from within.

 

The low grade protein in commercial cat food puts a great deal of

strain on all the internal organs, and due to it being dead, dead,

dead they receive very little nutrition from it at all and have to

work very hard indeed to break that food down in order to digest and

eliminate it.

 

Commercial pet food is normally loaded with preservatives and other

chemicals which causes problems for the liver and kidney, and of

course therefore the skin. The biggest ingredient in dry food is

empty grains or corn by products, not exactly what they'd live on if

they had a choice. Honestly, back in the old days when I was feeding

that junk, my cat threw up in the car (he gets car sick poor love)

and it smelt EXACTLY like weetabix!!!

 

One of the telling tests of good food vs garbage is the litter box

test. If you can smell it, it's garbage. Okay, this will sound

gross but I can put one of my cat's stool right up to my nose and not

smell a thing. Garbage in garbage out, just like us.

 

If you are feeding a wet commercial food, then that's slightly better

than dry, but still not the best. It's still dead, and the rubbish

ingredients are still there.

 

You need to add salmon oil and vitamin e to your cat's food right

away. Salmon oil or deep water fish oil (obviously get one that is

screened and clear of all heavy metals and toxins) is the best source

of omega 3 fatty acids which are excellent for skin. Cats would

normally get this from the eyes and brains of their prey - which is

why you often see the top half of a mouse eaten and the other left

for us Flax seed oil is often sited as as good source of omega 3,

but it is a short chain fatty acid and harder to assimilate as the

body needs to convert it to long chain. Equally, being obligate

carnivores, cats need to get most of their vitamin and mineral

requirements from animal products and this is the same for omega 3.

For instance, cats cannot convert beta carotene to vitamin a, it

needs to be pre-formed in the form of liver.

 

Vitamin e, as we all know is excellent for skin and you need to get

that into your cat straight away too. Give two capsules of both fish

oil and vit e once a week (in fact you could probably do more at the

moment, but this is a good amount) do each capsule separately in one

meal and mix in well, as otherwise your cat will probably refuse to

eat it.

 

If you want any advice on species appropriate cat diets, or some more

info/urls etc, let me know. I've been feeding my two cats this way

for over two years.

 

Lastly, your cat might also be bored. I assume he's indoor only?

Does he have a playmate? Could you get him one? Do you play often

with him, and provide enough toys? Quite often skin problems come

through stress and boredom is also a stress factor.

 

Take care

Becky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

herbal remedies , WinterFury

<dancing_wolf3> wrote:

>

> Hello

>

> First let me say I enjoy reading the posts every day and learn

quite a bit, I don't post all that much because I do not know much in

this field but trying to learn. Anyhow my cat has very dry skin and

is losing fur in some areas from scratching. He also has some what

looks like scabs, I figure from scratching. A friend told me to use

a oatmeal/aloe shampoo. Until I can get him to the vet next month is

there anything else I can do to ease his suffering.

>

> Dancing Wolf

>

>

>

>

>

> Send Flowers for Valentine's Day

[Guest guest]

Have you moved recently??? Could be stress.

Suzi

WinterFury <dancing_wolf3 wrote:

 

I only feed him special diet can food because he has a digestive tract problem, also I should have mention I just moved to Florida and he did not have this problem in New Jersey can this be a allergy. But I will try your ideas thank you for the advice, I will let you all know if there is any improvement. "becklesfield <becklesfield" <becklesfield wrote: Hi Dancing WolfWhat diet do you have your cat on? Really, as we look after ourselves so we should treat our animals and feed them a species appropriate diet. In the case of cats this means a high meat diet. Being obligate carnivores they will get most of their needed nutrients from meat. If your cat is on a dry food, you need to stop feeding him that immediately. Cats get 70% of their moisture intake from their food, ie blood etc, and are therefore not wired to drink copious amounts of water, which is exactly what they need to do if they're on dry food otherwise they simply dehydrate from within. The low grade protein in commercial cat food puts a great deal of strain on all the internal organs, and due to it being dead, dead, dead they receive very little nutrition from it at all and have to work very hard indeed to break that food down in order to digest and eliminate it. Commercial pet food is normally loaded with preservatives and other chemicals which causes problems for the liver and kidney, and of course therefore the skin. The biggest ingredient in dry food is empty grains or corn by products, not exactly what they'd live on if they had a choice. Honestly, back in the old days when I was feeding that junk, my cat threw up in the car (he gets car sick poor love) and it smelt EXACTLY like weetabix!!!One of the telling tests of good food vs garbage is the litter box test. If you can smell it, it's garbage. Okay, this will sound gross but I can put one of my cat's stool right up to my nose and not smell a thing. Garbage in garbage out, just like us. If you are feeding a wet commercial food, then that's slightly better than dry, but still not the best. It's still dead, and the rubbish ingredients are still there.You need to add salmon oil and vitamin e to your cat's food right away. Salmon oil or deep water fish oil (obviously get one that is screened and clear of all heavy metals and toxins) is the best source of omega 3 fatty acids which are excellent for skin. Cats would normally get this from the eyes and brains of their prey - which is why you often see the top half of a mouse eaten and the other left for us Flax seed oil is often sited as as good source of omega 3, but it is a short chain fatty acid and harder to assimilate as the body needs to convert it to long chain. Equally, being obligate carnivores, cats need to get most of their vitamin and mineral requirements from animal products and this is the same for omega 3. For instance, cats cannot convert beta carotene to vitamin a, it needs to be pre-formed in the form of liver. Vitamin e, as we all know is excellent for skin and you need to get that into your cat straight away too. Give two capsules of both fish oil and vit e once a week (in fact you could probably do more at the moment, but this is a good amount) do each capsule separately in one meal and mix in well, as otherwise your cat will probably refuse to eat it. If you want any advice on species appropriate cat diets, or some more info/urls etc, let me know. I've been feeding my two cats this way for over two years. Lastly, your cat might also be bored. I assume he's indoor only? Does he have a playmate? Could you get him one? Do you play often with him, and provide enough toys? Quite often skin problems come through stress and boredom is also a stress factor.Take careBeckyherbal remedies , WinterFury <dancing_wolf3> wrote:> > Hello> > First let me say I enjoy reading the posts every day and learn quite a bit, I don't post all that much because I do not know much in this field but trying to learn. Anyhow my cat has very dry skin and is losing fur in some areas from scratching. He also has some what looks like scabs, I figure from scratching. A friend told me to use a oatmeal/aloe shampoo. Until I can get him to the vet next month is there anything else I can do to ease his suffering.> > Dancing Wolf> > > > > > Send Flowers for Valentine's DayFederal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

[Guest guest]

Well shoot there's your answer --- all those baths are drying the skin out....

Suzi

 

WinterFury <dancing_wolf3 wrote:

 

Come to think of it since moving to Florida he has gotten more fleas than he ever had, but we give him a flea bath once a week. Lynne Giles <katlady53 wrote:

Dancing Wolf

I have dealt with that before and usually , in my case with my cats that is, may not be the same with yours, it was a food allergy or flea allergy.

The group as a whole might have a good herbal remedy to fit what is wrong. In fact I would be interested in finding out any herbal remedy(especially if it is a flea allergy in mine, that is) to erradicate "the problem".

HTH

Lynne

 

-

WinterFury

herbal_remedies

Tuesday, February 18, 2003 9:31 AM

[herbal remedies] My Cat has serious dry skin.....Any Ideas

 

Hello

First let me say I enjoy reading the posts every day and learn quite a bit, I don't post all that much because I do not know much in this field but trying to learn. Anyhow my cat has very dry skin and is losing fur in some areas from scratching. He also has some what looks like scabs, I figure from scratching. A friend told me to use a oatmeal/aloe shampoo. Until I can get him to the vet next month is there anything else I can do to ease his suffering.

Dancing Wolf

 

 

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

[Guest guest]

In that case I have it. I have a few bookmarked but the one that is working is http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet.shtml

an FAQ page geared towards dogs, but it could be helpful- http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

An intresing article on the pet food industry- http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=79

Becky

 

Lynne Giles <katlady53 wrote:

 

Vecku

it is called the same thing for cats too. Right off hand I don't have a web addy to post but a google search should be of help

Lynne

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day

[Guest guest]

Lynne, the fleas are just easier to see on light colored animals. Get some organic peppermint essential oil and put a few drops on each of a handful of cottonballs. Place the cottonballs all over your house (under the couch, in the corners, closets, etc.) Fleas and other pests hate this stuff and the pets will not mess with it either. Get a spray bottle and fill with distilled water. Put 5 drops peppermint, 5 drops tea tree, and 10 drops lavender essential oil in and shake. You can use this as a spritzer on the pets, furniture, carpet, etc. Be aware that fleas will start biting you and your hubby more if they don't get their feeding on the pets, so spritz yourself too LOL! Garlic in everyone's diet is a good deterrent as well.

 

Janet

 

-

Lynne Giles

herbal remedies

Wednesday, February 19, 2003 7:16 AM

Re: [herbal remedies] My Cat has serious dry skin.....Any Ideas

 

Hi again

I do know that if the "pet" is of a light color, the fleas will gravitate to that pet. I have several white Maine Coons and good grief, the fleas are attracted to them. Hubby has a lite colored shitzue=maltese mix and of course who gets loaded<have to give him another bath and flea spray him today. I have 2 that have food allergies to fish products so hey, what can I say.

Lynne

ps it doesn't help that this house is built on sand type soil with alot of clay soil that is so prevelaht here in tn

 

 

-

WinterFury

herbal remedies

Wednesday, February 19, 2003 9:13 AM

Re: [herbal remedies] My Cat has serious dry skin.....Any Ideas

 

Come to think of it since moving to Florida he has gotten more fleas than he ever had, but we give him a flea bath once a week. Lynne Giles <katlady53 wrote:

Dancing Wolf

I have dealt with that before and usually , in my case with my cats that is, may not be the same with yours, it was a food allergy or flea allergy.

The group as a whole might have a good herbal remedy to fit what is wrong. In fact I would be interested in finding out any herbal remedy(especially if it is a flea allergy in mine, that is) to erradicate "the problem".

HTH

Lynne

 

-

WinterFury

herbal_remedies

Tuesday, February 18, 2003 9:31 AM

[herbal remedies] My Cat has serious dry skin.....Any Ideas

 

Hello

First let me say I enjoy reading the posts every day and learn quite a bit, I don't post all that much because I do not know much in this field but trying to learn. Anyhow my cat has very dry skin and is losing fur in some areas from scratching. He also has some what looks like scabs, I figure from scratching. A friend told me to use a oatmeal/aloe shampoo. Until I can get him to the vet next month is there anything else I can do to ease his suffering.

Dancing Wolf

 

 

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day Federal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington