Older Male Cat with Flaky Skin/Dandruff

[ThornyRidge]

Is there anything that can be added/supplemented to help him.. his skin does not feel dry per se.. and he is got short thick hair that is still very soft but he has tons of white flakes throughout his hair when you brush him/pet him. This cat has been through the wringer with urinary issues and has had surgery in the past to remove stones.. needless to say diet has posed somewhat of an issue.. he became anemic at one time and I almost lost him but nursed him back to health and now despite everything he is a very lively 12 year old male indoor very spoiled cat!!! His diet now mainly consists of various high end moist/canned food including innova, b.f.f., wellness, etc and a dry mixture of iams kitten food (small %) Iams healthy naturals chicken and switching mostly over to blue buffalo chicken and brown rice organics. He is also spoiled enough to get various human foods too.. I know with my goats I throw in black oil sunflower seeds to help with skin and coat.. should I add some olive oil or something similar to his food.. i have some over the counter paste like cat vitamins but my cats hate those things and usually end up flipping the glob of goo somewhere off their paw that I find much later after it has dried to the wall....

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Try derm caps liquid. You squirt it right on the food. Worked wonders for my min pin. Also, a note about the kitten food. Kitten food has lots of extra protein and fats, which caused older cats kidneys to work overtime, causing kidney failure.

 

[Wifezilla]

Sounds like you are moving in the right direction with the food. It MAY get better after all corn and soy are out of the diet, but it is no guarantee. I feed grain-free (taste of the wild and wet grain-free) and my oldest cat is still flaky

 

[chicks4kids]

How about trying the oil from a can of tuna...back when we bought tuna in oil (

) we would always give the cats the oil and we never had any problems with dry, flaky skin.

 

[ThornyRidge]

tuna oil.. since I don't eat tuna he may have to get the whole can.. that stuff makes me about gag!!! anyway in reference to the high protein.. I have seen so much controversey on this and quite honestly at this time he is doing better on higher protein than the filler crap made in that special formulated vet diets for urinary issues.. that stuff made him soooo sick.. if he is acting ok and enjoying why not let him live it up instead of suffering to supposedly be healthy.. I am just looking for easy supplements for flakes...thanks to all for input so far...

 

[rooster0209]

Vit E is good, just break the caps open and poor over food. Derma caps/vit e was vet recommended for my doxie who had dandruff

 

[Wifezilla]

The whole "too much protein causes kidney issues" is a total myth. If the kidneys are already healthy, you can't possibly give you cat enough protein to cause problems with the kidneys.

Science has debunked this for people also but you still read about high protein being a problem in magazines and newspapers all the time.

 

[Mrs. Green Thumbs]

I worked at a local vet hospital and the vet taught me some cool tricks for simple fixes like this. Take a trip to wal mart and pick yourself up a bottle of fish oil pills. Poke a hole with a needle in the end and squirt it over the kitty's food. It's fantastic for the hair and skin. And you kitty will LOVE it. My dog has dry flaky (almost like dandruff) skin as is typical for his breed (chihuahua) and literally I squirt it into his mouth and he laps it up like candy!

 

[Mak]

Cod Liver Oil, if you can stand the smell! It's usually pretty cheap and available at a lot of grocery stores. I dribble a bit on the cats' and dog's food, and it keeps their skin and coats beautiful.