If your cat has a lot of loose dead skin cell flakes caught in his fur, you may be dealing with cat dandruff. Its not unusual for dogs and cats to experience a bit of dry skin during their lifetime, but its important to identify the underlying cause of the problem. Common causes include allergies, diabetes, poor diet, fur mites, and even sun burn. Here's some tips on identifying the root cause of cat dandruff and how to deal with the problem for good.Dandruff is loose dead skin cells from the outer layer of your cat's skin usually visible in his fur. He may even scratch himself bloody resulting in missing patches of fur. The most common causes of cat dandruff are:
Feline diabetes;
Fungal infection;
Environmental allergy;
Food allergy;
Poor diet;
Parasites including fleas, mites and especially the Cheyletiella mite;
Low humidity environments;
Sunburn Four steps to get rid of cat dandruff for good:Step 1: Take a trip to the vet to rule out a serious medical conditions. You are going to need your vet to help you diagnose feline diabetes, a skin fungus or to pinpoint a food or airborne allergy.Step 2: Get your cat on a proper high meat protein diet. You may think your cat is eating high quality cat food, however, commercial pet food companies are good at advertising poor quality cat food as a high-end product. Commercial cat food is packed with vegetable proteins, not meat proteins. Vegetable proteins don't help you cat one bit. Read the ingredients. If corn or soy grains are listed first on the list of ingredients you are feeding you cat vegetable proteins. You want a cat food product, preferably canned, that contains a meat protein as the first ingredient.Step 3: Remove complications caused by a dry climate and sunburns. In a dry climate, your cat's skin (your skin too) benefits by adding a humidifier to your home space. If you have a fair skinned cat, typically white fur feline, give her plenty of places to get in the shade when she is outside.Step 4: Now for the parasites. If you ever hear someone talking about 'walking dandruff' they are talking about the Chyletiella mite. These cat parasites are large enough to see with the naked eye. They are often the cause of skin problems and cat dandruff.You can treat skin parasites fairly easily, but you are going to have to treat all the animals in your household, the carpeting, the bedding and maybe even your family members. Use hot water and Oxyfresh or your favorite detergent to wash cat bedding, sheets, blankets and anything that you cat likes to lie on. Get out the vacuum and go over the carpet 2 or 3 times a week.Finally, get rid of the Cheyletiella mite once and for all using a flea and mite prevention program like Revolution, Frontline or Advantage. You will need a vet's prescription for these products but they are highly effective at controlling fleas and mites.You can help your cat's skin heal naturally using a homeopathic remedy such as Equisetum arvense and Taraxacum officinalis. The herbs are known for their ability to soothe your cat's skin sores and keep his skin hydrated. Fucus vesiculosis is a sea vegetable used in natural remedies to support the thyroid. The thyroid is key to producing hormones that are necessary for maintaining skin and coat. You can even add a tablespoon of olive oil to your cat's food once or twice a week to stimulate natural oil production.So there you have it, how to get rid of cat dandruff for good by ruling out serious medical conditions like feline diabetes, making sure your cat is eating a high meat protein diet, adding moisture to your home environment with a humidifier and eliminating fleas, mites and especially the Cheyletiella mite. Your vet will need to help you to diagnose physical problems and to provide a prescription for flea products like Revolution. However, you can include natural cat skin care products to help your cat heal and provide long term relief from cat dandruff and other feline skin problems - no prescription required.
Cat Care - 9 Treats To Avoid Feeding Your Cat
Our feline friends are carnivores and as such their digestive systems are designed for high protein diets and not suited to treats fit for human consumption.Digestion is a process designed to break down food that supplies your cat with the necessary nutrients and subsequent energy to live a healthy, energy-filled life. As a cat's digestive system is developed for a high protein diet it has powerful gastric juices that assist in breaking down bones and meat. Their digestive systems do not have the necessary enzymes for a diet rich in plant matter or carbohydrates.As a responsible cat owner, it is important to understand what makes for good cat nutrition and what cat treats should be avoided. The following 'foods' and 'treats' are not recommended for cats:
Dog Food - Dog food does not contain sufficient proteins and taurine, which is an essential amino acid that cats produce in insufficient amounts. Dog food is not nutritionally balanced for cats. Similarly, dogs should not be fed cat food.
Canned Human Tuna - Canned tuna is not harmful provided it is an occasional treat and does not constitute your cat's main diet. Tuna is high in mercury and may result in mercury poisoning. Canned tuna also has a high sodium (salt) content and it not nutritionally balanced.
Garlic and Onion - Whilst a single feeding of food containing onions and garlic is not likely to make your cat ill, longterm, the sulfoxides and disulfides contained in these bulbs damages red blood cells which contain hemoglobin that is the oxygen carrying component of red blood cells. Reduced oxygen supply to the cat's organs can cause severe health problems and in severe cases - death
Tomatoes - Unripe or green tomatoes contain solanine, a toxin harmful to cats. Ingestion of tomatoes can cause diarrhea and vomiting.
Grapes and raisins - Whilst the experts have not established what component contained in grapes and raisins causes renal (kidney) damage, cat's that have ingested them have reportedly suffered renal failure.
Chocolate - This sweet treat is a no-no for cats and dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that cats cannot metabolize. Apart from nausea and vomiting, chocolate stimulates the central nervous system, increases the heart rate and may cause seizures and death. The more pure the chocolate the more dangerous it is.
Dairy Products - Whilst there is much debate on the subject of cow's milk for cats, the fact is that cats do not have the right enzymes to breakdown dairy products made from cow's milk (ice cream, cheese). They may suffer from gastrointestinal problems as a result of a lactose intolerance. The question of growth hormone in cow's milk is also a matter of separate debate.
Caffeine - tea and coffee contains caffeine and caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and not recommended for cats.
Alcohol - save the Budweiser and Johnnie Walker for human consumption. Finally, it's advisable to feed your cat a veterinary approved commercial cat food. If you are trained in the field of animal nutrition, organic cat foods or even homemade foods are perfect alternatives, provided they are nutritionally balanced. Give your cat occasional treats - but cat treats designed for cats.
Dog Food - Dog food does not contain sufficient proteins and taurine, which is an essential amino acid that cats produce in insufficient amounts. Dog food is not nutritionally balanced for cats. Similarly, dogs should not be fed cat food.
Canned Human Tuna - Canned tuna is not harmful provided it is an occasional treat and does not constitute your cat's main diet. Tuna is high in mercury and may result in mercury poisoning. Canned tuna also has a high sodium (salt) content and it not nutritionally balanced.
Garlic and Onion - Whilst a single feeding of food containing onions and garlic is not likely to make your cat ill, longterm, the sulfoxides and disulfides contained in these bulbs damages red blood cells which contain hemoglobin that is the oxygen carrying component of red blood cells. Reduced oxygen supply to the cat's organs can cause severe health problems and in severe cases - death
Tomatoes - Unripe or green tomatoes contain solanine, a toxin harmful to cats. Ingestion of tomatoes can cause diarrhea and vomiting.
Grapes and raisins - Whilst the experts have not established what component contained in grapes and raisins causes renal (kidney) damage, cat's that have ingested them have reportedly suffered renal failure.
Chocolate - This sweet treat is a no-no for cats and dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that cats cannot metabolize. Apart from nausea and vomiting, chocolate stimulates the central nervous system, increases the heart rate and may cause seizures and death. The more pure the chocolate the more dangerous it is.
Dairy Products - Whilst there is much debate on the subject of cow's milk for cats, the fact is that cats do not have the right enzymes to breakdown dairy products made from cow's milk (ice cream, cheese). They may suffer from gastrointestinal problems as a result of a lactose intolerance. The question of growth hormone in cow's milk is also a matter of separate debate.
Caffeine - tea and coffee contains caffeine and caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and not recommended for cats.
Alcohol - save the Budweiser and Johnnie Walker for human consumption. Finally, it's advisable to feed your cat a veterinary approved commercial cat food. If you are trained in the field of animal nutrition, organic cat foods or even homemade foods are perfect alternatives, provided they are nutritionally balanced. Give your cat occasional treats - but cat treats designed for cats.
Cat Behaviors - Eating Out Of and Tearing Up the Bag of Cat Food
We have had a guest cat living with us for awhile and he brought with him some strange cat behavior. One of the things he does is bite and claw at the cat food in the bag, even if the bowl is full. I think its a game to him but it make a real mess. He doesn't stop until he gets it open and spreads it all over the floor.Now he isn't our cat but I figure he needs to live by our rules. We could put the food up but we have two cats now and our cat Sid eats out of the bowl and we can leave the bag of cat food on the floor next to where we feed the cats. It's convenient for us and that's how we like it, were the humans.When training our Sid since he was a kitten we had certain rules in mind and those were the Cat behaviors we worked on teaching him.These are cat behaviors we believe any cat in our house should obey(and Sid Does)
Eat the cat food out of a bowl and not the bag of food
Know it's name and come when called(at least most of the time)
Stay off of the sink
Use the cat box at all times
Don't bite the hand that feeds youWhen it came to the new cat Tabby, he needed some discipline so we started working with him after a period of time at least until we knew he felt comfortable in our home. We used the same tactics that we used with Sid, since they worked pretty well with him. There are many trains of thought for training a cat but this is what we did,
We use repetition when teaching him his name, call him a lot, and everyone be consistent. Don't use similar sounding words when calling your cat. Keep on until you get a response
Teach them the word NO. Again be consistent and get a response. Everyone should use the same word, not stop or don't do that, stick with the same word.
For biting use OUCH or NO and loudly. Make sure your not petting your cat to the point they have had enough. They will bite to tell you to stop. Sometimes they just want to sit on your lap.
We use a water bottle for really stubborn behavior. A quick spray and a loud NO will work very well. All we have to do now is pick up the water bottle if Sid is misbehaving.
With using all of the above we have taught Tabby to leave the bag of cat food alone and eat out of the bowl. He has also learned to recognize his name much better and will come to me sometimes, all are huge strides since Tabby has been an outside cat and his inside manners needed some improvement.
Eat the cat food out of a bowl and not the bag of food
Know it's name and come when called(at least most of the time)
Stay off of the sink
Use the cat box at all times
Don't bite the hand that feeds youWhen it came to the new cat Tabby, he needed some discipline so we started working with him after a period of time at least until we knew he felt comfortable in our home. We used the same tactics that we used with Sid, since they worked pretty well with him. There are many trains of thought for training a cat but this is what we did,
We use repetition when teaching him his name, call him a lot, and everyone be consistent. Don't use similar sounding words when calling your cat. Keep on until you get a response
Teach them the word NO. Again be consistent and get a response. Everyone should use the same word, not stop or don't do that, stick with the same word.
For biting use OUCH or NO and loudly. Make sure your not petting your cat to the point they have had enough. They will bite to tell you to stop. Sometimes they just want to sit on your lap.
We use a water bottle for really stubborn behavior. A quick spray and a loud NO will work very well. All we have to do now is pick up the water bottle if Sid is misbehaving.
With using all of the above we have taught Tabby to leave the bag of cat food alone and eat out of the bowl. He has also learned to recognize his name much better and will come to me sometimes, all are huge strides since Tabby has been an outside cat and his inside manners needed some improvement.