Pickles has very dry skin

[jennielynn1970]

I was just going to mention the grooming issue. If he was injured and has a hard time reaching that area, the dander builds up. It happens a lot in over weight cats as well, and it much more noticeable in black cats because of their dark fur. We have a cat at the shelter, Beaner, who is a large, voluptuous woman, lol, and she has horrible dander around her hips and back end area. She adores brushing, which of course loosens all the dander and looks horrible, but you know she feels so much better when it gets all loose and isn't itching her skin as much anymore.

By the way, your Pickles is absolutely gorgeous!! I love that mark on his nose! He's adorable!!!

[nsweezie]

Thanks so much for the suggestions- I will start with the olive oil today. Pickles has a good appetite (perhaps too good as he has to be fed seperately from the rest of the cats or he steals their dinners too!) so I think that will work well.
I never thought of the fact that he was injured being a reason for the dry skin- but that makes so much sense! The dry skin is mostly by his tail and with his broken jaw, which has healed but not perfectly, this may be the cause of his problems. He is such a clean cat, always licking his paws and whiskers, but he doesn't seem to do his back as much. He's also forever licking the other cats, but they don't reciprocate, which is too bad, they could help him out!
I'll let everyone know how he does, he is such a special little chap, and I am SO proud of how far he has come in the year we have had him. It always amazes me when a cat learns to trust again.
Louise

[columbine]

My cat also has very dry skin, especially in the winter! He used to scratch huge patches off of his neck and get bloody mats in his fur. I asked the vet about it, and she gave him some 3V Caps (a vitamin you can order online from a bunch of places). I puncture one and squeeze the oil into his canned food twice a day. He's gotten much better, and he thinks it tastes fantastic!

I also have very dry skin and bad sinuses, so I boil a pan of water on the stove to get some moisture into the air in the winter. That seems to help Smudge's itching too. And, of course, I brush his lovely fur! His favorite is the "slicker brush," which helps me catch the dry-skin flakes before they nucleate tangles, and he thinks it feels "prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

Love, Columbine