Looking for good ways to manage cat dander

[cassiesmom]

Cat people on PT, I need your help. I was combing Cassie this morning and noticed she has flakes of dander on her lower back and at the base of her tail. I've tried "kitty wipes" in the past - they work great, but she will hide when she hears me open the package. (I left one in the kitchen in a zip-lock bag - when I get home I'm going to scoop her up and kitty wipe her. Don't tell her.) Does anything else work for dander? Should I put something in her food? Should I comb her more often?

[lvpets2002]

Yes my Autumn & Yarleigh have dander more than the other girls.. I use those kitty wipes too.. I also will get just a small amount of Vasilene & rub onto the lower end of the back of tail .. That seems to work good.. Now just very lightly ok..

[Randi]

Do you brush her a lot? I noticed that if I brush Fister with the metal brush, he gets a bit, but not when I use the rubber brush, which I normally do.

Hope she gets rid of it.

[cassiesmom]

Randi, it's just a metal comb with two different combs - on one, the teeth are a little farther apart. I don't use that one, just the regular looking one. She loves to get combed. She'd let me comb her forever if I wanted to. Should I use something else? My sister used a pin brush for her cats. Maybe I should get one of those cat gloves with the little bumps that pick up the hair while you pet.

[catlover4ever]

Mystic and Vegas both have dander, for some reason black kitties tend to have more dander than other kitties.

The more I groom them the less dander they have. I have also tried supplementing their food with Linatone but they don't like that.

[jennielynn1970]

How big of a kitty is Cassie? Many times cats that are very large have a hard time reaching around back to groom their flanks and the bottom by their tails. Because they do not groom there, the dead skin cells and stuff builds up. When you brush, you're stirring up that and therefore, more dander. She's probably very happy to be brushed, cause she'd be itchy with all the dander there. We have cats like that at the shelter, and a friend of mine has a cat that has tons of dander... she's just lazy and doesn't groom herself. It all depends on the cat. Adding the supplement should help with the dry skin condition.

[Randi]

I think a metal brush will irritate their skin more than other kinds - at least Fister's skin. I sometimes use one similar to the one in the top row to the right in this link, and Fister loves it, he even rubs his head against it, but he also loves the rubber brush - similar to the red one.

http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=...cat+brush&o=24

Ahh, this looks like a very good idea - something most cats should have.

http://www.thecatconnection.com/miva...01/ffbrush.jpg

[Catlady711]

Cat people on PT, I need your help. I was combing Cassie this morning and noticed she has flakes of dander on her lower back and at the base of her tail. Does anything else work for dander? Should I put something in her food? Should I comb her more often?

Is she also itchy? If so then you should probably check with your vet to make sure it's not something besides dry skin.

Do you bathe her? Sometimes a shampoo or simply the act of bathing can irritate/dry out skin.

If she's not itchy, has no scabs, fleas or bald patches, and doesn't get bathed then it's probably just dry skin, and given the state you live in, with a heater running in the fall and winter does tend to dry out skin/hair.

For dry skin/hair/excess shedding the product we use at work is called
Shed Stop It's got Omega 3 oils. It makes a nice slick, shiney hair coat and reduces shedding/dander. However if you cat is particularly fussy about what she eats, you might not want to buy a large bottle until you see if she will eat it.

Shed stop is available from many pet catalogs, pet stores, and sometimes Wally's World (aka Wal-Mart).

[cassiesmom]

She's not itchy. I thought of fleas, but she doesn't go outdoors unless I physically take her out and hold her while we stand on the balcony. I don't regularly bathe her. This looks to me like her previous occurrences of increased dander, which I think is related to dry skin. I'll go down her sides, back and tail with a kitty wipe tonight - she's going to be mad at me for that! - and I'll crank up the humidifier again.

My mom thought I should put a raw egg in her food to make her coat shiny (that's what they used to do with their cat 40+ years ago). I don't think I should give her raw anything. She does like scrambled eggs and the vet said I could give her a tiny bit of plainly scrambled egg (nothing added) as a treat.

[Catty1]

What works for me - though cats will have dander, as their skin refreshes itself (I think we humans have dander too, but I don't wanna go there! )

I thoroughly cleaned a dropper bottle I had (it just had Stevia in it before), and put canola oil in it. You can also use olive oil (NEVER castor).

Also - Omega oil from the vet, use according to instructions.

Put ONE SINGLE drop into a small amount of wet food that Cassie will eat right up. Do this daily. Within a week you should see a change.

I use this when it's drier in the winter here and Oscar especially starts to scratch. Works like a charm.

My mom tried it on one of her cats who scratched a lot - again, success.

I know Cassie isn't itchy, but if her problem is dry skin, a wee drop of oil just might set things right!

[slick]

My RB Speckles used to get awful dander or dandruff as I called it. Her skin down by her tail was nothing but white flakes. I started squeezing a Vit E capsule into her wet food about 3 times a week and that really seemed to help alot.

[Catlady711]

She's not itchy. I thought of fleas, but she doesn't go outdoors unless I physically take her out and hold her while we stand on the balcony.

Most probably it is just winter dry skin, however be sure to actually check for fleas or flea dirt (tiny pin sized black specks next to the skin, indicating fleas have been present). Fleas can be carried inside by humans and other animals. I actually found one in my hair the other day after hugging a dog!!! EWWWW. Fortunately I got it out and checked for others, otherwise I might have brought fleas home to my own cats.

Good luck with your dander problem. If you find an omega 3 oil she likes, then start using it in the fall around Sept. before the heaters start kicking in, it will give you a head start and already be in her system before it gets cold.

[cassiesmom]

This morning I wiped Cassie's sides, back and tail with a Kitty Wipe while she was lying on the foot of my bed, in the warm draft from the space heater. She didn't protest at all - Yay! Catlady711, thank you for the info about fleas. I'll look closely to make sure she doesn't have them. I'm not sure how she'll respond to either canola oil or vitamin E, but it's worth a go.

[columbine]

My cat Smudge digs holes in his face he's so itchy! This morning I boiled some water just for the humidity because I have a sinus infection, and tonight - no scratching. A bit of water in the air might help with dander too!

Love, Columbine (who gets awful itchy & flakey this time of year too)