DRY SKIN PROBLEMS!

[bonkersmom]

My 15 year old boy has had diabetes and on insulin for almost 3 years now. His skin has become progressively drier with a lot of dander. We brush and groom him daily but his dry flaky skin still persists. Because of his age, etc. we do not want to stress him out by giving him a bath. Any suggestions? I tried to give him fish oil supplements in his food but he won't touch it!!

 

[Tena and Curry(GA)]

My feline vet specialist suggested I try 1/2 of a sardine filet daily. It has helped. She said for some kitties the fish oils can make their poos a little sticky so she recommends the sardines. I freeze the little fillets in Saran Wrap an take what I need out the night before. I just get the plain one ...n smoked ones.

 

[Deb & Wink]

How is his BG (blood glucose) control? Unregulated cats often have dry skin problems. I remember when I first got Wink, he had huge nickel to quarter sized dry flakes of skin. Once I switched him to a canned food diet, that cleared right up.

Are you feeding him wet or dry food?

 

[BJM]

If you check on Anazon (see shopping link above), there are a number of essential fatty acid supplements available for cats.

 

[Dusty Bones]

Same here, at the height of Dusty's diabetes his flakes were really bad. Once he was under control and then remission his skin went back to normal and with him eating canned food (Fancy Feast) his coat is nice, soft and shiny. My non-diabetic who is also now eating Fancy Feast has had his coat improve too. He's a black kitty and wow his coat looks nice! :razz:

 

[bonkersmom]

I have been trying to transition my kitty to all wet food, but he will only eat small amounts at a time and will not touch sardines! He does seem to like the juice from canned tuna.
I test his blood sugar at least once a week and it normally runs about 160.
Still trying to help his dry skin and dander problem!! Thanks to everyone who has given suggestions!

 

[Deb & Wink]

A BG of 160 is a bit high.

Try pouring the tuna juice over the wet food. I did that for my Wink, to get him to eat a bit more of the wet food.

Try crumbling/crushing some of the dry food and sprinkling that on top of the wet food.

Heat up the wet food, to release more of the smell, just to body temperature, not hot.

If he'll eat more of the wet food, that will keep him better hydrated any may help with the dry skin issue too.

 

[jane and stewey]

My cat stewey was diagnosed in March of 2014. At that time, the scale of her skin was akin to grains of rice. One of my first online resources recommended going to wet food only. It took her about a week to 10 days to become accustomed to "no dry". Infact, I can no longer leave any dry food out whatsoever (even the dog). Next step was to regulate her feeding times and the amount of food offered. Over the passed months, her coat has become shiney, the dry scales are almost gone, water intake and urinary output have returned to normal. Her personality has returned to normal, as well. The range of her sugars has become consistent with a spike every week to 10 days. The quality of her daily life has improved drastically and the overall household is back on track. Change takes time and regimentation. Goodluck. Jane and Stewey.