Looking for a supplement or suggestions for hair shedding and dry coat

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Cat Ma

Cat Ma

Member Since 2015
CJ is a short haired tabby. Her fur feels smooth but a bit dry. When I pet her, quite a bit of hair comes off and onto my hands. Normally, she sheds quite a bit at this time of year but I am concerned about the dry coat and excess hair loss.

Can anyone recommend a supplement I can give CJ? Or suggestions?

She eats Wellness and Friskies Special Diet.
 
First things first - have you had a vet look at her in the past year? If no, its time. If yes, do ask the vet.
Second things - there are number of over the counter products for cats which generally have some sort of oil in them. - fish oil, etc. Take a look online, or just use something like a few drops or so of Nordic Naturals krill oil daily.
 
Yes, CJ is monitored closely. When she was on insulin, it was wonderful how soft her coat was. But while her #'s remain so good, there's clearly no need for insulin.

Thanks for the info on fish oil.
 
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Marshmallow's fur is a barometer for how she's feeling. Soft and silky when all is well, and dry and coarse (to different degrees) if she's not feeling good. Could CJ's lymphoma have made a return? How is everything else besides her BG, like eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, grooming?

I added Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and Probiotics for Marshmallow's IBD recently and her fur immediately got a little softer. I don't know if the Animal Essentials would help CJ but they might be good for Bonnie's IBD; the theory is they help kitties with stomach issues get more nutrition out of their food instead of just pooping it out. Stools can even get a bit smaller, which means they're holding onto more of the nutrients.

I'm also going to add human probiotics soon. I'm trying to go slowly with making changes since IBD cats have such sensitive intestines. I have a list of different probiotics that have different properties (anti-inflammation, digestion, etc.). Maybe one of them will sound like a good fit for CJ. I'll post the list tomorrow, I put it together at work during lunch yesterday and left it on my work computer.

Could it just be the heat that's bothering CJ? It seems like it has been really hot all over the country this summer. I don't have AC and I don't usually need it but there have been a few days recently when it has been super hot in my apartment and Marshmallow just lies on the floor and looks uncomfortable, and her fur gets coarser on those days.
 
@granadilla, The heat could be a factor. I do run the air conditioner but CJ happens to like hanging out in the hottest room upstairs. I am sure the Prednisolone is a factor with the hair loss but I haven't noticed shedding in awhile till recently. She is very happy, BG #'s are good, all functions are good. We'll be seeing the vet again next week to check on the lymphoma. I'll be able to ask about her coat then, too.

Bonnie has been doing well with Forti Flora but she won't eat Stella & Chewy's unless I sprinkle a lot of FF on it. That means more than one packet, which is probably more than she needs in a day. I'll check out the Animal Essentials plant Enzymes & Probiotics for her. It wouldn't be good for CJ since her stools are small.

I look forward to seeing your list.
 
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Cat Ma said:
Yes, CJ is monitored closely. When she was on insulin, it was wonderful how soft her coat was. But while her #'s remain so good, there's clearly no need for insulin.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure about that. I've got similar problems with Saoirse. Her clinical signs have deteriorated too since becoming diet-controlled. She has started shedding really badly again over the last few weeks and Saoirse is not naturally a sheddy cat.

It's only a hypothesis based on observing Saoirse, but I do wonder whether some cats in remission are unable to produce sufficient basal insulin, and therefore are relying on the pulses of insulin triggered by food ingestion to maintain blood glucose levels in the normal range. What's CJ's average BG range these days?

Mogs
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EDITED TO ADD: B complex supplementation can help, as can omega supplementation.
 
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Here's the list of supplements. On second thought, I'm not sure there's anything here that may help CJ. If she has any inflammation, Slippery Elm Bark might help (see below for explanation). They're all flavorless except for S. Boulardii, which can taste bitter to some cats, so I don't think they'd replace Fortiflora in terms of getting Bonnie to eat S&C. Will she eat another flavor besides Duck Duck Goose? Or another brand of duck wet food? I have to use Fortiflora to get Marsh to eat DDG as well.

I put this list together based on things I've read on IBDKitties.net, on the IBD Kitties Facebook page, and on other online research. I didn't get any of this info from my vet, but it's all based on holistic vet approaches. Different cats might not need all (or any) of the below, but since our kitties are so individual, who knows what might work for each of them. From what I've read, you should be able to give CJ the digestive enzymes (if you want to give them to Bonnie and they share food bowls) and it shouldn't hurt her. But since she has a history of lymphoma and who knows what might trigger it again, I'd double check with the vet before giving her something new.

I'm not giving ALL of the below to Marshmallow but I did a bunch of research to try find out what I can do for her without pumping her full of drugs. I'm starting with the digestive enzymes, then I'll add probiotics (Renew Life Ultimate Flora (15 billion CFU), ½ capsule, twice daily). It has lactobacillus and bifidobacterium. She alternates between constipation and diarrhea which indicates a tug-of-war between issues in the intestines and issues in the colon so hopefully that combo will help her.

Good luck, and hopefully something on this list will be helpful for one of your kitties!

Digestive enzymes help kitty digest the food so they use more of the nutrients in the food. Start small, and work up to the recommended daily dose on the bottle (best if divided into however many meals you feed and added to the food at each meal time). You will want to make sure none of the ingredients bother her, so start with digestive enzymes and after kitty is up to the full dose and tolerating it well, then maybe add probiotics if they sound beneficial for your kitty. You will know if kitty is tolerating it if there is no vomiting, no mucous in the stool, or anything else that indicates it’s upsetting kitty’s system. If she tolerates and does well on those -- and you should know inside of two weeks -- you should see smaller stool, slightly harder, but not constipated. Less volume of stool means she’s using more of the nutrients in it. (I use Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and Probiotics and I've definitely noticed that Marshmallow feels better on it. Fortiflora is a good taste enhancer, but it didn't change how she felt or behaved.)

Probiotics

S. boulardii is a yeast-based probiotic that does not colonize the gut. It helps displace unhealthy bacteria, promote growth of healthy bacteria, and helps normalize intestinal function. It has anti-inflammatory properties, and passes through undigested and works locally in the lumen of the gut. If you stop using it, it will be completely out of the cat’s system within 36 hours. It is more beneficial when diarrhea is the problem. It can taste bitter to some cats, so you might have to put some in a capsule and give it to kitty in pill form. Some cats will take it mixed with water in a syringe.

The other probiotics are bacterial and help colonize the gut with healthy flora. Lactobacillus acts in the intestines (which tend to be responsible for vomiting and constipation) and bifidobacterium in the colon (which is usually responsible for diarrhea). Acidophilus helps amino acid uptake and utilization of B12. All of the above can be mixed into wet food at each meal and are flavorless.

For specific brands and doses:
http://www.ibdkitties.net/Probiotics.html
Some of the brands on this link indicate which probiotic strains are included. You will have to look up some of the brands to see which probiotics they contain.

Supplement
Slippery elm bark is like a "liquid band aid." It helps coat and soothe the lining of the GI tract, like a kitty version of Pepto (never use human Pepto Bismol or Kaopectate on a cat). It can help with inflammation in some cats (not just with IBD inflammation, but also with urinary inflammation and other kinds as well; see the link to LittleBigCat.com for more info). Mix about 1/4 teaspoon of slippery elm bark powder with hot water for every 10 pounds of body weight, or take a tablespoon of hot water and mix it with about 1/2 capsule of SEB powder. Mix well and put into a syringe. Make sure it's not too hot before giving it to kitty. As it starts to cool, it will thicken. You may need to add either more powder or water to get it to a thin enough consistency that you can fill a syringe. Use a 3ml syringe, and fill completely. It has a slightly sweet flavor and is usually well tolerated by cats.
Slippery elm bark should be given at least two hours away from any other medications or supplements to allow the digestive tract to let absorption take place, mostly in the intestines. Some holistic vets believe that when given with a meal, it can inhibit the absorption of nutrients from the food. Here is the SEB brand recommended on IBDKitties.net: Celebration Herbals Slippery Elm Bark Powder Bulk Tea Caffeine Free. For more information on SEB: http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/slippery-elm/
 
Critter Mom said:
I'm not so sure about that. I've got similar problems with Saoirse. Her clinical signs have deteriorated too since becoming diet-controlled. She has started shedding really badly again over the last few weeks and Saoirse is not naturally a sheddy cat.

It's only a hypothesis based on observing Saoirse, but I do wonder whether some cats in remission are unable to produce sufficient basal insulin, and therefore are relying on the pulses of insulin triggered by food ingestion to maintain blood glucose levels in the normal range. What's CJ's average BG range these days?

Mogs
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Click to expand...

CJ's BG's avg 70-90s. Sometimes it goes down to the high 50s and 60s. She's not shedding terribly so. But I'd like her to do better with her coat. I can tell when she's not feeling well or something is off and have seen her so much worse (i.e. her lymphoma episode). But to be on the safe side, she is examined closely by the vet regularly.

I stopped feeding her FF Classics, her favorite, because of the high phosphorus content and her lymphoma kidney issues. I do think the FF helped with her coat but I am not taking the risk with the phosphorus content. She'll easily wolf down a can of FF but needs to be coaxed a bit with the Friskies and Wellness.
 
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Astro's CRF Oil is a fish oil supplement some people use for CKD kitties. Saoirse can't tolerate it unfortunately, and it is fishy as frell (really honks!). Have a look at the link. It discusses the proportions of omegas 3 and 6 that are optimum.

(NB - the product also contains vitamin E and ubiquinol.)
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@granadilla You put together an excellent list! Thank you!

I am thinking this would be a good sticky since so many cats here deal with a lot of the issues you address.

Bonnie is sticking to duck as that's the one she tolerates best. She has taking an interest in a new canned duck food so I am trying that. But any canned food gives her diarrhea so hence the FF. I will read your list more closely later for trying another probioitic and the other suggestions you list. And for CJ, too, about Slippery Elm Bark. That could benefit Bonnie as well. Bonnie and CJ do not share food bowls. If Bonnie gets into CJ's food, there is vomit and diarrhea. Sticking to duck has worked for Bonnie. I tried rabbit and lamb in the past with no luck.

Are you still giving Marshmallow Budesonide? If so, do you plan to taper her off of it?
 
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Glad you like the list! Hopefully something on it will be helpful for your furballs.

Marshmallow is still on Budesonide and I'm going to keep her on it at her regular dose (1 mg/1 ml daily) for now. If I can get the diarrhea/constipation thing sorted out with probiotics then I may taper her down to half a dose and see how she does. I've read stories about pet parents who are able to take their cats off prednisolone or budesonide after they start using slippery elm. :)

How do we get something made into a sticky?

I was also wondering if we could get a forum for IBD / pancreatitis / lymphoma kitties since there is a lot of crossover.
 
@granadilla, I agree, a forum for IBD, pancreatis and lypmhoma cats who are diabetic would be very helpful here. Plus one for CKD. However, that and whether a sticky could be added would be up to the administrators here to decide.

Perhaps @BJM can help advise (?) I am not familiar with the protocols for this.
 
And while we're on the subject of fish oil, I thought we had to limit how much fish we give our cats but I am presuming the small amount of fish oil is safe to give daily (?)
 
The larger the fish, the older the fish. The older the fish, the more toxins may have accumulated in the fish.
The Nordic Naturals is made from krill and sardines, a small fish, thus is less likely to be a problem for our cats.

To get another forum here, the moderators would need to support it to Robert, the site admin.
 
I put a drop of Nordic Naturals fish oil in CJ's food and she refused to eat it. I am wondering if there is a decent chewable supplement for hair shedding without the rice and high carbs.
 
My cats are totally grossed out by the fish oils, too. I've tried a bunch and none have been appealing to anyone. It's a shame because there are so many benefits, but I can't blame them. It really lingers. Most of the skin and coat products I see have molasses or maltodextrin or some other BG boosting additive.:/ If his gut gets a bit healthier with probiotics, etc added to his diet, you may see the change come from the inside out. I'm on a similar quest for healthy innards and a healthy coat to match, along with getting William's diabetes under control.
@granadilla Do you use slippery elm? I'm curious about it and I've read about it but wondered if anyone actually used it and what results they saw. I'm trying to limit the amount of harsh meds I cram down my guy's throat, while dealing with digestive issues (constipation), cystitis and pancreatitis. The idea is to settle on a regimen that consists of just a few things that will ease him when they flare and keep them at bay after that. Geez. This guy is ruling my life!
 
Can you give kitties a whole omega capsule like a pill? So they swallow it like we would? I wouldn't want to eat food coated with smelly fishy oils either so can't say I blame them...

BJM said:
The larger the fish, the older the fish. The older the fish, the more toxins may have accumulated in the fish.
The Nordic Naturals is made from krill and sardines, a small fish, thus is less likely to be a problem for our cats.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. My own doctor (not the vet!) told me I should start taking omegas. I asked if I should just eat fish and he said "We've poisoned all the big game fish, so no, unless you want to start eating sardines." So that makes sense for both beans and cats!
 
Some sardines for human consumption are packed in a mustard sauce, or tomato sauce.
 
@William's Mom, I don't use slippery elm yet. I'm on the same quest to minimize the meds but get Marshmallow as healthy as possible. Since she has IBD, I have to add things slowly. Too many changes at once can make them flare up. I've got her up to the full dose of digestive enzymes now, so next week I'll add some probiotics. If she needs more help after she's used to probiotics, then I'll try slippery elm. (And I totally know the feeling, her health has been ruling my life for the past couple of months!)

There are a bunch of people on the IBDKitties Facebook page who use slippery elm. Some people on there say that they were able to taper down the budesonide (an anti-inflammatory) once they added slippery elm. I would think it's worth a shot for William. For constipation, have you tried pumpkin? Marshmallow goes back and forth between diarrhea and constipation so I'm hoping the probiotics help level her out. The enzymes have helped but they only have a little bit of probiotics in them so I think giving her more will help.

Good luck and let me know if you try the slippery elm and how it goes!!

Shane
 
BJM said:
Some sardines for human consumption are packed in a mustard sauce, or tomato sauce.
Click to expand...

I didn't mean I'd give sardines to my cat, I just meant taking products (omegas) made from sardines makes sense for both humans and cats since the big fish are compromised. :)
 
granadilla said:
If she needs more help after she's used to probiotics, then I'll try slippery elm.
Click to expand...
I use slippery elm for Bertie. (He has flare-ups of colitis from time to time.) And it does seem to help.

I just add it to a small amount of food along with some water (usually the first small meal of the day). There's no way I could make the SE into a syrup and syringe feed it to him. I value my fingers far too much...:nailbiting:
He gets a little fortiflora added to his meals too.

I also give a couple of drops of krill oil every day. All my oldies get this in their food to top up their omega 3's. (Although my tortie girl hates the stuff so I have to cover the food in crushed cat treats to get her to eat it!)
And all of my lot get some raw food most days now, which they absolutely love.
Since giving the krill oil and raw food I've noticed quite an improvement in the condition of the cats' fur. :cat:
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The nortic naturals does have a smell to it- i only put in a dropper full once a day and mix it in really well. He didn't turn his nose at it so that's what we've been doing. It may turn some kitties off though unfortunately. I don't like to pill him, so I was pretty thrilled that he takes it ;-)
 
@Critter Mom @granadilla I didn't get email notifications that there were responses, so I thought my question died in the thread! Thanks for the insight. I'm going to do more looking into the slippery elm. I like the sound of it. Anything that would soothe and mellow the ups and downs of what seems to be happening in his digestive system would be very welcome. And I've been chasing down any anti-inflammatory that won't interfere with his health in the long run and that he would actually take without too much of a struggle. I've tried syringing the fish oil and most of the time it just squirts back at me, so I'm fishy-smelling, he's annoyed and nothing really got into him. Plus, he loves sweet-tasting things like the couple of homeopathic remedies I sometimes give him. It's pretty cute. I'll let you know if we start it and what happens.
 
William's Mom said:
And I've been chasing down any anti-inflammatory that won't interfere with his health in the long run and that he would actually take without too much of a struggle.
Click to expand...
Saoirse gets Nutramed - a herbal anti-inflammatory. It contains milk thistle, boswellia and maritime pine bark. I'm not sure whether its available where you are. I sprinkle a little on her meals and she eats it without any problem, and it doesn't upset her GI tract.


Mogs
.
 
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