Oreo and dandruff

[Mel and Oreo]

Hello,
We are going for Oreo's fructosamine test on Saturday. Meanwhile his water intake is back to normal (he is only on wet food) and the litter box is normal.
Recently he is covered in dandruff. I have been turning up the furnace since it is minus 24 Celsius here lately.Brrrrrr I usually have it at 70F, but I have been turning it up to 72F.
My other cat Cocoa Puff has some dandruff, but not like Oreo.
I saw that omega 3 supplements help. Can someone suggest some in Canada to give.
Any other ideas? I am hoping it's not poor glucose control. He went hypo on 2 units of caninsulin twice daily with a 9 hour nadir and 1.5 didn't seem to be quite enough, but the vet wanted us to try it and then do the fructosamine test. If it isn't good then she said we may have to do 1.75 units which will be tough to eyeball. I think if I use the 100 u syringes I could get 1.7 or 1.8 fairly easy.
Any ideas! I used a sticky roller brush on him to get the dandruff which he seemed to like, I brushed him and used wet paper towel to wash him off a bit.
Maybe it is the food quality? He has FF pates and Royal Canin Diabetic (mostly FF). I saw that the evo is pretty good. Did anyone else notice this with the FF.
I will get the humidifier out.
Thanks,
Mel and Oreo

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Dandruff can be caused by many things -- food allergies, illness, dry skin, etc.

You can certainly use fish oil (salmon oil) products in his food to help - at a minimum it won't hurt. Of course if he has a food allergy, cats tend to be allergic to fish and/or beef.

You may want to start a process of elimination to see if it is a food allergy or just the weather and dry heat...

You can start by eliminating either beef or fish from his diet - and be sure to read the food labels as some foods while they may say it's turkey or chicken do also contain fish.

and if it is a food allergy to fish for example, I think giving fish oil may be counter-intuitive.

As far as where to purchase fish oil - you can try vitamin shoppe or GNC, if you have a petsmart or petco or other pet store, they may sell it there too - be sure to look in the dog section as you may find it there rather than in cat section.

 

[Dusty Bones]

When my Dusty had dandruff it was a symptom of diabetes. It took about a month after getting his diabetes under control for it to slowly disappear. Now his coat is clear shiny and smooth. I feed him FF with no skin issues.

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

Heavy dandruff is indeed a symptom of diabetes - in humans, remember all the commericals and creams available for 'diabetic dry skin'? Same thing....KT has never had dandruff but Dakota has it terribly. Some cat's skins are also prone to becoming dry - especially those with a fine undercoat that's NOT Maine Coon. My non-diabetic DLH Siamese mix also has dry skin - his bg is always between 51 and 63, he insists that HE get bg tests like his brudders so I test him about monthly....

Just keep brushing....

BIG HUGS!

 

[KPassa]

and if it is a food allergy to fish for example, I think giving fish oil may be counter-intuitive.

Not necessarily. Good quality fish oil does not contain fish protein (which is what causes the allergic reaction). ;-) And make sure you don't use cod liver oil (too much Vitamin A for cats).

My non-diabetic DLH Siamese mix also has dry skin - his bg is always between 51 and 63, he insists that HE get bg tests like his brudders so I test him about monthly....

That's exactly like my non-diabetic, Henry. :lol: They all want in on the testing!