Kitty skin condition question
 

Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff) while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more. Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light) and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.


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"rolf" wrote in message
. ..

Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff)
while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we
have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or
brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more. Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate
this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried
it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light) and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

Why not pick up the phone, call your vet and pop the question?

"rolf" wrote in message
. ..

Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff)
while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we
have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or
brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more. Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate
this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried
it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light) and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

Why not pick up the phone, call your vet and pop the question?

On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 19:18:42 -0400, "rolf"
wrote:


Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff) while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more. Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light) and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

If you are concerned speak to your vet.
My kitty sometimes has this and yes, it looks exactly like dandruff.
I've asked the vet about it in the past but he seems unconcerned as
she is healthy and her skin is fine. He was of the opinion that this
often occurs when cats are mainly indoors due to central heating and I
do think I see it more in her fur in the winter.

What sort of fur does you cat have? I wondered if it's more noticable
on my cat as she has very thick medium length fur which seems to shed
all year round!

Lindsey

On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 19:18:42 -0400, "rolf"
wrote:


Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff) while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more. Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light) and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

If you are concerned speak to your vet.
My kitty sometimes has this and yes, it looks exactly like dandruff.
I've asked the vet about it in the past but he seems unconcerned as
she is healthy and her skin is fine. He was of the opinion that this
often occurs when cats are mainly indoors due to central heating and I
do think I see it more in her fur in the winter.

What sort of fur does you cat have? I wondered if it's more noticable
on my cat as she has very thick medium length fur which seems to shed
all year round!

Lindsey

"WumpyGirl" --o--m wrote in message
...

"rolf" wrote in message
. ..

Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from
the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to
us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff)
while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a
soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we
have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or
brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more.
Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate
this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we
tried
it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light)
and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

Why not pick up the phone, call your vet and pop the question?

Good point WumpyGirl! A little more background will clear it up I think. I
should have included this information in my OP, but didn't want to make it
too long.

Callie is our third cat. Suzzie was our first and was with us for 15 years.
She exhibited the same slightly flaky skin that Callie is showing now. Over
the years I had asked two different vets about it and they both showed
minimal concern. Suzzie was healthy and happy and the vets thought it was a
non-issue.

At this point I am mainly interested in any advice I can get from all you
experienced cat people about this. There is a wealth of information here as
I found out when I started to read this group when Suzzie got sick late last
year.

Rolf.

--
To email, remove 'garbage' from address.

"WumpyGirl" --o--m wrote in message
...

"rolf" wrote in message
. ..

Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from
the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to
us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff)
while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a
soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we
have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or
brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more.
Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate
this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we
tried
it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light)
and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

Why not pick up the phone, call your vet and pop the question?

Good point WumpyGirl! A little more background will clear it up I think. I
should have included this information in my OP, but didn't want to make it
too long.

Callie is our third cat. Suzzie was our first and was with us for 15 years.
She exhibited the same slightly flaky skin that Callie is showing now. Over
the years I had asked two different vets about it and they both showed
minimal concern. Suzzie was healthy and happy and the vets thought it was a
non-issue.

At this point I am mainly interested in any advice I can get from all you
experienced cat people about this. There is a wealth of information here as
I found out when I started to read this group when Suzzie got sick late last
year.

Rolf.

--
To email, remove 'garbage' from address.

"Ellie Pea" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 19:18:42 -0400, "rolf"
wrote:


Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff)
while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we
have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or
brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more.
Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate
this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried
it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light)
and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

If you are concerned speak to your vet.

Good point! I have already answered the same statement from WumpyGirl. In
doing that I included some more information that I should have put into my
first post. Here is what I typed:

Callie is our third cat. Suzzie was our first and was with us for 15 years.
She exhibited the same slightly flaky skin that Callie is showing now. Over
the years I had asked two different vets about it and they both showed
minimal concern. Suzzie was healthy and happy and the vets thought it was a
non-issue.

At this point I am mainly interested in any advice I can get from all you
experienced cat people about this. There is a wealth of information here as
I found out when I started to read this group when Suzzie got sick last
year.

My kitty sometimes has this and yes, it looks exactly like dandruff.
I've asked the vet about it in the past but he seems unconcerned as
she is healthy and her skin is fine. He was of the opinion that this
often occurs when cats are mainly indoors due to central heating and I
do think I see it more in her fur in the winter.

Just like my past experience with the vet. Your experience is a bit
different from mine though in that you seem to see it more in the winter and
we are just starting to see it now in the summer when the humidity is
higher. Of course Callie has only been with us since December.

You know, I really don't care about anything but Callie's happiness. If this
is something that does not bother her I will be perfectly OK with it. Just
thought I would get some opinions here before ignoring it like the vets
thought was appropriate with Suzzie.

What sort of fur does you cat have? I wondered if it's more noticable
on my cat as she has very thick medium length fur which seems to shed
all year round!

Well, Suzzie's fur was longer than Callie's is, like the length I think of
when you describe your cat. I consider Suzzie's to be medium and Callie's to
be short. Suzzie had flakes all the time after about her fifth year and
Callie is just starting now.

Rolf.

--
To email, remove 'garbage' from address.

"Ellie Pea" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 19:18:42 -0400, "rolf"
wrote:


Hi. Last December we adopted Callie, a three year old female DSH from the
local animal services people. She had been in their care for about three
months. The vet said she was healthy and she certainly seems to be to us.

Until now, we have never noticed any skin flakes (looks like dandruff)
while
petting or brushing her. We like to brush her every few days with a soft
hair brush whether she needs it or not and she likes it too. Lately we
have
begun to see what looks like dead skin flakes in her fur as we pet or
brush
her. The temperature is warmer now and she is definitely shedding more.
Is
this flaking normal or should we be doing something to help alleviate
this?
She is not in any discomfort that we can see.

Food is dry only, she just sniffs at wet, at least the last time we tried
it
with her. She gets a 50/50 mix of Science Diet (currently Adult Light)
and
Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult.

TIA for any thoughts on this one.

Rolf.

If you are concerned speak to your vet.

Good point! I have already answered the same statement from WumpyGirl. In
doing that I included some more information that I should have put into my
first post. Here is what I typed:

Callie is our third cat. Suzzie was our first and was with us for 15 years.
She exhibited the same slightly flaky skin that Callie is showing now. Over
the years I had asked two different vets about it and they both showed
minimal concern. Suzzie was healthy and happy and the vets thought it was a
non-issue.

At this point I am mainly interested in any advice I can get from all you
experienced cat people about this. There is a wealth of information here as
I found out when I started to read this group when Suzzie got sick last
year.

My kitty sometimes has this and yes, it looks exactly like dandruff.
I've asked the vet about it in the past but he seems unconcerned as
she is healthy and her skin is fine. He was of the opinion that this
often occurs when cats are mainly indoors due to central heating and I
do think I see it more in her fur in the winter.

Just like my past experience with the vet. Your experience is a bit
different from mine though in that you seem to see it more in the winter and
we are just starting to see it now in the summer when the humidity is
higher. Of course Callie has only been with us since December.

You know, I really don't care about anything but Callie's happiness. If this
is something that does not bother her I will be perfectly OK with it. Just
thought I would get some opinions here before ignoring it like the vets
thought was appropriate with Suzzie.

What sort of fur does you cat have? I wondered if it's more noticable
on my cat as she has very thick medium length fur which seems to shed
all year round!

Well, Suzzie's fur was longer than Callie's is, like the length I think of
when you describe your cat. I consider Suzzie's to be medium and Callie's to
be short. Suzzie had flakes all the time after about her fifth year and
Callie is just starting now.

Rolf.

--
To email, remove 'garbage' from address.

"Laura R." wrote in message
.. .
circa Wed, 9 Jun 2004 19:34:27 -0400, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
WumpyGirl --o--m) said,

The problem could be diet related. Perhaps she's not getting enough
fatty
acids. You could try adding a small amount of sunflower or flax seed oil
to
her diet. 1/4 of a teaspoon per day.

For cats with kidney problems, however, flax seed oil is
contraindicated, IIRC. I know I read something about it somewhere,
but I'll be darned if I can remember what it was that was bad about
giving it to cats with CRF.

Anyway, I know this doesn't apply here since the cat in question is a
kitten, but I thought I'd mention it. :-)

Laura

Definitely worthy of mention as well as the omega-3 fish oil suggestion you
posted as well.

The OP might also want to look into the ingredients of the food that's being
offered. After reading the ingredients in Science Diet Adult, I'd consider
ditching that one and try something else. Something that contains more meat
than vegetation, seeing as cats are carnivores and all. Perhaps something
like Wellness Super5Mix Adult?