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#1
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Cat with Dandruff but won't clean herself?
Hi all,
We recently adopted a cat from the local cat rescuer. We knew she wasn't a healthy cat - we don't know how old she is, and she has bad diarrhea unless she takes steroids every day. Funny shaped - she's got a big pot belly. She also has bad dandruff. However, the woman said that the vet could not find anything wrong with her, despite the blood tests they ran. She was so cute - such a lap cat, and so in need of TLC that we took her. She is eating and pooping, but generally not very energetic. She LOVES to be pet, and will get on her back so you can rub her belly for hours while she coos and purrs (her purr sounds like a bird.) However, her coat is a mess - patchy fur, heavy dandruff, and we noticed she doesn't clean herself. What can we do? Is she not cleaning herself because she's old, or ill, or because her dandruff is so bad she's grossed out?? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. We want to do well by our grannycat, and look forward to your advice. Thanks, Leslie |
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Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. We want to do well by our grannycat, and look forward to your advice. Thanks, Leslie Well check you out! I know very little about extra care...but I'm happy for you, and your little grandma cat. A couple of baths, a good lather with a gentle but medicated soap, maybe even a soft bristled brush to help exfoliate...? Is there any such thing as cat "Ensure" The strays I have seen here in Lynchburg, they have swollen bellies...from eating out of trash cans. Her belly might slowly go down for ya, after a long period of consistent food. If you can get her energy level up, I think this would be the grandest improvment. The good food and new home might just cure her all the way around....it sounds like she's got all the required TLC. -- Barry .... Women and cats are both black at night. - Bosnia ... |
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#4
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Is it possible that because of her large belly that she has difficulty
cleaning herself in certain areas. I have a black long-haired domestic and she is quite a big girl. As a result, she cannot reach certain areas and will often get matted if I don't keep up with her daily combing.... |
#5
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wrote in message oups.com... Is it possible that because of her large belly that she has difficulty cleaning herself in certain areas. I have a black long-haired domestic and she is quite a big girl. As a result, she cannot reach certain areas and will often get matted if I don't keep up with her daily combing.... Which brings me to this: there are wet-wipe type things sold just for grooming cats. Not the regular wet-wipes that have icky stuff your cat should not ingest. I wanted to recommend that the OP, if he/she is not wild about the idea of a bath and all the trauma involved for most cats, go to Petsmart or mailorder from one of the pet supply places these wipes to maybe help the cat, who sounds old and kind of disinclined to groom. It is just a "bandaid" for now by might make you and kitty feel better. |
#6
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"Mary" wrote in message ... wrote in message oups.com... Is it possible that because of her large belly that she has difficulty cleaning herself in certain areas. I have a black long-haired domestic and she is quite a big girl. As a result, she cannot reach certain areas and will often get matted if I don't keep up with her daily combing.... Which brings me to this: there are wet-wipe type things sold just for grooming cats. Not the regular wet-wipes that have icky stuff your cat should not ingest. I wanted to recommend that the OP, if he/she is not wild about the idea of a bath and all the trauma involved for most cats, go to Petsmart or mailorder from one of the pet supply places these wipes to maybe help the cat, who sounds old and kind of disinclined to groom. It is just a "bandaid" for now by might make you and kitty feel better. I tried those wipes on my old girl, Tigger, and her fur just clumped up. Do you have a specific brand that you have found works? I have to "rake" the underfur regularly and then comb her out. She was a clean fanatic in her youth but just stopped grooming except certain spots she can't stand leaving dirty when her arthritis started acting up a few years ago. I have a feeling that she's not going to be with me much longer so I'll gladly take care of the grooming duties. W |
#7
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"Wendy" wrote in message ... I tried those wipes on my old girl, Tigger, and her fur just clumped up. Do you have a specific brand that you have found works? I don't recall the brand--I used them on my girl Gnarly when she was older and lost interest in grooming. She had medium-length very fine fur that never snarled, but it got dusty and flaky. I have to "rake" the underfur regularly and then comb her out. She was a clean fanatic in her youth but just stopped grooming except certain spots she can't stand leaving dirty when her arthritis started acting up a few years ago. I have a feeling that she's not going to be with me much longer so I'll gladly take care of the grooming duties. I wish I could help. My aunts used to use this weird "dry shampoo" in between shampoos (I never did as I have always shampooed every day, when you're showering anyway, why not?) that they worked in then combed out. It was maybe cornstarch based? I think it helped to control oil? I wonder if there isn't something like that which would work on cats? Understanding that anything we put on the cat's coat would have to be safe for her to ingest. |
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Mary wrote: I wish I could help. My aunts used to use this weird "dry shampoo" in between shampoos (I never did as I have always shampooed every day, when you're showering anyway, why not?) that they worked in then combed out. It was maybe cornstarch based? I think it helped to control oil? I wonder if there isn't something like that which would work on cats? Understanding that anything we put on the cat's coat would have to be safe for her to ingest. There *is* something like this for cats now. Back when Jay Jay was having diarrhea, the store people showed it to me. I had just gotten his pantaloons shaved, so I didn't need it right away, but it was something to keep in mind. It was at Petco, but I'm sure other stores would carry it. They had that plus the pet wipes, and a kind of grooming glove that you pet the cat with, so it doesn't snag like a brush. |
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#10
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wrote in message oups.com... There *is* something like this for cats now. Back when Jay Jay was having diarrhea, the store people showed it to me. I had just gotten his pantaloons shaved, so I didn't need it right away, but it was something to keep in mind. It was at Petco, but I'm sure other stores would carry it. They had that plus the pet wipes, and a kind of grooming glove that you pet the cat with, so it doesn't snag like a brush. Excellent. I hope the OP can find it. |
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