Kitty Dandruff

For years, Persia has had occasional bouts of dry skin. She develops
"kitty dandruff" which evidences itself along her lower back and the
base of her tail. She gets brushed regularly (loves it!) but it doesn't
solve the problem when it crops up occasionally.

I'm not a big advocate of using chemicals on our pets. But Persia's vet
in TN (years ago!) recommended something called Duoxo micro-emulsion
spray. (It contains phytosphingosine 0.2%, sorry, not going to look
that up! and moisturizing agents and green tea fragrance.) So I
spritzed some on her back and rubbed it in. Of course she tried to
"clean it off" but she can't reach that part of her back. Anyway, it
made her skin less itchy and the dandruff went away. It's formulated
for recurring Seborrhea and some skin allergies.

Last year my neighbor mentioned Schwartzie had a lot of dandruff and I
told her about Duoxo. I noticed when I was cat-sitting she had a bottle
of it in her pantry next to the cat food. I haven't heard her mention
Schwartzie having dandruff and sort of "bumps" on his skin under the fur
on his back for months. I'd felt them and he didn't like to be touched
at the base of his back. She must have talked with our vet and gotten a
bottle of it It works!

Anyway, when I was brushing Persia a couple of days ago I noticed her
dandruff had come back. So I ruffled her fur and spritzed her. I
brushed her again this morning, and another spritz of the Duoxo.
Ruffled her fur and let her think she can lick it off

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early
renal failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny Just
saying, this stuff works on kitty dandruff and itchy discomfort.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early renal
failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny

It's more likely that she is getting old and cannot reach everywhere to
clean her fur.
I never heard that renal failure increased dandruff.
None of my dogs that got renal failure in their old age got dandruff and
neither did KFC. I groomed them quite a lot though. You might have to
start grooming Persia in the places she cannot now reach.

Tweed





Just
saying, this stuff works on kitty dandruff and itchy discomfort.

Jill

On 12/3/2012 6:56 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early renal
failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny

It's more likely that she is getting old and cannot reach everywhere to
clean her fur.
I never heard that renal failure increased dandruff.
None of my dogs that got renal failure in their old age got dandruff and
neither did KFC. I groomed them quite a lot though. You might have to
start grooming Persia in the places she cannot now reach.

Tweed


I already stated I brush her regularly and she loves it.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 12/3/2012 6:56 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early
renal
failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny

It's more likely that she is getting old and cannot reach everywhere to
clean her fur.
I never heard that renal failure increased dandruff.
None of my dogs that got renal failure in their old age got dandruff and
neither did KFC. I groomed them quite a lot though. You might have to
start grooming Persia in the places she cannot now reach.

Tweed


I already stated I brush her regularly and she loves it.

Jill

I know you did but increased dandruff is not associated with renal failure.
It's because they cannot groom properly, maybe through arthritis? and not
being able to bend to reach everywhere like they once could.

On 12/5/2012 1:12 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 12/3/2012 6:56 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early
renal
failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny

It's more likely that she is getting old and cannot reach everywhere to
clean her fur.
I never heard that renal failure increased dandruff.
None of my dogs that got renal failure in their old age got dandruff and
neither did KFC. I groomed them quite a lot though. You might have to
start grooming Persia in the places she cannot now reach.

Tweed


I already stated I brush her regularly and she loves it.

Jill

I know you did but increased dandruff is not associated with renal failure.
It's because they cannot groom properly, maybe through arthritis? and not
being able to bend to reach everywhere like they once could.



Actually, it *CAN* be associated with Renal Failure due to the
dehydration that is also associated with Renal Failure. Just because
none of *yours* ever showed signs of dandruff doesn't mean it can never
happen. Some individuals are more prone to dandruff than others, and
the dehydration can exasperate it. Dandruff is, after all, dry skin
that is flaking off.



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http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

On 12/7/2012 10:03 AM, Magic Mood Jeep wrote:
On 12/5/2012 1:12 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 12/3/2012 6:56 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early
renal
failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny

It's more likely that she is getting old and cannot reach everywhere to
clean her fur.
I never heard that renal failure increased dandruff.
None of my dogs that got renal failure in their old age got dandruff and
neither did KFC. I groomed them quite a lot though. You might have to
start grooming Persia in the places she cannot now reach.

Tweed


I already stated I brush her regularly and she loves it.

Jill

I know you did but increased dandruff is not associated with renal failure.
It's because they cannot groom properly, maybe through arthritis? and not
being able to bend to reach everywhere like they once could.



Actually, it *CAN* be associated with Renal Failure due to the
dehydration that is also associated with Renal Failure. Just because
none of *yours* ever showed signs of dandruff doesn't mean it can never
happen. Some individuals are more prone to dandruff than others, and
the dehydration can exasperate it. Dandruff is, after all, dry skin
that is flaking off.


The reason I associated the increased dandruff with the renal failure is
from everything I've read and been told, one of the early signs can be a
dull or matted coat or changes in the coat. While Persia's fur is
neither dull nor matted, she started developing really large flakes of
dandruff. I do brush her regularly so it is even more noticeable. I've
got the Duoxo spray to ease the dry skin.

Jill

"Magic Mood Jeep" wrote in message
...
On 12/5/2012 1:12 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...
On 12/3/2012 6:56 PM, Christina Websell wrote:
"jmcquown" wrote in message
...

I'm sure some of the increased dandruff is attributable to the early
renal
failure, although her fur remains bright and shiny

It's more likely that she is getting old and cannot reach everywhere to
clean her fur.
I never heard that renal failure increased dandruff.
None of my dogs that got renal failure in their old age got dandruff
and
neither did KFC. I groomed them quite a lot though. You might have to
start grooming Persia in the places she cannot now reach.

Tweed


I already stated I brush her regularly and she loves it.

Jill

I know you did but increased dandruff is not associated with renal
failure.
It's because they cannot groom properly, maybe through arthritis? and
not
being able to bend to reach everywhere like they once could.



Actually, it *CAN* be associated with Renal Failure due to the
dehydration that is also associated with Renal Failure. Just because
none of *yours* ever showed signs of dandruff doesn't mean it can never
happen. Some individuals are more prone to dandruff than others, and
the dehydration can exasperate it. Dandruff is, after all, dry skin
that is flaking off.

I'm not going to argue about it. My vets say dandruff is nothing to do with
renal failure in cats, more likely to be unable to groom through old age.
Especially on the back near the tail which they cannot reach any more
because of arthritis in the neck.
Every cat will have skin flakes to groom away, even young ones. When they
get old they cannot always do it.

Maybe your vet says different. That's OK. They can differ in their
opinions. Mine is with me.

"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

For years, Persia has had occasional bouts of dry skin. She develops
"kitty dandruff" which evidences itself along her lower back and the
base of her tail. She gets brushed regularly (loves it!) but it doesn't
solve the problem when it crops up occasionally.

Jill

~~~~~~~~~~~
If Persia's dandruff is primarily along her lower back (toward the tail),
then the problem is likely to be related to inability to groom herself.
Holly is now 17 years old and is surprisingly agile and healthy for that
age. However, I noticed a buildup of dandruff just above the tail area. I
pointed this out to her vet, and he got out a little plastic flea comb and
started to gently comb in that area. He extracted an *amazing* amount of
old fur and dandruff. I was not even aware of the buildup of "dead" fur in
that area because Holly has never developed mats.

I suggest that you get one of those tiny flea combs and try gently combing
right above the tail. It is difficult for senior cats to reach that area.
Be sure to get a comb with *tiny* spaces between the tines. You are
grooming Persia regularly, but this technique is really different. I now do
it for Holly on an occasional basis, and I concentrate just in that one
area--not all over her body, as you would do with regular grooming.

MaryL

On 12/8/2012 7:48 AM, MaryL wrote:


"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

For years, Persia has had occasional bouts of dry skin. She develops
"kitty dandruff" which evidences itself along her lower back and the
base of her tail. She gets brushed regularly (loves it!) but it doesn't
solve the problem when it crops up occasionally.

Jill

~~~~~~~~~~~
If Persia's dandruff is primarily along her lower back (toward the
tail), then the problem is likely to be related to inability to groom
herself. Holly is now 17 years old and is surprisingly agile and healthy
for that age. However, I noticed a buildup of dandruff just above the
tail area. I pointed this out to her vet, and he got out a little
plastic flea comb and started to gently comb in that area. He extracted
an *amazing* amount of old fur and dandruff. I was not even aware of
the buildup of "dead" fur in that area because Holly has never developed
mats.

I suggest that you get one of those tiny flea combs and try gently
combing right above the tail. It is difficult for senior cats to reach
that area. Be sure to get a comb with *tiny* spaces between the tines.
You are grooming Persia regularly, but this technique is really
different. I now do it for Holly on an occasional basis, and I
concentrate just in that one area--not all over her body, as you would
do with regular grooming.

MaryL

The dandruff has slacked off quite a bit since I spritzed her with the
Duoxo spray a few times after combing against the growth of her fur. I
suppose I should have clarified she has *always* had a little problem
with dandruff, even when she was much younger. Just not as large as the
recent flakes were. Given her grey fur they really stood out.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Jill