Dandruff in cats and cats - causes and treatment

A famous legend has it that a cat has nine lives. It would be unfair if one of them purred beauty lived, suffering from dandruff. Few people know that dandruff can appear not only on human hair, but also on the head, back, paws and tails of cats. At the same time, the appearance of seborrhea does not depend on whether or not your purebred fluffy darling.

A disease such as dandruff, is the upper layer of the skin, which is excessively rapidly exfoliated as a result of its death. The dead cells of the skin of the cat's body simply rejects, so quite noticeable white particles appear on the coat. Does your pet need a dandruff? Of course have! Such a disease in cats is the cause of various ills, both for a fluffy beauty, and for her owner.

Why the cat appears dandruff

First of all, you need to find out what exactly affects the occurrence of dandruff in domestic animals. All causes can be divided into two large groups - internal and external.

External factors for cat dandruff

1. Excessively dry air in the apartment where the pet is located. If the air in the room is too dry, the cat's skin becomes denser and coarse, trying to protect itself from the lack of moisture. And in the absence of moisture, the first reaction will be seborrhea. In addition, when the cat is too long in the room, the air in which is dry, the pads of its paws can become covered with cracks. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the air in the apartment during the heating period is sufficiently humid and to avoid rapid temperature fluctuations.
2. Parasites and fungi. If you don’t pay enough time for your pet’s health and care, parasites can appear on its coat. The presence of ticks and fleas also affects the development of dandruff. Of the most common fungal diseases for cats, microsporia can be distinguished, which mainly affects the claws, skin and coat of the back, and ringworm, which is manifested at the tail and on the pet's face.
3. Sunburn. Dandruff on the back of a cat may appear if the pet gets an excess of solar ultraviolet radiation, which makes the dying off of skin cells faster.

Internal factors of seborrhea in cats
Among them, the most common are:

• diseases of internal organs and gastrointestinal tract;
• malfunctions in the thyroid gland and diabetes;
• allergic manifestations;
• stress.

Owners of cats need to know that their pet is extremely sensitive to stress. For you, this may seem like a short trip, but for a cat it is a big shock, and, as a result, hair loss, phobias, seborrhea.

1. Hormonal disruptions.
2. Genitourinary diseases.
3. Peeling of the skin, dull coat - symptomatic allergies to products or environmental factors.
4. Wrong diet - if the cat appears dandruff, then it is definitely not enough fatty acids. It is necessary to add omega-3 and omega-6 acids to its nutrition.
5. Excessive weight - since cats with overweight find it difficult to take care of themselves, especially brushing wool in hard-to-reach places, seborrhea often appears in the area of ​​the tail on the back of full pets.

It is also worth saying that all the factors listed above affect the appearance of various types of dandruff, among which there are dry dandruff and oily dandruff. Understand what kind of dandruff from your pet is easy. It is only necessary to stroke the cat against the coat. If small particles of dandruff are easily separated from the skin and sprinkled, then this dandruff is dry. It must be treated differently than fat.

Fat seborrhea can be defined as follows - see if your cat has glued hairs behind the ears and on the back, if it is greasy hair in general. Oily wool is not showered when scratching a pet, and gets stuck under the nails.

The color of dandruff, of course, does not match the color of the animal. Most often, dandruff is white, yellow or gray. If dandruff is black, then most likely, the cat has acne, parasites or fungus.

Dandruff can be combed using a furminator.

Cat Dandruff Treatments

What should be your first steps if you find dandruff in your cat? If you are not 100% sure of its causes or suspect that they can be extremely serious, then immediately take your pet to the vet, he will tell you exactly how to cure seborrhea and what caused it.

First, the doctor collects anamnesis: you will have to tell him how active your animal is, what diseases it has suffered, what you bathe and feed your pet.

After that, the veterinarian will perform various tests to determine the quality of dandruff and the following tests:

• complete blood count and b / x;
• identification of microcultures on the skin and crops;
• hormone analysis;
• skin biopsy;
• skin cytology and scraping of the skin.

If these tests do not show chronic diseases in your cat, then a change of shampoo and nutrition will help you to cure your beloved pet.

Products containing large amounts of vitamins of group A (found in beef liver and fish oil), vitamins B (vegetables and meat) are added to the cat's diet, and sweet and fatty foods are excluded. It is important to ensure that the diet of your pet has all the required omega-3 and -6 fatty amino acids, which are significantly involved in the process of normalizing metabolism, affect the healthy appearance of the skin and coat of the cat.

It is important to pay particular attention to the care of the cat's coat.It is important to regularly and efficiently comb it out using a brush with natural bristles. Due to the timely and stable dry cleansing and combing the hair follicles are saturated with oxygen, the blood circulation rises, the epidermis begins to regenerate.

How to cure a cat at home

The owners of cute fluffy creatures should know that excellent natural remedies that help save the animal from seborrhea, are decoctions of calendula, burdock root or nettle. It is necessary to use the decoction as follows: after bathing the cat with ordinary shampoo, rinse it with a decoction of herbs, this will help you solve the problem with dandruff faster.

Also do not forget about grooming. Scour the cat every day, because skin massage improves the blood circulation of a pet, thereby promoting the growth of a healthier and stronger coat.

Preventing seborrhea in a cat

Choose high-quality cosmetics to care for your cat.

• Do not bathe your pet in hot water.
• Ensure that parasites do not appear on the pet's fur.
• Do not let the cat stay under the hot sun for long.
• Keep track of your pet's nutrition.
• Moisten the air in the apartment where your cat is.

We sincerely wish you and your pet to always stay healthy!

Video: why does dandruff appear in dogs and cats?