I have a cat who I think is suffering from dry skin. She keeps knawing and scratching huge scabby sore spots on herself. It's not fleas...I looked for the signs...flea dirt in her bedding and I examined her fur (a lot of it is white so they are easy to pick out). If she has fleas, there's only a few of them.

Anyway, the only remedies I've found in the pet stores is a special shampoo...I've tried these and while they might help the places she's not scratched into a sore, it doesn't help the actual wounded area (cause as we all know, sores itch when they're healing)

I'm almost to the point that I want to soak her in baby oil and wrap her in saran-wrap.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
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02-09-03, 12:13 AM
piggins
There are a number of things that can cause dry flaky skin, or excessive itching. Allergies are often the number one underlying cause of excessive itching. Food and environment allergies or inhalant allergies are at the top of the list. If your cat is outdoors part of the time, or most of the time, limiting its freedom for a while will help in determining whether environment is a factor. Allergies often allow secondary infections to occur, such as a manifestation of microscopic mites or lice. These should be ruled out.

The excessive scratching at the sites could also be caused from a secondary infection. Scratching opens up the surface of the skin allowing a manifestation of bacteria. The excretion from bacteria causes a pet to scratch even more. This is treated with an oral antibiotic and/or antibiotic topical from your vet.

Diet, stress, boredom or an underlying health problem that has gone undetected can also play a role in contributing to your cat’s problem. If you have the finances, a thorough testing done by a veterinarian is the most beneficial.

A few things you can do at home are… If your pet is eating dry food, changing to a canned food may help or changing brands altogether. Cold water applied to the area(s) will provide some temporary relief as well as an oatmeal based shampoo.

02-10-03, 08:22 PM
DvdGStwrt
Its time to take a trip to the vet. find out the causative before you can treat it.

Our vet gave us a special dog moisturizer for the puppy with the stern admonishment to NOT use it on the cats. Came to find out that Sirus (AKA The Puppy) is allergic to several things and had to be treated for that as well (A monthly $25.00 shot)

David

02-10-03, 10:24 PM
Katanya2000
Well, the thing is, I'm 99.9% sure it's dry skin. The reason I say this is because she never had a problem until the weather started getting cold and the space heaters came out. We don't have central heat, so all of the cats are usually parked right in front of their own heater for most of the season. One of the other cats has a similar problem too. When she spends a lot of time in front of the heater, a large round scar she has on her back starts to bother her and she'll pull all the fur out of that one area so she has a little round bald spot on her every winter. Once the fur is gone she leaves it alone and doesn't seem unconfortable otherwise. I think it's just the way sitting next to a heater can make your skin all dry and tight.

Anyway, as I was saying, my cat didn't have the itchy scratchy scabby problem until she started spending a few hours a day in front of the heater. I've moved the heater so she can no longer bake herself next to it, but now that the hot spots are there, they're still itchy and she keeps going at them. Another contributer to dry skin is the fact that she's not very good at cleaning herself so I have to bathe her once every 2-3 weeks...which is a lot for a cat...and yes, I've tried changing shampoos to make sure they weren't the cause and switched to one that is supposed to HELP with itching, but it doesn't seem effective.

Oh, and one other thing, she's on wet food and has been for months now. Nothing has changed in her environment, she gets the same 2 types of food she has for the past 6 months and all that. The only thing that changed was the heaters.

So basically I want to know how I can heal the wounds and keep her from continuing to chew at herself without making her wear a cone collar and booties. (she'd hate me forever if I did that)

02-11-03, 09:54 AM
Elexina
I agree with David. When the health of your pet is the question: go to the vet. It may in fact be dry skin, but you have to find the reason for it. Just treating the symptoms isn't enough, you have to remove the cause.

02-11-03, 04:14 PM
Georgia85
My cat had a similiar problem and the vet put him on a special diet supplment "Classic Omega" which is a powder rich in omega-3 fatty acids. That cleared up the skin problem and his fur is lusterous. Might want to discuss that with your vet since it is a special prescription supplement and not one that can be bought in a store.

02-11-03, 07:37 PM
DvdGStwrt
Still, to the vet you must go.

If it is just simple dry skin the vet will give you a moisturizer to put on the skin that is safe for them to lick.

Also, if you know the cat loves the heaters, it may be time to relocate the heaters or cage off the vents. We have strategically placed furniture over heater vents, such as long legged chair - then around that we have placed some nice looking lattice to keep the cats off the vent. Near their little box I extend the vent by placing a hollow wooden box open at both ends with a screen at the top. The screen lets the air flow while still allowing us to put a few small things up there.

Add moisture to the air as well (Winter is the driest time of year in the house) I covered this before, but to recap, use vases, pots, interesting jars filled with water placed here and there. You can add spices or scented oils to the water and even a tsp of bleach to keep the water 'fresh' If you have floor vents, put on directly on top of the vent, allowing 1/2 of the vent to be covered.

If you have a feed and vet store nearby you might consider udder cream (Sold for cow udders, wonderful stuff fast absorbing and softens even calluses) Rub a little bit of that all the way into the skin and then watch to make certain kitty doesn't lick at the spot. Ask the clerk if it is ok to use on cats - It may contain something that isn't good for them.

Time wounds all heels, er - time heals all wounds - so give it time.

Cats and dogs lick at raw spots and wounds to keep it clean. They pretty much know what they are doing. If the cat starts biting at the site, go to the vet. Biting bad, licking fairly ok.

Diet is a consideration, adding fats to the winter diet is not a bad thing. Consider tuna - it is high in fish oils and is fairly cheap. A small can a week can do wonders. Moisturizers work best from the inside out.

Prevention is key to this. Next winter you will know to not place heaters where the kids will dry themselves out. You may find, as we have, that seasonal room changes are in order, moving furniture around to optimize the heating and cooling while still keeping the place safe for the pets.

David

02-12-03, 09:48 AM
Georgia85
I need to amend my previous post. I checked the name of the supplement when I got home and it is called "Missing Link". Don't ask me where I came up with othe other name I listed. And I agree with everyone else, ask your vet about the problem. And you might want to ask his opinion on the supplement as well. He'd be the one to sell it to you.

02-19-03, 05:25 PM
Wildflower63
Another vote for take the cat to the vet. My dog got dandruf because of dry skin. Much more rarley, so have cats I have owned. Open sores are something the vet needs to look at.

02-19-03, 06:09 PM
Katanya2000
Oh! I guess I should have given an update. I took one last shot at a home remedy and gave her a bath....this time with an all natural baby shampoo. Worked wonders. Her problem was gone in a few days, and her coat is a lot softer now as well.

03-27-03, 12:59 PM
Elexina
Congrats on solving the problem, Kat, but next time you have a concern, please take the animal to the vet! Apparently she wasn't, but she could have been allergic to whatever you bathed her with or it could have made her skin worse because it was not cat-approved. You don't want to just experiment with your cat. Make sure you get a professional diagnosis next time, please.

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