cat dandruff

[pagey3]

we have a 18 month old house cat he's well fed, he's not exactly thin but he's certainly not overweight ('robust' was the official line from the vet!) and he has a mixed diet of raw meat on the bone, felix and go-cat. however down his spine he has some sort of dandruff - some white specks on his coat - is this something to worry about? at tthe minute we don't groom him - should we buy a special comb and groom him occasionally - how often?! thanks for your help

[bensmum]

Have you looked at his skin along the spine? If it's flaky that could be indicative of a problem, cats do get skin ailments. Does he scratch a lot? It could be nothing - one of mine gets "dandruff" occasionally. Cats often like to be groomed - mine love it - and a special comb might be a good idea initially as you should be able to see from that if there are any real problems. Go gently with it at first in case his skin is sore underneath the fur.

[plessy]

Hi,
It sounds as though he has a case of dry skin, which can cause this sort of dry dandruff you are describing. Try giving him a daily capsule of evening primrose oil, as this really helps clear this problem up, although will take a few days to show any effect. The other thing you can do is to put some baby skin moisture cream along the affected areas, use bay though, as it is safest if he grooms himself. I use both of these methods on my 9 year old show cat, and they work a treat!
Cheers