# matted fur with dandruff



## lyvettely

Hello everyone,

My orange short-haired tabby, Gossamer, is having an issue with his fur. Above his tail he gets a good clump of matted hair. It got really bad after a few days so I decided to cut it off. What I noticed was dandruff in the clumps. I thought that it might be some sort of skin infection but there is no redness. Just normal looking skin through all the fur but alot of dandruff. This is the third time now that I'v cut off matted hair on him. Now I am noticing that around his hip area there is also signs of matting. Gossamer is not over weight. His last vet visit he was 13 pounds.
What is it? He is an indoor cat. He has a brother, Belvedere, who does not have this problem at all, but they are not from the same litter.
I read somewhere that it might be a lack of something in the food...??? They have a dry food diet during the weekdays and I feed them canned food on the weekends. 
Any helpful feed back is greatly appreciated.
thank you!


----------



## Heidi n Q

Hi, initially I feel that feeding cats a better diet helps their bodies function better. You don't state what brands you are feeding, but if you can feed products whose first ingredients are MEAT and not by-products or meal and no grains, those types of foods are fabulous for most kitties.

IMO, I feel his flakiness and matting is due to possible spring/fall-shedding and dry skin exacerbated by his diet. Also, the mats could be occuring due to dry-skin, shedding AND how you are petting him. Do you scrumble your fingers through his fur? Rubbing, scratching back/forth and swirling? If so, stop. Try petting him, and maybe brushing him, only in the direction the fur grows/lays to prevent matting. 

Gotta run, but that's all I've got for now.
heidi =^..^=


----------



## Susan

A good-quality diet will promote a healthier coat, which might help in reducing mats, although it's no guarantee. Still, as Heidi said, avoiding meat by-products and grains (corn, wheat, etc.) is best for not only cats' coats but also their health in general. 

As for why Gossamer is developing mats, it could be that he's not doing an effective job of grooming. Two of the most common reasons for that are the cat is overweight (which you say isn't the case) or the cat has arthritis (don't know his age and whether that might be possible). Other than that, it's just the case that some cats mat and others don't. My Muffin is prone to matting if I don't groom her daily, whereas Abby never mats regardless of how often I groom her. They're both on the same healthy grain-free wet diet.

The fact that you found dandruff would likely arise because Gossamer was unable to properly groom the matted area. To avoid mats going forward, you should try to regularly groom him to remove the dead hair. Either a rake-style brush or a Zoom Groom are often most effective.


----------



## lyvettely

Thank you for the sound advice! Gossamer and Belvedere are both 5 yrs. old. I adopted them from a no kill shelter when they were just 5 months old. Time goes by fast!
I feed them a brand called Authority. I get both dry and wet but now I am thinking of just going wet from now on. 
I do run my fingers through his hair but I will stop doing that. ;-( lol..
I have searched some other threads on this site and someone recommend putting fish oil as a supplement to give. Would this be a good idea?


----------



## Susan

A fish oil supplement can help to improve coat health, so you can give it a try, and switching to all wet is good. Authority is an ok food, not the worst but not the best. So, you could also consider switching to a grain-free wet (Authority is not grain free). Alternatively, it helps to get cats used to a number of different types/brands of foods, so you could also start adding other grain-free brands (EVO, Weruva, Wellness, etc.) into their diet.


----------



## laurief

It sounds like your cat may have a condition commonly called "stud tail". You can read about it here:

Stud Tail in Cats (Supracaudal Gland Hyperplasia)


----------



## lyvettely

I will look into Wellness and the other products mentioned. Thanks!
I don't give either of my cats a bath. I didn't get them used to it when they were younger (which I kind of regret). I tried bath time when they were around 3 yrs. old which was traumatizing for all four (I recruited help) of us. Gossamer, does not like water on him and Belvedere's coat is always so shiny that he doesn't really need it.
thanks for all the tips! I have been trying the fish oils in the wet food and both of my babies LOVE it!


----------



## lyvettely

wow, that describes Gossamer's issue alright. thanks for the the article. I've upped my grooming time with him from once a week to everyday now. Can't really dunk him in a bath but I am trying wet wipes for cats.
Got any advice for bath time with a cat that is not used to bath time?


----------



## Heidi n Q

lyvettely said:


> Got any advice for bath time with a cat that is not used to bath time?


Clutter-free small bathroom w/ door closed. 
Heavy clothing for bathers.
Have bandaids handy. :wink
Have several towels ready for drying the kitty.
Place one towel in the bottom of the tub so the kitty can feel 'secure' while standing in the tub.
There only needs to be a few inches of warm water in the tub. 
Better would be to use large plastic bowls to scoop out of and pour over the cat so it won't have to stand in water and will drain away. 
Try not to use running water, especially water running into standing water. It is possible you could run the water slowly into the un-plugged tub as a clean rinse-source if the kitty will tolerate it.
Use plastic cups to scoop/pour water over the cat.
Suds up and rinse well with more scooping/pouring. Possibly have a separate warm water source for rinsing the kitty instead of scooping from the standing tub-water.

That's all I can think of, good luck!


----------

