My cat has a skin problem, what should I do?
Have you recently noticed that your cat's coat is duller than usual, that it is losing its hair, or that it is scratching more than normal? Regular care and a healthy diet are necessary to keep your cat's coat looking beautiful and avoid irritation and other skin diseases. How to take care of your cat's fur, we share our precious advice with you!
Maintaining your cat's coat and skin with brushing
Short hair or long hair, no exception: cats need regular brushing! First of all for their well-being but also for their health. Although daily brushing is recommended, it is possible to brush your cat's hair once a week if it has short hair and every other day if it has long hair.
In the first case, it is advisable to use a soft brush and a rubber glove (to be used against the hair) to remove dead hair. This will help tone your cat's skin and prevent more embarrassing skin problems later on.
If your cat has long hair, it is better to use a metal comb with large teeth. However, be careful not to brush too hard, as this could irritate your pet's skin.
Finally, don't forget that brushing should be intensified in spring and autumn, the seasons when your pet is moulting. Why? Because it is during these two seasons that your cat will lose the most hair. Your cat is used to licking itself to groom itself, and if it ingests too much hair during moulting, it will have to regurgitate many hairballs.
Caring for your cat's fur with the right wash
Your cat can develop skin problems if it is washed too often or too infrequently. So it's important to find the right balance. There are shampoos adapted to cats, with or without rinsing, to be carried out on average 2 to 4 times a year (i.e. every 3 months or so). However, if your cat is a wanderer who often returns from his walks full of mud or smelly, it is possible to wash him a little more regularly, but not more than once a week.
Regularly removing tangles to prevent my cat's skin problems
Regular brushing and washing, using the right accessories, can reduce the formation of tangles in your cat's hair, but it can't stop them completely! Especially if your cat has long hair or is a senior. Generally, cats of a certain age can have difficulty grooming themselves properly, which in most cases leads to the formation of knots.
The formation of knots is a problem for cats of all ages, as they prevent the skin under the hair from breathing properly. This is where skin infections start to appear, leading to dandruff, itching and sometimes even more serious skin diseases.
Strong, shiny cat hair thanks to a healthy, balanced diet
While proper and regular brushing and washing are essential for healthy skin and a beautiful coat, your cat's skin health also depends first and foremost on its diet. An inadequate diet will often result in a dull, greasy coat or significant hair loss.
Unfortunately, some cats can still suffer from these symptoms, even when they are fed the right food. This is often because standard foods do not always contain enough protein and essential fatty acids, which are said to be beneficial to coat health.
For this reason, it is strongly recommended to opt for food supplements that contain these elements, which are essential for the health and beauty of the coat. Since it is sometimes difficult and unattractive for cats to consume these supplements in capsule form, there are now new tricks to make it easy for them to consume these supplements. Salmon oil is one of the most effective solutions, as it is rich in omega 3 and 6, protein and nutrients. It is a nutritional supplement that is particularly beneficial to the beauty of a cat's coat and has many other benefits. Strengthening of the immune system, maintenance of muscles and organs, etc. You can find salmon oil in small pump dispensers on the Marly & Dan website.
