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The appearance of your cat’s skin, coat, and fur are indicators of its health. A healthy coat is smooth and shiny, not coarse or brittle. Healthy cat skin is soft, supple, and clear, not greasy, flaky, or bumpy. While your cat’s diet and nutrition fuel the shine on the outside, basic grooming will surely add an extra touch of beauty.
There is so much you can do as a pet parent to make sure that your feline’s skin and hair stay healthy. From feeding it the right foods to investing in appropriate products for your cat’s well-being, treating skin problems in cats is not that confusing. Keep reading to learn more about cat skin conditions and how you can keep your cat’s coat and skin healthy.
Since there are various cat breeds, several coat characteristics are considered to be healthy, such as:
Hairless coat (Sphynx cat)
Curly hair with minimal shedding (Rex cats)
Smooth coats with sparse undercoats (oriental breeds)
House or domestic cats with a regular outer coat of short hair and a soft layer of undercoat to provide additional insulation
Longhaired cats with silky smooth hair that knots easily
As the largest organ of the body, your feline’s skin health should always take priority. For most cats, their skin is mostly covered with hair that sheds and grows back throughout their lifetime. The best way to maintain your feline’s skin and hair health is by feeding a balanced diet that includes high-quality digestible proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. This will help your cat consume enough calories to maintain its energy needs. In fact, this will also cause the liver and kidneys to work more efficiently to eliminate all waste products.
While there are many nutrients that you can include in your kitty’s diet, some stand out as essentials for your kitten’s skin and hair health. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are two nutrients that you should include in your cat’s diet without fail. Omega-3 fatty acids such as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) help maintain skin and coat health and help sustain the skin’s water permeability barrier. Omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid ensure that the epithelial tissues stay healthy in your cat’s body.
You can decide your cat’s meal plans with your vet who can suggest the right foods according to your cat’s age. If you have not consulted a vet and notice that your cat’s coat has become dull, dry, and sheds excessively, make sure that you visit a professional and make appointments for regular checkups.
Vitamins should be an integral part of your cat’s diet and must be fed in the right proportions. Many important vitamins are found in the raw materials of your cat’s food and are synthesised from there, making a balanced and nutritious diet key to your feline’s good health. Here are a few vitamins that a cat must receive from its diet:
Vitamin A: A fat-soluble vitamin that is eminent for a strong immune system and healthy vision. However, large amounts of Vitamin A can be toxic for your cat. Make sure you consult a vet to know the right amount of dosage for this particular vitamin.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps heal wounds and helps cats use protein effectively.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D helps retain phosphorus and calcium in your cat’s body. It is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” as it helps the bones, muscles, and nerves function well.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): A water-soluble vitamin that is important for healthy metabolism, and maintenance of normal growth and nerve impulse transmission.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Vitamin B2 helps your cat’s body break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, to produce energy, and to let the body use oxygen. This vitamin also helps maintain your cat’s skin and coat health.
Vitamin B3 (Niacin): A water-soluble vitamin that is eliminated through your cat’s urine, this vitamin should be restored regularly in your feline’s body. It helps keep your kitty’s gastrointestinal functions, nervous system, and skin healthy.
Vitamin B6: This vitamin helps your cat’s body break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates to produce energy and supply oxygen throughout the body.
Like vitamins, minerals are also essential for your cat’s body. They promote enzyme formation, oxygen supply, nutrient utilization, and pH balance. Here are some minerals that should be included in your cat’s diet:
Calcium
Iron
Sodium
Magnesium
Chloride
Consult a vet to know the right amount of vitamins and minerals your cat should be consuming to stay healthy.
Common cat skin conditions such as excessive scratching and licking, redness and swelling of the skin, loss of fur, scabby and flaky skin, and more are inevitable. What you can do is follow these steps to ensure that these skin problems in cats are kept at bay:
Ensure that you are feeding your cat the best diet food available. A balanced and nutritious diet will help it derive the most important vitamins and minerals to synthesise carbohydrates, fats, and protein. It will also help in maintaining your cat’s overall skin and coat health.
Good grooming habits can really help your cat’s skin and coat health. While regularly brushing and combing your cat’s hair is a great way to bond, doing so will also prevent mats from developing. Mats can cause great discomfort for cats and can also cause hair loss and skin infections. Use a good grooming tool to ensure that your feline’s hair is combed with ease and there is no irritation or discomfort.
Shampooing your cat’s fur is not exactly common. Cats have a habit of self-grooming and they are not the most cooperative when it comes to baths. However, if your cat is itchy or just too dirty, it is best to use a shampoo that is formulated especially for cats. Ensure that you do not use any cat shampoo with tea tree oil since it is toxic to your feline’s skin and coat. If you do not know which shampoo to use, consult your vet to find out the ideal medicated shampoo for your cat.
Flea diseases are the most common skin problems in cats and should be treated immediately. Flea diseases can cause your cat to scratch and lick continuously, which can lead to wounds or partial baldness.
If you have a cat that is suffering from severe anxiety and stress, there will be signs. Excessive licking and grooming are signs that your cat is conscious and is acting out. This can cause a great amount of hair loss. Apart from appearance, stress and anxiety in cats can also induce serious health issues such as idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease. If you notice your cat licking itself all the time, take it to a professional for a regular checkup.
Cat skin conditions are usually a sign of some imbalance in the body. If you have noticed that your furry pet has been having some skin troubles that are not getting resolved even after continued efforts, take it to a vet and rule out any serious conditions.
Feed your cat a balanced and nutritious diet and witness the results on its skin. Your cat’s appearance on the outside is a reflection of what’s going on inside. Make sure you include the right supplements (vitamins and minerals) in your cat’s diet.
Many vitamins such as vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, and D are good for your cat’s skin.
You can improve your cat’s fur by feeding it good cat food, practicing good grooming habits, and keeping it free of any fleas.
You can consult your doctor if your cat has bad skin to diagnose the reason. Begin with basic steps such as feeding your kitty well, keeping it hydrated, and using the right grooming products and tools.
If you have a cat at home, you have probably seen it vomit every now and then. Cats throwing up is something common but healthy cats should not be throwing up too often. If you notice that your cat is puking frequently, it could be because of several reasons. It is best to take your cat to the vet and schedule regular checkups to make sure that any underlying causes are treated in time.
That being said, you do not have to rush your cat to the doctor when and if it vomits. Occasional vomiting is not a cause of concern, steps for treatment should be taken only when your cat starts to vomit after every meal or every day. Keep reading to know more about why your cat’s throwing up and what you should do to look after it.
Just like us humans, cats can vomit because of various reasons. A cat can vomit if it is exposed to a toxic ingredient. For example, being exposed to a toxic plant that makes your cat vomit can be a reason for chronic vomiting. Cats have a habit of playing with strings and if they ingest any of these toxic bodies, they can stay in its system and cause chronic vomiting.
Vomiting is such a common occurrence in cats that it cannot point out a particular illness or infection. Almost all feline diseases result in vomiting and to find out the actual cause, you will have to take your cat to a vet. It can be for reasons ranging from intestinal issues, organ dysfunction, gastric issues, diet, infections, cancer, and more.
Here are a few reasons why your cat’s throwing up:
Cats love self-grooming and you will always find them licking themselves. This causes their rough tongue to pull out loose hair out of their coat and swallow it. When a large amount of coat hair accumulates in the stomach and is not easily digested, it leads to your cat throwing up a hairball. Cat hairball vomit is extremely normal and there is nothing to worry about. However, if you notice that your cat is throwing up hairballs too often, it could be a sign of gastrointestinal problems. Get it checked by your vet to be on the safer side.
Gastroenteritis is just a fancy term for an upset tummy. This can be caused due to medication side effects, dietary problems, toxins, and more. Most of the time, symptoms of gastroenteritis are mild and resolve on their own while others can be chronic and will need a professional’s attention.
Foreign bodies or obstructions: If your cat has a habit of eating or chewing on the toys it plays with, its GI tract can get blocked and can result in bouts of vomit. When vomiting is induced by a foreign material in your cat’s body, urgent help is required. It’s best to take your cat to the vet immediately and get it looked at.
Food allergies and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Food cat allergies are not common, but some can cause your cat to vomit. If your cat eats a trigger food, it will immediately start throwing up because of the inflammation in their digestive tract. Sometimes, food allergies can also cause chronic diarrhoea.
Systemic Illnesses: Many chronic illnesses such as pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism, kidney diseases, and more can cause your cat to feel nauseous and throw up. If you notice that your cat is throwing up too much, it is best to get it looked at, so the diagnosis of the above-mentioned diseases is not delayed.
Parasites: Parasites usually cause vomiting in kittens, but it can happen to cats of all ages. Check your cat's vomit for live worms. The only good news about parasite-induced vomiting is that it is 100% curable.
Cancer: Digestive tract cancer is very common in cats. Cancer in other parts of the body can also lead to vomiting.
Cats vomit because of many reasons and the appearance of their vomit can help us get an idea about what’s bothering them. It is best to observe or take a look at your cat’s vomit so you can tell your vet about it. This will help them find out the underlying cause and treat your cat accordingly. Here are some common types of cat vomit:
Yellow vomit | If your cat is throwing up yellow vomit, it could be because of partially digested food or bile in its stomach. |
Clear vomit | Clear vomit can occur due to an empty stomach or due to the regurgitation of saliva from the oesophagus. |
White, foamy vomit | Hairball-induced vomit on an empty stomach can cause your cat’s vomit to appear white and foamy. |
Bloody vomit | Bloody vomit can be caused due to inflammation in the stomach, oesophagus, or in the upper intestines. |
Brown and smelly vomit | Brown and smelly vomit can be a sign of bleeding in your cat’s digestive tract. It could also indicate an issue with your cat’s kidney or liver. |
There are a lot of things that you can do to prevent your cat from vomiting. The best way to rule out any common causes of cats throwing up is to take care of their diet. If your feline suffers from cat allergies, ask your vet for a special diet. This can help your kitty keep chronic vomiting at bay.
Make sure that you are feeding your cat a balanced and nutritious meal and not giving it too many table scraps. Keep an eye on your cat when it is playing and do not let it eat any of its toys. Rubber, strings, and more can cause your cat to vomit. Lastly, consider over-the-counter cat hairball vomit remedies. If your cat’s coat has long hair, ask your veterinarian to prescribe some products that can help reduce or prevent hairball vomiting.
Many cat parents try to find products that they can give their cats to prevent or stop vomiting. Since there are so many reasons that can cause your cat to throw up, picking a product based on a single issue is extremely difficult. If your cat is throwing up because of organ diseases or cancer, treating the disease should be a priority. If your cat has a mild case of vomiting, your vet may prescribe antiemetic medications or antacids. For gastrointestinal issues, your cat may need to switch to a more gut-friendly diet.
Your veterinarian will decide what tests and treatments are necessary for your cat based on these aspects:
Whether it has fever, is lethargic, or is depressed?
Whether it has a good appetite or lost any weight?
Is it throwing up blood?
Is your cat in pain or is experiencing abdominal discomfort?
Are your cat’s bowels affected?
Is it vomiting too many times in a day or just right after a meal?
Does the vomit stink or have a particular colour?
Did you recently change your cat’s diet or put it on supplements?
Is your cat chewing on any toys or is it eating any other foods?
Are other cats in your house also affected?
If your cat is vomiting too much and some serious symptoms of underlying diseases are suspected, your veterinarian may suggest more tests and suggest more aggressive treatments. If your cat has lost a lot of blood or electrolytes by vomiting frequently, you may need to get it hospitalised.
Before you go on to treating your furry friend, you must know the different cat vomiting reasons:
Ingestion of a toxin from the fur is the most common cause of cat vomiting.
Cats have a proclivity for chewing on attractive house plants, which can lead to plant poisoning.
If the cat is present when its parent cleans its living space with a high-fume chemical agent, the inhalation of toxic chemicals - such as cleaning agents - can cause poisoning in cats.
If your cat skips a meal or eats later than usual, it may regurgitate the undigested food.
Another reason why cats vomit frequently is their rapid change of food. It is recommended that you transition your cat to a new diet slowly over a one to two-week period, gradually reducing the amount of current cat food while gradually increasing the quantity of new cat food.
Dietary indiscretion, pollutants, or medication side effects might cause gastric problems such as an upset stomach.
Some cases are minor and can go away on their own, but others can be serious and require medical attention from a veterinarian.
Ingestion of a foreign object, such as a string or a small toy that becomes lodged in the stomach or intestines, is a common cause of intestinal blockages in cats.
An intestinal blockage is a highly serious ailment that requires immediate attention. It can be caused by underlying health concerns such as a tumour or difficulty with intestinal movements.
Some of the common signs include your cat puking frequently or its inability to keep down water or food.
Prolonged disorders such as pancreatitis, kidney disease, and hyperthyroidism can all cause nausea and chronic vomiting in cats for numerous reasons.
Identification of the underlying ailment is required to address many causes of cat vomiting with many of these conditions requiring lifelong therapy.
One of the most prevalent feline endocrine illnesses is hyperthyroidism (sometimes known as an overworked thyroid).
Thyroid overactivity is caused by a tumour (usually benign) in the thyroid gland that pumps too much thyroid hormone into the bloodstream.
This increase in your cat's metabolism can result in your cat throwing up.
Repeated cat vomiting should never be ignored because it can lead to dehydration. But because vomiting is common in cats, how do you know what’s normal? “A general guideline is that if the cat is vomiting one to three times a month, we consider this normal,” says Dr Folger.
He considers it serious if the vomiting occurs twice daily for two or three days. If your cat stops eating, seems to have stomach pain, or retches continuously, or if the vomit is mixed with blood, take it to a veterinarian. And as always, if you’re suspicious that a lingering problem could be harmful to your pet, call your veterinarian. A visit to the office can help relieve your cat’s discomfort and your worries as well.
