Our siamese kitties have dandruff. I’m sure the house is dry, but I am not sure what to do? I could soak their kitty litter in fish oil…ok not really…but I’m not sure outside of changing their diet to all wet food what to do for their coats. Anyone know a good remedy for kitty dandruff? Baths are out. I value my fingers and forearms waay to much to subject them to baths.
I think baths need to be in! Buy some long, stiff gloves that you don’t mind getting wet (big outdoor rubber ones, or even stiff leather) to prevent the cat from shredding your arms. I’m pretty sure there must be shampoos designed to deal with cats with dry skin - I knew a dog once whose owners had to bathe regularly for the same reason and they used something recommended by their vet. Give the vet a call, and see if they can give any recommendations over the phone. They might ask you to bring the cats in to see them, but I think you could probably argue that just buying a shampoo designed for cats and trying that out for a week or two might show enough of a difference to rule out another medical cause.
If you have a closed shower, with doors, and a telephone shower head, that really works best, IME. Just get in there with the cat (wear clothes or boots and gloves at least to protect your extremities), and wet them slowly with the shower head, then turn off the water, lather up the cat, and then turn the water back on to rinse. Much easier than trying to pin a cat down into a bath tub and wash them under the faucet!
Alternatively, you can call a groomer - they tend to specialise with dogs, but I’m sure they could suggest something, or even do the bathing of the cats for you!
Every cat I know has dandruff. I thought it was normal.
No baths! Barring health issues, good skin and coat comes from the inside out. What do you feed them, dry food? What brand? Your comment about the fish oil is right on. Don’t use cod liver oil, it’s too high in vitamin A, but whole fish body oil or salmon oil to up the omega fatty acids in their diet will really help. It’s not a great idea to feed only wet food, it’s bad for their teeth, but if you’re going to feed a pre-packaged dry food, look for one rich in meat protein and without corn–preferably as little grain content as possible.
There are a couple of health issues that are worth talking to your vet about including Diabetes and Cheyletiella, an external parasite known as “Walking Dandruff.”
We feed them Royal Canin Indoor it’s a dry food and occasionally we give them wet as a treat. I’ll check the labels.
I think Royal Canin is a good brand; if I recall it’s very nearly all meat protein. In my completely non-professional but pet-food-geeky opinion, I’d just try adding some fish oil or salmon oil to their diets if you want to stick with the dry food.
Add in all the standard health disclaimers and so on and so forth.
That’s a good idea. I’m going to their favorite pet shop this afternoon [they let people bring whatever pets they want into the shop]…so my male siamese loki usually accompanies me on my shoulder. 
He doesn’t try to jump, he just sits there and chills out…
Darn it, Pullet beat me to the Cheyletiella! 
Just as a PSA, don’t use human hair products (like the mention of Head and Shoulders) on pets, it can be too strong for their skin (really!).
If it is accompanied by excessive licking and itching (more than you can stand watching), then it can be time for a visit to the vet, to see if there are underlying skin problems.
Is Nutro good?
We have many cats, two of whom started having dandruff. Both turned out to be diabetic, which we treated successfully (one lived 10 fun years getting two injections a day).
However, our vets said as far as they knew, the diabetes had nothing to do with their dandruff. Pullet, I’m interested - what do you know about this?
Ninja chicken strike!
Weird. It’s a pretty common link mentioned in my classes. Maybe it’s been a while since your vet went to a continuing education session?
Dandruff in diabetic cats
Dandruff in diabetic cats, read the case study for “Rascal” Simon
Hmm… Suddenly I can’t find a reputable looking webpage that specifically mentions diabetic cats and dandruff. The major websites are just saying “Skin changes that could leave your pet more susceptible to infection.” Maybe it was just a trend my professors saw frequently? Will recon.
What a good lookin’ guy 
You can get fish oil and salmon oil at any place that sells health food supplements. I buy it at the grocery store or drug store. You can very likely buy bottles of rich-in-omega-fatty-acids oil at the pet store, but chances are high it’s going to be marked up disproportionately to the oils found in grocery stores. Probably not as fresh, either. I buy it in capsules and give them to the dog like treats, one or two a night, and will dribble it over the cats’ food, or mix it in with an egg.
Why not simply go to the fishmonger and buy some oily fish and feed them that?
That’s precisely what I do, but most folks aren’t really interested in the discussion of adding in fresh foods to a pre-packaged diet. My pets all get a raw diet and fresh fish like sardines and mackerel make up a small, but important, component.
Royal Canin sells a Skin Care food, that is supposed to help with dandruff. I put in in the kibble blend I feed my kitties.
(I buy 4-5 small bags of different kinds of kibble and mix them in a food locker. Every time I refill, I buy one bag of a different food (I’ve got about 10 types in rotation). The variety over time helps keep them from being picky, and they love the variety in shape/texture in their bowl. It’s something the breeder I got my Turkish Vans from does with her cats, and I’ve been doing it ever since)