# My cat has severe dandruff on her spine and butt

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 14, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038 "2004-04-14T21:12:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038/1 "2004-04-14T21:12:49Z")

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Starting about mid-back and continuing down to the base of her tail along her spine, my cat has a serious dandruff problem. I know she can reach to clean herself, and even if she couldn’t, there are two other cats in the household and they frequently clean each other. She has no medical problems that we know of. Is it a seasonal thing? Or does kitty need to become acquainted with bath water?

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**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038/2 "2004-04-14T21:30:56Z")

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So does mine, and his vet told us it was a sympton of his allergies. He was wheezing for a while, but that seems to be under control. The dandruff remains.

Baths are not good for kitty skin. Try vitimin E. Buy the soft gel-caps meant for people. You can poke one with a pin or knife and squeeze out a drop onto her food. A single capsule can last a week, or you and kitty could share a dose.

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**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038/3 "2004-04-14T21:38:12Z")

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I would check with your vet first. Just to make sure.

Depending on the food she eats, there may not be enough fat in her diet. You can supplement it with Lipaderm or another nutritional supplement (for cats) that is high in Omega-3.

My cats don’t like Lipaderm so I am thinking of getting some cod liver oil. My sister’s cats do like it (Lipaderm) and the difference in their coats and skin after 2-3 weeks of daily doses was amazing. Soft, silky, shiny, and no more flakes.

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**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038/4 "2004-04-14T22:25:27Z")

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I used to use fish oil capsules, but kitty stopped eating, so now I just deal with her seasonal allergies with lots of scratching and the occassional vet visit for meds if she gets really bad.

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**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-severe-dandruff-on-her-spine-and-butt/240038/5 "2004-04-15T01:00:25Z")

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My kitty had this problem for awhile…and my vet said it could be a sign of diabetes (went away on it’s own, fortunately). Just something you might want to ask your vet about, or to check for if they are doing other tests.