My senior cat has dry skin, pulls hair, and eats less. What to do?

Question

Egypt, my 13 year old cat, has very dry skin. I tried giving him a bath by just putting the shampoo on and using a sponge to get it off, but that certainly didn't do anything. He pulls out small, damp tufts of hair. He is eating less, but purring and seems happy. Is there anything I can do? It would take 7 men and a boy to give him a pill.

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies though it could certainly be something else and it is hard to know without an exam. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. Fish oil works great for dry skin and you may get this online or at your local pet store. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

My senior cat has dry skin, pulls hair, and eats less. What to do?

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