Improving skin & coat condition in cats

Unfortunately, despite the wide variety of cat food that is available, many cats have diets low in the essential Omega oils which are responsible for producing a healthy skin and coat.

One of the reasons for this is that some of the most beneficial oils are very delicate, and are easily damaged, particularly after processing or prolonged storage as is common with most commercial foods. Cats that are not getting enough of these oils can have skin and coat problems, including excessive moulting, dry or flaky skin and dull, dry coats. It’s good to be able to recognise these common cat health problems before they get more serious.

Balanced nutrition

Adding Omega oils separately to the diet using supplements is a way to overcome skin and coat problems and ensure that your cat is getting enough of these very important nutrients.

There are two main groups of Omega oils, sometimes called essential fatty acids – Omega 6 and Omega 3.  There are two key Omega 6 oils found in certain seed oils such as Sunflower and Evening Primrose. Linoleic Acid (LA) is important as it helps to control water loss across the skin, preventing dry and flaky skin. Another Omega 6, GLA, found in Evening Primrose Oil, plays an important role in the skin’s replenishment.

Balancing the diet with Omega3 can help to ensure that these two important groups of Omega oils work together for the benefit of the cat. Omega 3 can help reduce skin irritation and improve coat quality.

Tackling excessive moulting

Cat owners absolutely adore their cats, but they don’t always love the cat hair that seems to find its way onto almost everything in the home. Unlike dogs, cats can jump onto work surfaces, onto your best furniture and even onto your bed, leaving their tell tail signs with sheds of hair.

Constant vacuuming is a labour of love for most of the UK’s 10 million cat owners and while it seems a small price to pay for the love and companionship we get from our feline friends, wouldn’t it be nice if our cats didn’t moult quite so much hair? 

Excessive moulting and problems with a cat’s skin condition can be attributed to a combination of modern factors such as climate change, central heating and changes in diet. Whilst it’s difficult for cat owners to change their cat’s environment, adding the correct Omega 3 & 6 oils to the diet can offer a potential helping hand.

How to reduce furballs

As your cat cleans its fur, it licks and swallows loose hairs while doing this. Those hairs form a hair ball in the stomach which can then cause vomiting as your cat brings the furball back up, or constipation if the balls end up in the intestine.

One of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of furballs is to reduce the amount of loose hair your cat produces. Regularly grooming your cat will reduce the amount of loose hair that he’ll pick up when grooming, but you can also help by ensuring your cat is getting enough Omega 3 and 6 oils in his diet. This will help your cat hang on to the hair, rather than it coming loose and ending up in his stomach.

Reducing cat dandruff

When a cat suffers from dandruff, the underlying problem is skin dryness, which is one of the quite common cat health problem that can befall your domestic cat. The loose and flaking skin that is called dandruff in cats is a by product of dry skin that has been weakened by a lack of essential oils and begins to break up. It can be difficult to determine the cause of cat dandruff, but concerned owners should always consider the simple reasons for any cat skin problems first

The simple things

Dandruff in cats is commonly caused by parasites. Skin parasites such as fleas, lice and mites irritate the skin and cause itching, and the cat responds with an increase in scratching and washing that dries out and damages the skin. Almost all skin parasites in cats are simple to clear, with many fast and effective treatments available from pet shops or a veterinarian. Alternatively, some owners choose natural remedies, although it is always advisable to check topical treatments with a vet if you are uncertain about their suitability for cats. When treating a cat for parasites, remember that to be thorough it is often necessary to treat not only the affected cat, but all other animals in the household, carpets and soft furnishings, and perhaps even the house's human inhabitants.

Stressed out pets

Your cat's health problems can also be caused by less obvious environmental factors. If the onset of dandruff is sudden, or you have ruled out other possible causes, it may be brought on by an allergic reaction. If you have changed your cat's diet, bathed or treated its fur or even changed the carpets recently, it may be that your cat is suffering an allergic reaction as a human might. It might even be stress. Just like us, unhappy or anxious cats can suffer depression, insomnia and even break out in a rash when they feel stress. Moving house, loneliness or a new addition to the household could all be to blame for cat skin problems in a sensitive cat.

A simple solution

Cat dandruff can often be easily remedied by improving the Omega oil content of the skin. Omega 3 and 6 oils play an important role in keeping the skin moisturized, and a lack of these can result in your cat having dry skin and dandruff. Adding these oils to the diet through supplements such as Yumega Cat improves your cat’s skin and can reduce the impact of cat dandruff.

The benefits of unique food supplements

The development of a supplement using natural seed sources and fresh fish is now promising to provide an alternative approach that is palatable to the cat and provides the key cat’s health benefits associated with balanced omega nutrition.

The natural food supplement, Yumega Cat, is made with cold pressed Organic Evening Primrose Oil, Sunflower oil and fresh Norwegian salmon oil, providing a rich blend of key Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils to improve the skin and coat.

Proven results

In a trial of Yumega Cat, clear benefits were seen within 3 to 6 weeks. Simply by adding Yumega Cat to the cat’s main meal, skin and coat condition improved dramatically. Dry & flaky skin conditions were improved, and moulting was reduced by an average of 30% in 6 weeks. Within 3 weeks, coat condition was improved by over 80%.

“Since using Yumega Cat, I have seen a marked improvement in our cat, who used to suffer badly from dandruff and had a dull, dry and coarse coat” comments vet nurse Lisa Brockhurst. “Now his skin and coat look great”

Breeder experience

Yumega Cat has also enabled breeder, Pauline Hart, to get her champion back into show condition. “Sonny had a bald patch on the inside of his leg that he had licked raw, which was preventing me from showing him, so I tried Yumega Cat. His hair started growing back within 2 weeks, and by the end of 6 weeks, the hair on his leg had regrown to normal length so you’d never know he’d had a problem. On top of that, it increased the silk and shine on his coat.”

Natural nutrition

“Following the success of our natural food supplement for dogs, Yumega, we were asked if we could develop a similar product for cats” comments Dr John Howie, development director for Lintbells. “We’re really pleased that Yumega Cat is proving so effective already and helping cat owners to provide natural nutrition for their cat’s skin and coat.”

Yumega Cat is now available across the UK in all Pets at Home stores, as well as numerous vet practices. For more information on Yumega Cat and stockists near you, simply call 0845 603 4409 or visit www.lintbells.com.