My long hair cat Gracie has always had dandruff at the base of her tail. Anyone have any ideas on how to control it?

have you spoken to the vet about this? i would call and explain the situation and ask if there was anything you could give food-wise to help with some hydration. could it be that she has dry skin? maybe some oil on her food? i googled cat dandruff and saw answers for sunflower oil or fish oil. again, ask the pro lol. could be a sensitivity to food? mites?

good luck!

kris

If it's just at the base of the tail, it could be flea dirt that you're seeing, not dandruff. Fleas for some reason love that area of the body and tend to live and breed there. Get a flea comb from any petstore and try combing her, if it's black and white stuff that comes out, it's fleas

Allergies are very common and can be due to food, environment, fleas, seasonal, you name it.

If she is otherwise fine, not losing weight, no excess drinking/urinating, eating fine and had a wellness exam within the last year with no problems, then you may consider changing her food to a type with a different protein source than the current one you are using. A lot of time dandruff can be mistaken for dryskin when in fact its greasy. When you pet her, does it leave a film on your fingers? If so, this is not a dry skin problem. Try a new food and check her again in 6 weeks for any improvement. If her skin is truly dry, you may try switching her to a food containing omega 3s OR give her a plain fish oil supplement, NOT cod liver oil. It only takes a very tiny amount, less than 1/2 capsule, and it's very inexpensive.

To check for flea dirt, use a flea comb and comb the area around the base of the tail and under the neck several times. Anything that comes off in the comb can be placed on a white paper towel and then spritzed with water. If there is any black "dirt", it will run reddish brown when it gets wet and bleed into the paper towel. If there's flea dirt, there's fleas.