Advice wanted to improve condition cats fur

Pumpkinseeds

Like it says on the tin:) Our adopted cat Toby has quite wiry fur that tends to get sticky and Knotty on top. He still hasn't been accepted indoors by our other 2 and is a bit unsure about staying indoors for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm sure he will settle in with time.

The vet cut a few knots out of his fur a couple of weeks ago and I give him a brush with a slicker brush every second day. I feed our other 2 half a salmon darne each every week but Toby doesn't like fish so salmon isn't an option. I've been giving him some raw mince and raw chicken breast alongside Applaws nuts and Felix/Whiskas pouches. He'll be on Animonda soon but he's not sure about it at the moment.

He disappears off to some scrubland with trees for about 8 hours a day so I want to let him eat whatever I can get him to eat for now, especially since he's just over the urinary tract infection. I've been sprinkling a probiotic capsule into his food since yesterday to combat the after effects of the antibiotic injection.

Sorry for the long post I just need some advice on sorting out the condition of his coat as I don't want him having knots.

miezekatze

I assume he's got medium or long hair? Is he still a kitten? If so, maybe he just doesn't know how to groom himself properly.

It sounds to me like he might be a bit stressed, so making him more comfortable might help if that's the cause. Better food might also help. If he likes Felix/Whiskas then maybe try feeding Bozita instead of Animonda, it's more similar in texture to Felix pouches, but better quality (imo) and it's still quite cheap. You can get it on zooplus, my cat loves it.

bluecherry74

Would he eat his food with some salmon oil mixed in to it? I found that great for my dog's woolly coat. Probably half a teaspoon a day would be enough and he might not even taste it.

Pumpkinseeds

Thanks for the replies, no he won't eat anything fishy. I've got a bottle of salmon oil and he just meows at me when its in his food as if to say 'why are you doing this to me? We leave the back door open for him so he can come and go as he pleases, he's microchipped so he can access the catflap when the other 2 get used to him and he has a snug bed outside and another snug bed in the shed.

Our vet thinks he's 2 years old at most. I think the condition of his fur is just down to the fact that he's been sleeping rough for a long time. A little bit of sheen is starting to come back to his coat already. Our 2 will just about tolerate him in the garden and the kitchen but when he makes for the living room or the stairs the trouble starts.

Since he's been neutered he's here a lot more and he's usually waiting for breakfast every morning. You know what cats are like with the territoriality. There's our bedroom which they sleep in whenever they want. Felix spends a lot of time on the bed in the guest room and Jazzy loves to sleep in his basket in our home office. So that doesn't leave Toby with a lot of upstairs options. There'd be war if Felix found him in our room.Oh his fur is short but thick.

SillyMangoX

Coming up to cat shows I feed my 2 royal canin skin a coat I think it's called? They have it in the vets at the counter for €1 a pouch, not the cheapest but I find just 2 weeks with this food and their coats nearly glimmer! There's a similar dry food online by royal canin, pure feline beauty, the effects take longer to become noticeable but the cats absolutely adore the food! There's also another wet food I've seen in pet shops by RC, intense beauty, though I've not tried it! Not that I always advocate RC but I do find the effects on their coats amazing!