My cat has a dry coat. Is bathing her with coconut oil recommended?

I would not recommend coconut oil. This will close the pores of the skin and cause a skin infection. I recommend an over the counter aloe and oatmeal shame. This is going to cause a nice shinny coat. I do understand your diet preference but cats do eat protein in the wild and is needed for there proper growth. However if you have Holly on a proper diet she does not need any type of supplements the normal food is enough. For any type of bug- maybe fleas - I would recommend a topical flea prevention every 30 days. Typically the baths only wash off the fleas but does not prevent them from coming back.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think bathing a cat every week is excessive. I do not think bathing him will help much with the hair loss. I would be sure he doesn't have fleas or lice. If he has fleas sue a good product like comfortis, Serest collar or bravecto. If there are no fleas I would have him seen by your Vet to have him tested for mites (skin scrape) and ringworm (fungal culture). If all medical conditions have been ruled out her may be pulling hi hair out for behavioral reasons. Be care with too much coconut oil, since cats groom and Micole is excessively grooming ingesting too much can be a problem. I hope this helps and I wish Micole a speedy recovery!

Cat don't really like baths so I can suggest these things: 1. A [fish oil supplement](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/wild-alaskan-salmon-oil-cat-food-supplement) that can be mixed into their food. 2. Use a [waterless shampoo](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/tropiclean-waterless-cat-shampoo-deep-cleaning) product instead of traditional bathing. 3. Daily brushing. Brushing helps to stimulate the normal oils in the skin. Hope this help. Best wishes!

It is not recommended that you do this. Coconut oil is not a cure-all. It is very high in fat and could cause a deadly pancreatitis if she licks it off and ingests too much. If you would like to post again and tell us what you are attempting to treat then we can maybe help you find an appropriate product.

Excessive amounts of any fat (such as coconut oil) can cause diarrhea, but coconut oil is not a problem for cats otherwise. In fact, many people recommend feeding coconut oil for a healthy coat since it contains good fats. I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Plese do not put oil on your cat's fur, as she will try to clean it off, ingest it and this can cause gastro-intestinal problems such as diarrhea, vomiting and pancreatitis. Just comb her hair regularly and she should have a beautiful hair coat.

I am sorry that your pet is having sore skin due to ticks. You really should invest in a good tick preventative such as Bravecto, Nexgard, Seresto collar or the Preventic collar. This will prevent you from having to bath daily, which causes more skin irritation. The best thing for skin irritation is not oils (which often just get licked off and can cause GI upset if ingested), but instead a calming oatmeal based shampoo or hypoallergenic shampoo (i.e. Duoxo calming shampoo). Also daily fish oils is a natural anti-inflammatory that can help also. Try to limit his baths from now on to once every 2-3 weeks, especially if you are giving him a good high quality tick preventative. Also tick removal does not require a bath, but instead just removal of the entire tick with tweezers, making sure to remove the entire head to help avoid transmission of disease.