Is fish oil safe for my cat's dry winter skin and my other cats?

Hmmm. Not sure the train of thought your vet was on. I commonly recommend fish oils, any fish oil supplement will work. There is no specific amount, though the biggest side effect is greasy stools. If you notice that, then you decrease the dose. It can take several months for you to see a change after starting fish oils. You can find a pet product at a pet store, or just use one from the human supplements section of a pharmacy or other store.

I would recommend an oral fatty acid supplement to help keep the skin healthy. Welactin is one we commonly use, though your vet can also recommend a product or your local pet store may also carry fatty acid supplements.

If she is on a high quality, balanced diet I would be cautious about over supplementing her as this can lead to dietary excesses (especially with cod liver oil type supplements as they can be high in certain vitamins also). Plant based supplements such as viacutan may also be an option but 3-5 days a week is likely sufficient

The fish oil works best if eaten, it will just make Winky Boy's fur greasy is applied to him. I would hide the fish oil in a fish based wet food to see if he will eat it. As for his ears, ear mites are typically found in younger kittens. He could have a bacterial or yeast ear infection. I'd take him into the vet to have his ear examined and diagnosed so they can be treated correctly.

I would not recommend using all three of these oils together, as you can cause problems with the liver and pancreas in some cases by "overloading" fats like this. Fish oil has been shown to be the most helpful with skin issues like this, so you could try a good fish oil supplement such as Welactin for dogs - just follow the instructions on the label for dosing, based on your dog's weight.

Cod liver oil contains a large proportion of vitamins and minerals which can be difficult to adjust in small dosages. A blended omega fatty acid supplement formulated specifically for cats is preferred such as viacutan, omega aid or vitacat. Other options are specialist skin diets such as hills or royal canin which are additionally supplemented with natural antiinflammatory and coat conditioning ingredients

Over supplementation of fish oil can certainly cause diarrhea. And some animals are sensitive to it even in small doses, so I always recommend starting with a low dose then working up. For cats, I would recommend a liquid pump in order to make that process easier. We have found that even though we are not exactly sure of the "correct" ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids that since Omega 3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and Omega 6 fatty acids tend to be pro-inflammatory, that we prefer that ratio to be higher than we used to think. Omega 3 fatty acids work over time, so while daily supplementation is ideal, a few times a week is certainly better than nothing. So, I normally recommend a cat specific liquid in a pump and start with 1/2 the recommended dose for a few days to make sure there isn't any soft stool, then increase to the recommended dose daily (if possible). I hope that was helpful and answered your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.