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Skin and coat diets
Good overall nutrition is needed along with a well balanced diet. If problems with a greasy and dull looking coat or flaky skin arise this could be signs of a greater internal issue. It is possible that the cat is not getting the proper nutrients in the the proper quantities in their diet. This can be see more commonly with cats that eat diets that are of poorer quality.

Zinc
Zincs connection to skin and coat health is due to its influence on regulating cellular metabolism. Zinc also supports proper immune function and suitable activity within the inflammatory response. Deficiencies result in disorders of the skin and poor immune functioning. When zinc is supplemented in diets, skin scaliness was decreased. Dietary sources include poultry, red meat, and eggs.

Copper
One of the many functions of copper is to assist in production of connective tissue and the pigment melanin. A deficiency in dietary copper is also related to collagen abnormalities, hypopigmentation of the skin, and alopecia. Sources for cats include liver and supplements in the forms of copper sulfate and cupric oxide.

Selenium
Selenium works with vitamin E as antioxidants to handle the free radicals that are damaging to the body and the skin. Selenium also plays a role with other antioxidants to help maintain cell membranes which provides further protection from free radicals causing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress plays a role in development of skin diseases. Dietary sources of selenium are naturally occurring in selenomethionine and tuna.

Fatty acids
Fatty acids are an important part of the cats diet, some are more important than others with respect to the cats diet and these are known as essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are nutrients that cats are unable to produce at all or in sufficient amounts to reach their needs. There are 3 essential fatty acids that should be included in a cats diets and they are: Alpha-Linolenic acid, Linoleic acid, and Arachidonic acid. Alpha-Linolenic acid is an Omega–3 fatty acid that is important to cats as it aids in the maintenance of their skin’s water barrier. As the water barrier is important to the cats skin, ingredients that are high in Alpha-Linolenic acid, such as flaxseed, should be included in the cats diet. Another source of Omega-3 s are in fish oil however, it is higher in Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which can be important  for cats as they have anti-inflammatory properties. Linoleic acid is an example of an Omega-6 fatty acid that also helps with the health of the cat’s skin by maintaining the integrity of their epithelial tissues. Linoleic acid is commonly found in plant based oils, an ingredient that is commonly used as a source of Linoleic acid is sunflower oil. Arachidonic acid is also essential to cats because they are unable to create it from linoleic acid due to an absence of the Delta 6 desaturase enzyme. It’s important for their skin for the same reason as Linoleic acid and can be found in ingredients such as animal fat.

Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a crucial nutritional component in the maintenance of feline skin and coat health. In addition to its many other functions, vitamin A plays an important role in the keratinization of the skin, hair and nails along with assisting in the development of various epithelial tissues throughout the body. The cells making up the epithelial tissues of the skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts rely on vitamin A to successfully complete the process of mitosis in order preserve these tissues and repair any damages. The mucous secreting cells of the respiratory and gastrointestinal epithelium also specifically require vitamin A to successfully produce a specialized protein referred to as mucoproteins which aid in maintaining the health of these tissues. Unlike most other mammals, the cat is unique in that they are unable to transform B-carotene to vitamin A and therefore explicitly require active forms of vitamin A which are only found in animal products. This difference in metabolism is due to very low levels of activity of the enzyme B-carotene 15, 15’ dioxygenase in feline species. The nutrient profiles developed by AAFCO currently advise a minimum of 3332 IU/kg of vitamin A on a dry matter basis included in adult diets and 6668 IU/kg in the diets of growing kittens as well as pregnant or lactating female cats. Common ingredients which help to incorporate the proper levels of vitamin A into feline diets include various types of liver as well as fish oils.

Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an essential nutrient which needs to be included in the feline diet in order to protect the lipid components within cellular membranes of various tissues in the body. Vitamin E is able to accomplish this through working with selenium and acting as an antioxidant to prevent free radicals from interacting with these fatty acid membrane components, resulting in reduced levels of oxidative stress. This is particularly important in the skin as various oxidative environmental components can have very damaging effects if not protected by vitamin E. The nutrient profiles developed by AAFCO currently advise a minimum dry matter inclusion of 40 IU/kg of vitamin E in the diet of cats throughout all stages of development. Lipid metabolism is also a major contributor of free radicals, leading to an increased dietary requirement of vitamin E as the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet increase. Ingredients such as wheat germ as well as certain plant oils contain high levels of active vitamin E and are commonly added to feline diets which are carefully stored in order to prevent oxidative destruction of vitamin E prior to consumption.

Biotin
Biotin can be provided in feline diets through the addition of cooked eggs, liver, milk, legumes or nuts. Microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tracts of cats are also able to synthesize and supply an alternative source of biotin if proper nutritional requirements are met. Its main function in metabolism is to operate as a coenzyme for essential carboxylation reactions throughout the body1 however it has also been shown to aid in the management of certain skin diseases in cats. Biotin is recommended by AAFCO to be included in feline diets at a minimum level of 0.07 mg/kg on a dry matter basis throughout all stages of development.

Vitamin C
Unlike humans, felines are able to utilize simple sugars glucose and galactose in a specialized pathway which occurs in the liver, referred to as the glucuronate pathway. This pathway ultimately produces the active form of vitamin C and maintains it at an adequate level, therefore it does not need to be separately included in their diet.

Diet and disease
Further information: Cat skin disorders

Many nutrients can cause a variety of deficiency symptoms in cats, and the skin is a vital organ that is susceptible to dietary changes in minerals, protein, fatty acids, and vitamins A and B. Cat’s show dietary inadequacies in their skin through excess or inadequate oil production, and skin toughening. This results in dandruff, redness, hair loss, greasy skin, and reduced hair growth.

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Nutrition related disorders
Today, nutritionally balanced diets are fed, and therefore nutritional deficiencies have become uncommon. However, these nutritional related disorders can arise if the cat’s food intake decreases, interactions between ingredients or nutrients occur, mistakes are made during formulation or manufacturing, and lengthy storage time. Nutritional related skin disorders usually result in excesses or not enough oil production known as sebum, and keratinization toughening of the outer layer of the skin. This can result in dandruff, redness known as erythema, hair loss, greasy skin, and diminished hair growth.

Minerals
Zinc is important for the skins function as it is involved in DNA and RNA, and therefore important for cells that divide rapidly. A deficiency in the zinc mainly results in skin disorders in adult cats, but also results in growth oddities. The skin of a cat deficient in zinc would likely have erythema, hair loss, crusty and scaly skin on its limbs or tail. The coat of the cat becomes dull and tough; however, zinc deficiency has not been reported in cats. Similarly, copper can affect coat health of cats, when deficient will cause fading of coat colour, and weakened skin leading to lesions.

Protein
The hair of a cat is made of mainly protein, and cats need about 25-30% protein in their diets, much higher than what a dog needs. A deficiency in protein usually happens when kittens are fed dog food, when they need much higher protein, and when low-protein diets are fed improperly. If a cat has a protein deficiency the cat will lose weight, then show poor coat condition such as scaly skin, dull, thinning, weak, and patchy hair. To remedy this a diet with adequate amounts of protein must be fed.

Essential fatty acids
Cats must have both linoleic acid, and unlike the dog also arachidonic acid due in their diet, due to their low production of the δ-6 desaturase enzyme. A deficiency in these fatty acids can occur if the fats in the cat’s food are oxidized and become rancid from improper storage. A cat will be deficient for many months prior to seeing clinical signs in the skin, after which the skin will become scaly, and greasy while the coat will become dull. To treat a cat with a lack of fatty acids, the ratio of n-3 to n-6 fatty acid must be corrected and supplemented (Hensel 2010).

Vitamin A
Cats cannot synthesize vitamin A from plant beta-carotene, and therefore must be supplemented with retinol from meat. A deficiency in vitamin A will result in a poor coat, with hair loss, with scaly and thickened skin. However an excess of vitamin A, called hypervitaminosis A, can result from over feeding cod liver oil, and large amounts of liver. Signs of hypervitaminosis A are overly sensitive skin, and neck pain causing the cat to be unwilling to groom its self, resulting in a poor coat. Supplementing vitamin A with retinol to a deficient cat, and feeding a balanced diet to a cat with hypervitaminosis A will treat the underlying nutritional disorder.

Vitamin B
The cat must have a supply of niacin, as cats cannot convert tryptophan into niacin like dogs. However, diets high in corn and low in protein can result in skin lesions and scaly, dry, greasy skin, with hair loss. Another B vitamin, biotin, if deficient causes hair loss around the eyes and face. A lack of B vitamins can be corrected by supplementing with a vitamin B complex, and brewers yeast.

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 * Nutritional skin disorders

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Malnutrition

Further Information: Cat food

Malnutrition in cats is currently uncommon due to complete and balanced diets being formulated and fed. Yet it can still occur if the cat’s food intake decreases beyond what the food can provide, if the interactions occur between ingredients or nutrients, if mistakes are made during formulation or manufacturing, and if the food is stored for a lengthy amount of time. If a cat becomes malnourished, a deficiency of energy, protein, taurine, essential fatty acids, minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium), vitamins (A, D, E, thiamine, niacin, biotin), and trace elements (iron, copper, zinc, iodine, selenium) can occur causing a multitude of deficiency symptoms.