Coconut Oil & Cats

[JadeTigress]

This is my cat, Bindi:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/JadeTigress/016.jpg

Recently, Miss Bindi's been having a MAJOR problem with tangles. She used to never have any problems at all, and then all of a sudden there were mats everywhere. It's so bad that I'm going to have to take her to the vet and have her sedated to get them shaved off, because there's so many and they're so close to the skin that I'm afraid to try to cut them off myself.

I know that coconut oil has helped my hair a ton with tangles. It doesn't tangle nearly as bad, and when it does, I can just lightly run my fingers through and the tangles are magically gone.

So I researched, and now that I know that coconut oil isn't toxic to cats, I was going to try putting some in her fur every so often and see if it helps with her tangles.

Here's my question: how much does coconut oil build up? I don't really care if it builds up on my hair, because I hop in the shower and then it's gone. But I think the cat would be really ticked off if I tossed her in the shower. So if it's going to create a ton of build up, I don't want to put it in her fur. But if it won't be very bad, then my kitty's going to smell yummy for awhile. :p

Thanks in advance! :D

[krissykins]

Bindi! *squeeeee*

I'm not sure how much it builds up, but I do think it depends on how much is applied and how often. Is there another oil you could try on your little cutie pie? :)

[Quezie]

She looks soooo much like my grandparents cat Mitzi. :D

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's oiled their pets hair. XD I've used olive oil on my dog, which doesn't seem to build up. The texture of his fur is a lot different than a cats though.

It seems to me that different oils affect everyones hair type differently, and something that builds up on my hair may not build up on someone else's. Trial and error, I guess.

[Slinks]

I always used to bathe my cat !! Well, shower him :-) lol, we had a screen so he couldn't get out, I'd get him wet, soap him up and thoughly rinse him off, then bundle him up in towels, cuddle him, kiss him and tell I loved him for about half hour after :-) he didn't like it but hey, if you lived where I was living, all the cats used to get some type of horrid weavel looking flea type bug and shampooing was the best way to treat IMO my cat .. he lived, lol, so did I .. so yeah, if I had a fluff ball of a cat and oiling was safe, I'd do it and wash him to avoid build up ..

[allmixedup88]

awww that is so cute!!!

[Debra83]

I never thought to put it ON a cat. But my black cat RACES AT 90 MILES AN HOUR to the bathroom if she thinks I'm getting out the coconut oil!!! She LOVES to eat it!!! It's like a door fee for me getting in the bathroom for any reason, I'm required to give her a lick of it off my finger. SHE'S SO CUTE!!!!

[darklion]

I coconut oil my dog. The cat has gotten a little on her but not a lot, and it seems that she got dandruff afterwards. It was only once... I didn't want to push it.

[Neneka]

So cute! :kitten:

Maybe you could give him some oil to eat. I have heard that more oils in a cats' or dogs' food affects their fur. My sister gives coconut oil to her golden retriever because poor dog has some fur problems. It's very healthy anyway! I suggest that you give miss Bindi some oil to eat.

If you put oil in her fur she is going to lick the possible build-up of, I think, so you don't need to worry about build up. At least my pets like the taste. I use coconut oil on my skin and they are trying to eat me every time (I have a dog and a cat). :D

[Mesmerise]

I don't think it will build up in her fur for the simple reason that she'll wash it!! Nom nom... It's probably quite healthy for her too ;)

As for washing cats, I washed three cats the other day in the laundry sink lol. I was minding a friend's kitten and she caught FLEAS (which is really embarrassing... as I maintained a completely flea free house for 7 years...and now they're back)... and then I washed my two youngest cats as well. Of course...they all still have fleas :rolleyes:.

As for matted fur, my oldest cat gets lots of mats... basically she can't wash herself properly, and the fur just builds up. I try to brush her but she hates it...and in the end I need to cut the mats out. I basically cut as far as I can, and then tease the rest of the fur out of the matted area. She hates me doing that too!

[Night_Kitten]

Oh, she's so cute!!! I absolutely adore cats :D
I don't think the oil will build up in her fur (as long as you don't put way too much or too often), as she washes herself and will lick it off her fur

[kyandii]

I might try this on my doggy, as she has weird fur which is more like hair than fur and gets dreaded and matted as she doesn't like being brushed or having her fur cut.

[Yosha]

Whether coconut oil will help your cat's fur to tangle less I wouldn't know, just make sure it's food graded coconut oil. My cat loves me when I put it on my skin and he wants to lick it off (I have unscented coconut oil from the food department). Something I did was after I got out the tangles on my cat, I use the Tangle Teezer on him and now he likes to be groomed and he hardly tangles at all anymore (he got mats since he hated being groomed, the TT is much safer on his skin whereas his old cat grooming combs/brushes were dangerous for his skin and even got me a wound when I accidentally hit myself with it). As I heard there are similar brushes for cats (much cheaper than the TT). Anyway that's just another tip, it works on my cat but of course YMMV, especially since longhaired breeds can have different types of fur :) Btw, I can't get mats out with the TT, but it keeps him tangle/mat free.

Almost forgot: she's an amazing beautiful cat! Is she a certain breed?

[JadeTigress]

Thanks everyone. :) I think I'm going to try letting her eat it first and see if that helps, and if it doesn't then I'll put it directly on her fur. I'm not thinking very much, maybe just once a week and use whatever is left on my hands after I've oiled my own hair.

And Yosha, I have no idea what breed she is. :p She's just a little kitty I got from the pound. But I tried to do all kinds of research, because her markings are so different that I thought she just had to be atleast part something. After going through all kinds of stuff, my best guess is that she's maybe part Birman. They look exactly like her, and her personality perfectly matches the breed description. I figure I can't get much closer than that. :p

[ratgirldjh]

I actually bathed my chihuahua once in an oil shampoo mix - like 1/2 and 1/2 with water added - and his fur came out amazing. Too bad it didn't work the same for me. Different hair I guess ;)

[Anje]

My cats prefer refined coconut oil to unrefined... They come begging for it when I get it out to put on my hair! So I don't think it's likely to build up. More likely to get licked off too quickly for it to do its job!

[islandboo]

Miss Bindi is beautiful! It is funny to hear how many cats like coconut oil - mine couldn't care less about it.

[owlathena]

I've oiled my cat and my dog when fleas led to flakey unhappy skin. It makes their fur nice and healthy :D

[88Marisa]

My cat has amazingly soft fur. We weaned her off of kibble onto a raw food diet. She was a pretty cat before but the difference in her coat compared to before is simply astounding. We feed her food made from fish scraps and chicken and beef liver chopped and then frozen in an ice cube tray to be thawed as needed. She won't touch kibble any more.

[salls]

My kitty loves coconut oil, he like to try to lick it off my fingers when I am done with putting it on my hair.

[little_acorn]

My cats love to eat it if I let them :D

[Asequui]

Lol, I love the LHC. I would have never thought to offer my Mini Panther coconut oil. Just got finished giving my hair a light oiling (I use Barleans organic), dipped a finger in the tub, and offered it to her thinking she would turn her nose up to it. Boy was I wrong! She loves it! I also rubbed a little bit on her fur (silky, fine, long, and a TON of it) and her normally glossy black fur is even more shiny! Lol not sure how long thats gonna last since shes happily licking every bit off at the moment. In fact she also zeroed in on the coconut oil left on my hand and held it captive till it was thoroughly "groomed". :)

[terpentyna]

So cute! :kitten:

Maybe you could give him some oil to eat. I have heard that more oils in a cats' or dogs' food affects their fur. My sister gives coconut oil to her golden retriever because poor dog has some fur problems. It's very healthy anyway! I suggest that you give miss Bindi some oil to eat.


I second this, fish oil is great.