Oily fur on cat
 

My sons cat has oily fur and clumps, he brushes it and occasionally has to cut some of the clumps off. Is there a medical condition that causes oily fur, or can it just be normal for the cat? It was a stray so we're not sure of the age, guessing its an older cat.

I don't know about a medical condition, but....

How long has your son had the cat? Is he keeping it inside? An outside cat will be used to rolling in sand and dirt and that helps keep their coat clean. The dirt removes excess oil when they groom. Mine are inside/outside cats and in a winter of lots snow they can get a little oily from all the dirt being covered up.

A rub down in bran might help, brush as much out as you can.

Is the cat stressed from the change to it's life and not grooming itself?

I recently heard that old cats loose the barbs on their tongues so grooming becomes less effective. Haven't checked that out. Age differs by cat.

A Vet check probably is in order, if it was an outside cat it likely has worms, at least, that need to be dealt with. Poor condition and inability to use nutrients in diet because of worms probably isn't helping things.

Good for your son, he's a good person. :)

They've had the cat for a couple of years, its strictly indoors. Its always had matted/oily fur. I thought I had read somewhere that if a cat had worms oily fur is one of the symptoms, but maybe not. She was spayed when they got her, so you would think the vet would have checked.

There is actually a condition of oily fur. Usually on the tail and around the base of the tail.More often happens to unaltered males but it can also happentoneutered ones and even females. There are oily glands at on the back and base of the tail that produce too much oil and give the fur an oily aspect and even yellowish in some cases.
I have a book that mentions some special powders for it but it doesn't mention any brands or names. Maybe at a pet store or mention it to a vet.
Our goddess once got an oily tail and I was bold enough to put some baby powder and it did help! I don't know if it's supposed to be bad for kitties but it didn't hurt her and it helped with the oils.
You could give a call to a pet store or a vet looking for product for oily cat fur.

That's called Stud Tail, whether it's a stud or queen or neutered animal or not. Dogs get it too, my neighbour's Golden Retriever had it and lost about two inches of hair and it looked pretty ugly. It's the supracaudal gland acting up. I know some people with Labs who say when it cleared up the hair came in white. This on a chocolate Lab. It can have a really offensive smell too.

[url]http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/skin/c_ct_stud_tail_supracaudal_gland_hyperplasia[/url]

This cats fur is oily everywhere. My son thinks she doesn't groom herself very good, because she matts too. I just thought I'd check to make sure it might not be something medical. They really can't afford to take her to the vet unless its serious, they have 11 cats. I'm going to ask at our pet store and see if they have anything. I don't think they'd be able to shampoo her, though, without being shredded, she is very skittish.

[QUOTE=lindapalm;1066215]This cats fur is oily everywhere. My son thinks she doesn't groom herself very good, because she matts too. I just thought I'd check to make sure it might not be something medical. They really can't afford to take her to the vet unless its serious, they have 11 cats. I'm going to ask at our pet store and see if they have anything. I don't think they'd be able to shampoo her, though, without being shredded, she is very skittish.[/QUOTE]

Actually your son is right. Poor grooming can cause oily fur as well. Is she a senior? Does she have joint problems? Or is she just a weirdo hehehe (I've seen cases :p )

I'm not sure how old she is, but she gets around good. Shes been messy looking since they've found her, so she probably is just a lazy groomer. They should brush her more because by the time they do they have to cut some of the matts out, and it definitely looks weird.

Hilda (aka the Goddess) was always a lazy groomer since she was young and she got stud's tail once so it could be that.