Russian Blue shedding after budget dry food switch

Excessive shedding that starts right after a food switch is a classic sign the new diet isn't meeting your cat's nutritional needs — and Russian Blues, with their dense double coats, are particularly unforgiving about that. Cats are obligate carnivores with specific requirements for animal protein, omega fatty acids, and moisture that many budget dry foods simply don't deliver. Wet food is generally a much better choice, especially for a 6-year-old, since hydration is critical for long-term kidney health. Before I point you somewhere useful — does your Russian Blue have any known health issues or allergies, and what's the budget dry food you switched to?

Wagg Complete is very heavily grain-based with relatively low meat content — it's not really designed around what a cat's biology actually needs. That drop in bioavailable protein and omega-3s over three months would absolutely show up in the coat. Clumping shed on a Russian Blue almost always points to nutritional deficiency rather than a health problem, which is actually good news — it's fixable. Can I ask how much he weighs roughly, and is he an indoor-only cat or does he go outside?

At 4.5kg, indoor, and 6 years old, he's in a really manageable spot to sort this out quickly. My clear recommendation is Encore 100% Natural Wet Cat Food in tuna — the single-protein, high-moisture cans. Encore uses whole tuna with no fillers, no grain, no artificial anything, and the protein and moisture content are genuinely high quality. For a Russian Blue with coat issues driven by poor nutrition, the combination of real animal protein and hydration from wet food is exactly what you need. Most owners see coat improvement within four to six weeks of switching. Feed roughly two 70g cans per day for his weight, and you can do a gradual transition over a week by mixing it with the dry food to avoid any digestive upset. The tuna variety is widely available on Amazon UK in multipacks that bring the cost down considerably.

For most cats in your situation, the food change alone is enough — and I'd give it six weeks before deciding you need anything extra. Adding supplements before you know what the food is doing tends to make it harder to know what's actually working. That said, if the shedding hasn't improved meaningfully after six weeks on Encore, a small daily dose of salmon oil added to his food can give the omega-3s an extra push. YuMEGA Cat is the one I'd suggest if you get to that point — it's formulated specifically for coat health in cats and is easy to use. But try the food first. You'll almost certainly not need anything else.

Good move. Give it four to six weeks and you should see a real difference — less clumping, more coat sheen, and he'll likely be better hydrated overall which matters a lot as he heads toward his senior years. If things aren't improving by then, come back and we can look at whether an omega supplement or a different protein source makes sense. Russian Blues are genuinely beautiful cats when their coat is right — you'll notice the difference.