I know we have many threads devoted to hairballs and I have re-read several posts on dealing with hairballs, but I still have questions.
Gussie has been passing hairballs quite a bit lately. Some come up easily, but on others I've noticed she gags, and gags, and then nothing comes up. She also does this quite a bit. Several posts mentioned using butter or vaseline on a paw so the cat will lick it and digest the lubricant. But several people also mentioned a medicine for hairballs. What is this med and where can you purchase it? Is it better than vaseline/butter or just something different? Is vaseline really okay for a cat to swallow?
I find it ironic that Gussie with the short plush bunny coat has hairballs and the guys with longer hair don't. Maybe she grooms herself more. I can see hairballs are going to be an ongoing problem for her. Any other suggestions on a regular basis? Thanks.
Hairballs being thrown up are better because they are not being ingested with the possibility of blocking. Lubricants ease them to pass through. I would rather see them thrown up. There are a number of lubricant remedies and you can try them at a pet supply store. Petromalt is a common one. For an adult cat, one can use hairball foods like Eukanuba or IAMS Hairball. They are designed to dry the fur in the stomach and allow it to collect and be thrown up.
The best fix if it bothers you or you think it is dangerous is to groom more. The Zoom Groom gets out a lot of shed fur without damaging the coat.
Great Jan. Thank you so much. You're always a great help. Do you think a little Vaseline or butter on her paw tonight would be okay?
(09-09-2010 07:18 PM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]For an adult cat, one can use hairball foods like Eukanuba or IAMS Hairball. They are designed to dry the fur in the stomach and allow it to collect and be thrown up.
I never cease to learn! I thought the hairball food was kind of extra "greasy" to aid in passing hairballs - I didn't know it helped them throw it up.
I didn't know either, this is good information to tuck away
I've had more hairballs presented in the last 2 weeks than I have all summer. The litter boxes have been a mess and I've had to do some "butt" grooming. I've got a number of spots to clean up on the carpet this weekend. I try to get it up without getting it down into the rug. Once it dries and you vacuum it, a lot of it comes up but there are also stains. I use laxatone as a last resort. I also give them a "coat and skin" treat from healthypetnet.com, which is a fiber treat. Most of the time they get one, but in emergencies I give them two. It has kept things under control most of the time but with the end of summer, there seems to be an abundance of hairballs. I agree that I'd rather seem them come up than out.
Sue
I believe the hairball foods work both ways, including as a lubricant. The lubricant products like Petromalt only act as lubricants.
Hairball formulas are higher in fiber to assist in moving the fur through the system. They also may have EFA's to lubricate and improve the condition of the cat's coat.
Barring poison or ingestion of a foreign object, you should never do anything to induce vomiting. Vomiting can cause the expulsion of the entire contents of the stomach eliminating needed electrolytes and fluids along with the fur ball. Not to mention how painful vomiting is for the cat.
Butter is not recommended as it's absorbed by the GI tract and is less effective than vaseline or mineral oil.
The best tactic is daily brushing. Prevention is always better than needing a cure.
Throwing up hairballs is not vomiting - in the sense of an emptying of food from the stomach. One can determine this by the hairball being almost only hair without food. Cats do the same with foreign objects, if one has ever seen a cat eat parts of a wand and later they will be produced like a hairball. The theory is that this was a method that worked to get rid of the undigestible parts of prey that were dangerous when going through the intestines. Cats who "collected them" in a mass and then threw them up survived while those who got intestinal blockages from them did not. We have never had a cat with a problem from throwing up hairballs, but almost lost one to a blockage from a hairball in the intestines. He lost a significant length of his intestines damaged by the blockage. This also happened recently to a Ragdoll pet on another board and they are now shaving him to reduce his ingestion of fur. I would rather have them throw up fur than risk passing through the intestines, although no doubt some will and lubricants may help that.
I can see where your experiences have lead to recommending throwin up. But anything expelled from the stomach will have harmful digestive acids and throwing up is painful. It shouldn't be the chosen solution. Hairballs and foreign objects can also trigger more forceful vomiting, expelling all stomach contents which can be very harmful. A cats natural reaction is to vomit these items. But I'd never suggest the use of a food which induces throwing up. I doubt there are any. In any case, prevention of hairballs by grooming and consistent daily use of nutrition (fiber/EFA's) and periodic lubricants is a far better choice. It's important to have a consistent regimen to reduce the amount of fur ingested and to keep ingested fur from matting/clumping in the stomach allowing it to pass naturally. The goal is not to ever let it get to a point that the cat has to vomit excessively, be shaved, or be treated for a blockage.