hacking cat

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Stormlady - 23 Aug 2004 18:37 GMT

My cat hates to be brushed. Hates it to the point where it is just a power
struggle with us. I want to brush her and she wants to get away. I have
tried everything I can think of to get her to accept it more readily. I
have tried brushing her when she is relaxed, giving her treats or catnip
before brushing, while brushing, and after brushing. Nothing I can think of
seems to work, and since she is a long haired cat with a dense undercoat,
she really has to be brushed or she gets hairballs and furballs. She now
has several furballs on her hindquarters that I have spent a week or so
trying to get brushed out in small brushing sessions but she fights it
especially bad if I go near there.

However one thing now has me a bit concerned, after brushing, she spends a
while hacking, like she is going to throw up. What could be causing this,
anxiety? I'd say a hairball, but she is only hacking after brushing now. I
think she must be shedding more than normal for a summer because of the heat
and humidity here. I really want to get these brushed off of her, I'm sure
she would appreciate a trip to the groomers a lot less than the brushing she
gets at home.

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Cat Protector - 23 Aug 2004 19:06 GMT

I would say that even after a brushing a long haired cat can still get
hairballs. I would get a hairball remedy for her.

> My cat hates to be brushed. Hates it to the point where it is just a power
> struggle with us. I want to brush her and she wants to get away. I have
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> she would appreciate a trip to the groomers a lot less than the brushing she
> gets at home.

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jamie - 23 Aug 2004 21:03 GMT

> However one thing now has me a bit concerned, after brushing, she spends a
> while hacking, like she is going to throw up. What could be causing this,
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> she would appreciate a trip to the groomers a lot less than the brushing she
> gets at home.

When you say she's hacking, is she going "york,york,york" like working
up to puke a hairball, or is her head stretched out low while she
wheezes (coughs)?

People often mistake cat coughing for working up a hairball because,
just like humans, sometimes they cough until they vomit. If she's
coughing, you'll want to have her lungs checked for asthma/allergies
and infection. (Gideon's coughing was diagnosed as asthma, but
he only coughed during the same couple of weeks of spring and fall
that pollen set my allergies off.)

Possibly, you might be raising dust or pollen or something from her
fur into the air when you brush her, that's setting her off.

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Stormlady - 25 Aug 2004 20:16 GMT

> > However one thing now has me a bit concerned, after brushing, she spends a
> > while hacking, like she is going to throw up. What could be causing this,
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> Possibly, you might be raising dust or pollen or something from her
> fur into the air when you brush her, that's setting her off.

Her head is stretched out low but it seems like she is hacking. Since she
only does it after brushing, the idea that it is dust or some other irritant
setting her off seems to make sense. I haven't brushed her in the past few
days and haven't noticed any of the coughing/hacking.

Well, except when she got into unsecured treats and gorged herself while we
were out. I really thought they were put away in the cupboard. Heck they
probably were, cats are very resourceful animlas when they want something
that is supposedly secured away.

She is strictly an indoor cat so that limits the things that could be the
irritant though. I'm going to keep an eye on it and if it occurs at other
than brushing times, then its off to the vet, but if its only when brushing
then I think it is safe to say that it is some reaction to the brushing.

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Mary - 25 Aug 2004 20:44 GMT

> > When you say she's hacking, is she going "york,york,york" like working
> > up to puke a hairball, or is her head stretched out low while she
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> only does it after brushing, the idea that it is dust or some other irritant
> setting her off seems to make sense.

Sounds like asthma. She needs to see a vet.

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Yngver - 25 Aug 2004 20:58 GMT

>She is strictly an indoor cat so that limits the things that could be the
>irritant though.

There are plenty of things an indoor cat can be exposed to that can cause an
allergic reaction.

I'm going to keep an eye on it and if it occurs at other

>than brushing times, then its off to the vet, but if its only when brushing
>then I think it is safe to say that it is some reaction to the brushing.

Well, any type of nonproductive coughing or hacking should be investigated. As
pointed out, what many people think is the cat trying to bring up a hairball
turns out to be coughing from asthma. If she doesn't like being brushed (and it
would be much more effective if you combed her rather than just brushed, which
only removes the top layer of excess fur) it's possible the anxiety could bring
on an asthma attack, or perhaps being restrained, or something in the area
where she is being groomed. I'd have it checked out by a vet.

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Stormlady - 27 Aug 2004 17:45 GMT

> >She is strictly an indoor cat so that limits the things that could be the
> >irritant though.
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> on an asthma attack, or perhaps being restrained, or something in the area
> where she is being groomed. I'd have it checked out by a vet.

I use a slicker brush on her, not a regular brush. I think part of what she
hates about brushing is that I have to brush opposite to the way the hair
grows in order to get to her undercoat. She has the densest undercoat I
have ever seen on a cat and I make sure that I brush all of her fur, not
just the top layer. She just really hates it. My other cat loves it. I
can turn the other cat inside out brushing her and she just purrs. The
other cat hardly needs to be brushed but I always do it to help keep
hairballs to a minimum from mutual grooming.

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Yngver - 27 Aug 2004 17:56 GMT

>I use a slicker brush on her, not a regular brush. I think part of what she
>hates about brushing is that I have to brush opposite to the way the hair
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>other cat hardly needs to be brushed but I always do it to help keep
>hairballs to a minimum from mutual grooming.

One of our cats has very dense fur, so on her we do use a slicker brush. It's
not unusual for cats to dislike having the fur brushed the wrong way--I'm sure
it's an uncomfortable feeling. What you could try is using a very fine-tooth
comb, usually sold as a flea comb. If the teeth are long enough, you can get
down into the undercoat and you don't have to comb the fur backwards. We use
combs like that on all three of our cats, because it works well for a long,
fine coat (where a slicker brush is too abrasive). For our cat with the very
plush, dense coat, I use the slicker brush first, then go over the coat with
the fine tooth comb to get under the top layer.

Most cats enjoy being combed/brushed around the face and ears, so to get a cat
used to grooming, I concentrate on those areas a lot at first. I stop when I
get to a part of the body that annoys the cat, so that they don't start to
associate grooming with unpleasantness. But I find that gradually they get used
to grooming all over--except the belly. Some cats never want the belly touched,
so I have to do it quickly, in just a few strokes. On the other hand, one of
our cats eagerly turns over on her back to have her belly combed, so it largely
depends on the cat.

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