Hello all,
  I hope you can help some friends of mine through me.  They are a
couple that have a cat (the cat is 14 to 15 yrs old.) and they can't
afford a vet, so I have been trying to look up and find natural remedies
for them since they have tried the hairball formulas at the stores.
Here goes:  As you saw above, this is an older cat and he has been with
them for 13 yrs. Recently he has become bloated from the lower stomach
to the hip area.  He hasn't been able to relieve himself (you know, go
to the bathroom) and he's not eating, although he will drink some water.
He stays lying down most of the time and his fur has become very oily.
He is an indoor/outdoor cat and has always been very well loved and
cared for and, up until now, has always been in the best of health.  We
are assuming that he may be backed up due to hairballs.  I have found a
few solutions for them doing a google search which include; olive oil,
butter, mineral oil, acidophila (sp).  Does anyone here have any advice
on what can help?  WIll one of these solutions help, or are there any
other solutions that you might know of that didn't come up on my search?
Hopefully something with quick results so this poor cat doesn't have to
suffer with this back up?  Thank you very much for your time.  I
appreciate any and all information anyone may have.  ~~Candy