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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / October 2003Hairballs Advice, please and thank you
My first pet, an older Himalayan that I've now had over 5 years (since I turned 50). Queen Anne has always suffered to some degree with choking and coughing up hairballs - usually in two spots/events - one being the long hairball itself (looking almost like it came out her other end) and the next is mostly wet food. Sometimes they come out in reverse order. I have tried Purina One Hairball and other formulaes. Money is not the problem, I will do anything to help her. I brush her quite a bit but not everyday. I used to put the anti-hairball fish flavored "vaseline" product on her nose that she enjoyed licking off, but it didn't seem to help. I'm a little tired of the weekly messes on the carpet but mostly I am concerned for her health. Does anyone know of what I'm doing wrong? Or should I consider that this is a bad sign and expect her to die? She's about 10 years old I think. But she's been doing it for years... I don't want to be a bad "mother". Help. Rebecca in Atlanta Mortgage.Author <321start@bellsouth.net> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > Does anyone know of what I'm doing wrong? Or should I consider > that this is a bad sign and expect her to die? She's about 10 > years old I think. But she's been doing it for years... I don't > want to be a bad "mother". Help. > > Rebecca in Atlanta I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Kami was a two-week hairball hacker of turd-sized variety. She wouldn't talk Petromalt or any other remedy, and they didn't work anyway. Pounce came out with a hairball "treat" and she gets 4 of them every Friday. Hairballs are quite rare these days and thank god! You might like to try them. Kami prefers the crunchy tuna flavor, but it comes in soft chicken as well.  SignatureBrandy??Alexandre? http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? Brandy Alexandre wrote: > Mortgage.Author <321start@bellsouth.net> wrote in > rec.pets.cats.health+behav: [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > quite rare these days and thank god! You might like to try them. Kami > prefers the crunchy tuna flavor, but it comes in soft chicken as well. My cat Audrey likes the chicken. BTW, thanks a lot for the "hairball hacker of turd-sized variety" comment. I just spit coffee on my monitor!! LOL! Karen M. <mskitty@easystreetNOSPAM.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > My cat Audrey likes the chicken. BTW, thanks a lot for the "hairball > hacker of turd-sized variety" comment. I just spit coffee on my > monitor!! LOL! LOL! Well? If it weren't for the cream and taupe color, that's what they would look like. :) SignatureBrandy??Alexandre? http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? > My first pet, an older Himalayan that I've now had over 5 years (since I > turned 50). Queen Anne has always suffered to some degree with choking and [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > I have tried Purina One Hairball and other formulaes. Those work by bulking up the diet, so if the cat doesn't drink enough, they don't do a lot of good. Also, a recent study suggested that because of the extra bulk, some nutrients may be lost due to quick passage through the intestines and the cat feeling full sooner. Hairballs are caused, of course, by the injestion of hair from grooming. So, the more loose hair, the more the cat will have hairballs. Lubricants often help pass the hair through the "other end" but some cats won't eat them. For those cats your best bet is to minimize hair injestion. Brush LESS often for long haired cats - once or twice a week at most. Brushing loosens hair. Rub the cat with a damp cloth once or twice a day to remove loose hair instead of brushing. Brush only to keep the coat from matting. If she is really suffering from the problem, shaving the hair down to an inch or so is an option (if she is not a show cat). Also, there is a nutritional supplement for coat health. You may want to try that in her food so she loses less hair. You may also add a bit of oil to her water or wet food to help lubricate her digestive tract. Don't do that too often (once a week is good) as it can soften the stool and lead to anal gland problems. HTH ------------------------------------------------- ~kaeli~ All I ask for is the chance to prove that money cannot make me happy. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace ------------------------------------------------- > > My first pet, an older Himalayan that I've now had over 5 years (since I > > turned 50). Queen Anne has always suffered to some degree with choking and [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > of the extra bulk, some nutrients may be lost due to quick passage > through the intestines and the cat feeling full sooner. I think perhaps you may confusing Purina's commercials on TV with a "study". Purina opted to add soap to their hairball product as a surfactant to break up the greasy hairball. Other manufacturers use elevated levels of fiber and shape to accomplish the same thing. It is hugely ironic that Purina makes a commercial about supposed nutrient loss due to high fiber hairball foods and yet produces a number of foods with vastly more fiber than any hairball food. One would have to presume that the Purina products with such high levels of fiber are "sweeping" nutrients at a even quicker pace. In reality hairball products work almost as much because of the shape of the kibble as they do the fiber content. > Hairballs are caused, of course, by the injestion of hair from grooming. > So, the more loose hair, the more the cat will have hairballs. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace > ------------------------------------------------- > I think perhaps you may confusing Purina's commercials on TV with a > "study". No, I read about the food, nutrition, and the way the body digests food. Almost all "hairball formula" foods say the reason they work is extra fibre. Everyone knows that when you eat more (non-soluble) fibre, you eliminate more. Fact of life. This is because we can't fully digest plant matter. This is equally true for people, dogs, and cats. In order to eliminate properly with a high-fibre diet, you must drink water. Fibre absorbs water. The stool would be too hard if there was not enough water in the diet. If you eliminate too quickly, your body can't digest everything you eat. This is equally true for dogs, cats, and people. The true measure of a cat food is its digestibility. If the cat doesn't fully digest everything, it would need to eat more to get all the nutrients it needs. There are many sources for all this information. I have quoted a few below. A Google search will bring up many more. ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.cah.com/library/felconstip.html Medical management for cats with chronic constipation typically has both a dietary and medical component. The dietary component usually involves putting the cat on a higher fiber diet. Fiber absorbs water thereby creating looser, bulkier stools. That shortens the transit time in the gastrointestinal tract and keeps things moving. While you want to increase the amount of fiber in your cat?s diet, you don?t want to overdo it. ------------------------------------------------------------ From http://www.catclinic.co.uk/catnews/sept2000.htm The Hill's Pet Nutrition company have recently Introduced a new "Hairball Control" dry diet to the UK. The food is claimed to reduce the formation of hairballs in cats safely and naturally. The product contains high levels of vegetable fibre that help to sweep the hair through the cat's digestive tract. ------------------------------------------------------------ http://65.18.207.6/purinaproplanextracarehairballmanagementcatfood.html Pro Plan Extra Care Hairball Management Adult Food is recommended by veterianarians. Helps to provide the correct nutritional formula that adult cat requires. It provides the fiber needed to control the formation of hairballs in your cat's digestive tract. ------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.thecatsite.com/care/hairballs.html Cats with chronic hairball problems may need a change in diet. A high- fiber diet can help to increase bowel movements, thus preventing hairball blockages. ------------------------------------------------------------ http://dels.nas.edu/banr/cd_cat_faq.html#q2 Q: How much fiber is good for my cat? A: Fiber in the diet is probably good for overall gastrointestinal health and may help overweight cats trim down. Dietary fiber is thought to help maintain proper weight by diluting the caloric density of the food, and through physical effects and hormonal interactions. For reasons not yet understood, dietary fiber also seems to help in the management of mild hyperglycemia, a relatively common problem in older cats. On the other hand, too much fiber in the diet can decrease the digestibility of other important nutrients. Also, certain features of the cat's intestinal tract, including a relatively small colon and non- functional cecum, suggest that cats may not be able to utilize dietary fibers as well as other animals. ------------------------------------------------- ~kaeli~ All I ask for is the chance to prove that money cannot make me happy. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace ------------------------------------------------- > My first pet, an older Himalayan that I've now had over 5 years (since I > turned 50). Queen Anne has always suffered to some degree with choking and [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Rebecca in Atlanta Hello! I don't think your kitty will die. She's a long-haired breed that has a lot of hair. Even with my short-haired boys, they still hack and get hairballs every now and then. Make sure you brush her regularly, even every day for a while, to keep the hair under control. I have good luck with the hairball petromalt products. Read the tube to give her the proper amount. Just curious, but have you ever called your vet to ask him/her about this? Maybe they have an idea too. Rene > My first pet, an older Himalayan that I've now had over 5 years (since I > turned 50). Queen Anne has always suffered to some degree with choking and [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Rebecca in Atlanta My male long-haired cat used to barf up hairballs at least twice a month. I started him on Nutro Max Cat Hairball control food, and he hasn't done a hairball in over four months. I only brush him once a week, so the primary cause is the food I think. I would give it a try, use the hairball treats, and use the hairball goop as needed. I would also brush her once a day. Feeding her a food to help maintain coat health can help as well. Hi, I'm no expert but I've had cats for years so I can tell you of my experience. I've always thought hairballs were a totally natural thing for a cat. I don't think you can stop the cat cleaning itself which is the only way to stop the hairballs. You are left with 2 alternatives. 1: Shave the cat ( Cruel and pointless) or 2: brush its coat on a daily basis making sure to remove all the loose fur. You could also make sure the cat has access to grass. They eat it and it makes the throwing up easier for the cat. As for the throwing up in the same place. I had that problem. That was solved by allowing the cat access to the garden at night. I use to keep the cat flap locked at night to stop wandering males spraying in the house. The piles of hairball ceased, well in the house anyway. I think cats are very private creatures and prefer to do certain things alone especially crapping and throwing up so if they can do it the garden, they will. The hairballs you described sound just like the many I've seen so the cat isn't ill or going to die. 10 can be young for a cat, some live to be 20 but the average age is about 14 As I said, I'm no expert but I hope I've been some help |
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