Hairballs

[mustangsally65]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey everyone: I'm visiting from the pre-med forums.

I am looking for suggestions to prevent hairballs in my cat. She is a 2 and a half year old Norwegian Forest Cat, and she has hairballs maybe once or twice a month.

I have tried all the different kinds of furball prevention treats/medications that I can buy OTC. I have tried petroleum based products, treats with liquid middles, solid treats, powder to sprinkle on her food, and brushing her to get rid of loose fur.

The strange thing is that she has a littermate who I also own, who has a much thicker coat and who is currently eating the same kind and amount of solid hairball remedy treats. This kitty has no furballs at all.

The main problem with my kitty is that she gets picky about the hairball remedies and stops eating them after a while. For the Pounce treats it was about a month before she quit eating them, and now she's been eating the solid kind (Kitty care, I think) for about a month, and still seems to like them, but today I noticed her vomiting another furball, the first time that's happened in about a month. Previously the problem was that she wouldnt' take the meds, but now she is but I don't think they are working.

When I took her to the vet for her last checkup, I discussed this with the vet, but he didn't seem too concerned because at the time she had some hairball remedies that she was eating that prevented her hairballs.

When she vomits, she usually brings up a lot of liquid as well, which concerns me. I don't know what to do to help her, and I hate to feel so helpless as she throws up again. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[mammalmama]

I would either try putting her on a hairball control food like science diet hairball control formula. You can get it in dry food or canned food. You can get this at the pet stores. The other thing you could try would be a medication called laxatone that you can get from your vet. This comes in a regular flavor and tuna flavor. I've seen this work pretty well. Other than that there isn't much else you can do. Hope this helps.

 

[mustangsally65]

Thanks for your reply. She is eating Nutro Indoor Complete food which supposedly has hairball control in it. I have tried giving her Petromalt which is sort of like the Laxatone, and she doesn't like it, she runs whenever she sees the tube.

I will probably end up taking her to my vet again, but I was just curious if there were any new and different remedies that I hadn't heard of.

The hairball treats that she is eating now supposedly have fiber to move the hairballs down before they form, and she eats them like a fiend, but I don't think it is working. The only thing I can think of about that is that she is an eleven pound kitty and maybe she needs more than the normal dose of 3-5 pieces. 😕

 

[chris03333]

Thanks for your reply. She is eating Nutro Indoor Complete food which supposedly has hairball control in it. I have tried giving her Petromalt which is sort of like the Laxatone, and she doesn't like it, she runs whenever she sees the tube.

I will probably end up taking her to my vet again, but I was just curious if there were any new and different remedies that I hadn't heard of.

The hairball treats that she is eating now supposedly have fiber to move the hairballs down before they form, and she eats them like a fiend, but I don't think it is working. The only thing I can think of about that is that she is an eleven pound kitty and maybe she needs more than the normal dose of 3-5 pieces. 😕

2 suggestions:
if she runs when she sees the tube, do not let her see it. Mix the treatment in some soft food and let her eat the food.

another thing that may help is to get a grooming comb/brush that takes up extra fur and brush her (most cats like it they seem to think of it as a petting session) once a day.

:0) Chris

 

[mustangsally65]

2 suggestions:
if she runs when she sees the tube, do not let her see it. Mix the treatment in some soft food and let her eat the food.

another thing that may help is to get a grooming comb/brush that takes up extra fur and brush her (most cats like it they seem to think of it as a petting session) once a day.

:0) Chris

Thanks for your input. Yesterday I smeared the petroleum stuff on her paw, and she licked it off. I felt really bad, though!

She is really weird in that when you brush her, she plays with the brush, by grabbing it with her paws and chewing on it. It makes it nearly impossible to get any loose fur off her. I try to get her whenever I can, but it's hard when she thinks I'm trying to play with her.

She eats the Kitty-Care Hairball remedy, but it doesn't seem to be working for her.

 

[bananaface]

If you have 2 brushes, you can brush with one while she plays the other. The make mitt things too. I'm not sure how well those work.