Mane Management Exploring Hairball Control Solutions for Cats

Cat Hairballs 101: How to Help

Sharing your home with a cat has many upsideshairballs are not one of them. It might come as a surprise that hairballs are not an inevitable part of a cats life. Yes, cats do a lot of grooming and ingest a lot of fur in the process. But when all is well, that hair should pass uneventfully through their digestive tract and come out in the litter box.

Lets look at why that doesnt always happen and what you can do to treat and prevent hairballs in cats.

What Does a Cat Hairball Look Like?

In its most common form, a hairball looks like a wad of fur that has a somewhat tubular shape after being forced up through the esophagus. Fresh hairballs are usually wet, but they can dry out quickly if they go unnoticed. You may at first confuse a hairball with cat poop and think that your cat went outside their litter box.

Sometimes cat hairballs arent so well-formed. For example, you might come across a looser tangle of fur mixed with some food, mucus, or fluid, which may be tinged with bile. In these cases, it can be hard to figure out if your cat is vomiting because of the hair or if the hair was just brought up with everything else.

Image credit: Roo the cat

Why Is My Cat Getting Hairballs?

All cats swallow hair as they groom themselves, but why do some have problems with hairballs while others dont?

Fur is not digestible. Its made mostly of keratin, which isnt broken down by the acids and enzymes in a cats gastrointestinal (GI) tract. And when a lot of fur is in the tract, it tends to get tangled into large clumps.

A healthy feline digestive tract is designed to handle normal amounts of fur passing through, but two types of problems lead to the development of hairballs:

Ingestion of more fur than normal, which can happen with:

Diseases and issues affecting the GI tract:

What if My Cat Is Trying to Cough up a Hairball but Cant?

Most people say the phrase cough up a hairball, but whats actually happening is retching and vomiting. Sometimes retching can sound like coughing, but the hairball is in the cats digestive system, not their respiratory tract.

If youre nearby when your cat is trying to bring up a hairball, you might notice some telltale behaviors. Many cats cry out and get restless when they feel like theyre about to vomit. Then, your cats abdomen will contract several times and youll hear them retching with the contractions.

But sometimes the hairball doesnt come up on the first try or even the second, third, or fourth. You may hear the retching and see wet spots that look like clear or brown liquid where your cat tried to bring up the hairball as they move around from spot to spot.

Most people say the phrase cough up a hairball, but whats actually happening is retching and vomiting.

If they do succeed in vomiting up the hairball, they should seem to immediately feel better and go back to their normal behaviors. This is what sets hairballs apart from other cases of cat vomiting, which usually result in persistent nausea combined with other symptoms like lethargy and a poor appetite.

Call your veterinarian for advice if your cat tries to vomit two or three times in a day, whether they bring anything up or not, or if the vomiting continues for more than a day or two. You may be dealing with a hairball that has become stuck or you may not be dealing with a hairball at all.

Treating Hairballs in Cats

Cats that only bring up a hairball once a month or so generally dont need to be seen by a veterinarian for a thorough health workup. Trying a little home treatment makes sense.

But veterinary care is essential if your cat is having hairballs more often than this or if youre seeing other symptoms, like poor appetite, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation.

How Vets Diagnose and Treat Hairballs in Cats

The veterinarian will first ask questions about what youve seen at home and your cats health history, and then they will give your cat a physical exam.

Testing may include skin scrapings to look for mites, ringworm cultures, cytology to rule out skin infections, abdominal X-rays or ultrasound, blood work, urinalysis, fecal examinations, a hypoallergenic food trial, or biopsies of the gastrointestinal tract or skin. These tests will help the vet diagnose whatever is causing the hairballs.

If theres an underlying health or behavioral issue, the vet will recommend treatment to address it.

Home treatment is not appropriate for cats that have frequent hairballs.

Surgery is usually needed to remove very large hairballs that are blocking a cats GI tract. The doctor will examine your cats entire digestive system for other hairballs and repair or remove any damaged tissues that are found.

Are There Home Remedies for Cat Hairballs?

Home treatment is not appropriate for cats that have frequent hairballs. An underlying health problem is usually to blame for their formation, and if it isnt treated, the cat wont get better.

But for infrequent hairball episodes, here are several safe home remedies that you can try:

Never give your cat cooking oils, butter, lard, grease, or mineral oil in an attempt to help them with hairballs. Cooking oils and fats will merely be digested and wont help. Mineral oil is very dangerous if inhaled, which can easily happen when a cat is vomiting.

How To Prevent Cat Hairballs

Once your cat is hairball-free, you can start thinking about prevention. Underlying health problems may need continued management, but you can also try these tips:

• Brush your cat more often to reduce the hair they ingest. This is especially important for long-haired cats.
• Give your cat Laxatone or another hairball-control gel two or three times per week.
• Add fiber to your cats diet through treats and nutritional supplements or by switching to a hairball control food.

Together, you and your veterinarian can come up with the best way to treat and prevent hairballs. Your cat will thank you!

Featured image: iStock.com/krblokhin

WRITTEN BY

Jennifer Coates, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Jennifer Coates is an accomplished veterinarian, writer, editor, and consultant with years of experience in the fields of veterinary...

The 5 Best Hairball Remedies For Cats

Note: Veterinary review of this article includes only the medical information in this article. The veterinarian reviewing this article does not personally endorse, recommend, or vouch for the efficacy or claims of any product mentioned in this article.

The best hairball remedies do more than help hair slide through your cats body. They treat the problem at its root by supporting overall digestive health.

Thats why we chose Cat Lax as the best hairball remedy on the market. This well known hairball gel contains a blend of ingredients that break up hairballs, prevent new ones from forming, and minimize shedding to keep hairballs at bay.

Before we learn more about Cat Lax and our other top five picks, lets talk about the types of hairball remedies and how they can help.

At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Best Hairball Remedies for Cats

Want a quick look at the products reviewed in this article? In the comparison table below, weve highlighted some of the most important features of each product. Youll find more detailed information about each product later in the article.

Overall Best

9.9

Picked by 31 people today!

• Contains a blend of lubricants
• Most cats like the gels flavor
• Affordable

Runner Up

9.8

Picked by 31 people today!

• Over 1,600 customer reviews, 4.5 star rating
• Cats seem to enjoy the tuna flavor
• Helps lubricate ingested hairs to prevent hairballs

BEST FOR BUDGET

9.6

Picked by 25 people today!

• Rich in omega-3 fatty acids
• Controls hairballs while supporting digestive health
• Most cats like the way the gel tastes

BEST HAIRBALL PREVENTION SUPPLEMENT

9.4

Picked by 21 people today!

• Most reviews are positive
• Made from a blend of well-regarded ingredients
• Appears to be safe for cats

BEST HAIRBALL CONTROL TREAT

9.3

Picked by 18 people today!

• Contains fiber to help move hair through the GI tract
• Features prebiotics and probiotics for digestive health
• Free of potentially-harmful ingredients

Types of Hairball Remedies for Cats

Hairballs form when hair gets stuck or slowed on its way through the digestive tract, allowing it to form into a clump. Once it forms into a clod, hair is unable to continue its journey to the litter box and instead it gets stuck or heads in the opposite direction.

Hairball treatments come in many different forms. You can buy hairball remedies in a tube, try homemade remedies, grow a pot of cat grass, or groom your cat to keep him from ingesting his hair at all.

Some cats with frequent hairballs may have an underlying problem like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects motility of their intestines, so diagnosing and treating this could solve their problems.

Heres a quick breakdown of the types of hairball remedies available and how they work.

Fiber

Fiber supplementation helps to bind single strands of hair to food particles, which carry the hairs on their journey towards the colon. By encouraging the hair to move quickly through the body, fiber-based hairball remedies reduce the hairs chances of fusing into a ball and coming back up.

Additionally, a small amount of dietary fiber can help keep the digestive system functioning smoothly, correcting hairball problems at their roots.

Fiber-Based Hairball Remedies

The following are sources of fiber that, when integrated into your cats diet, may help hair move smoothly through the body.

• Psyllium Husk Powder
• Ground Chia Seeds
• Guar Gum
• Powdered Cellulose
• Cat Grass

Lubrication

The second type of hairball remedies includes products that lubricate ingested hairs, preventing them from sticking together.

Petrolatum (Petroleum Jelly)

Petrolatum, also known as petroleum jelly, paraffin oil, or white petrolatum, is a highly refined derivative of petroleum. After its been fully refined, petroleum jelly appears to be safe for cats and people.

If you decide to give your cat petroleum jelly from your medicine cabinet, check the back of the package to ensure that youre giving your cat 100% plain petroleum jelly with no scents or other additives.

Hairball Gels

Most products marketed as hairball remedies are petroleum jelly-based. Others use vegetable oils or beeswax instead of petrolatum. They contain added flavors and sweeteners like malt syrup, fructose, and dextrose.

Butter and Oil

Butter and olive oil are frequently recommended for hairball control, but as digestible fats, theyre more likely to make your cat chubby than keep him from hacking up a furball.

Mineral oil had previously been recommended for hairballs, but it carries the risk of aspiration (going down into the lungs) since it doesnt trigger a cough reflex.

Other Hairball Remedies

Egg yolks have interesting properties for hairball control. They contain choline and lecithin, which work together to, respectively, encourage GI contractions and emulsify the fat that binds hairballs together.

You can provide the anti-hairball power of egg yolks by feeding your cat fresh egg yolks or by giving him an egg yolk lecithin supplement. A safe and effective dose for lecithin has not been established for cats, and most supplements formulated for people contain much more than is present in hairball products for cats.

Slippery elm bark contains soluble fiber, which may help to soothe and lubricate the digestive tract, reducing inflammation and helping the hairball move in the right direction

Dietary Changes

Though hairball-specific cat foods usually focus on fiber alone, this isnt always the right approach.

If your cat is already eating a diet with a little bit of fiber, the best dietary change is finding a food that reduces inflammation. Hairballs often indicate digestive problems and should be approached the same way youd approach any other symptom of gut inflammation, like diarrhea or vomiting.

Typically, this would mean giving your cat a high-protein food made primarily from meat and animal fat. You want as little plant matter as possible. A moisture-rich diet is ideal.

Read Our Article On The Best Cat Food For Hairball Control

Grooming

Finally, you can control hairballs by brushing your cat a couple of times a week. If your cat has a long, thick coat, you might also give him a full-body clip in the warmer months. Capturing loose hair before your cat licks it up is the most reliable means of stopping hairballs.

Read Our Guide To The Best Cat Grooming Brushes

Top 5 Best Hairball Remedies Reviewed

The following hairball remedies are popular, top-rated products that have a reputation for safety and effectiveness. Most are lubricating products, but youll also find a few that take a different approach to hairball control, addressing it as a component of digestive health.

Ultimately, you dont want to have your cat on lubricants and other hairball treatments for the rest of his life. You dont want him to have hairballs.

The above hairball remedies can help, but theyre not a complete solution to the hairball problem.

If your cat coughs up hairballs more than a few times a year, his frequent hacking is probably connected to digestive problems. In this case, he probably doesnt need to be swept out with fiber or lubricated with greasehe might need to go to the veterinarian. Extremely frequent hairballs may be a symptom of organ dysfunction, IBD, and other conditions.

If you determine that your cats hairballs are caused by a digestive issue, you may want to consider treating the hairballs the same way youd treat any chronic digestive problem.

Adjust your cats diet to reduce inflammatory ingredients and consider incorporating probiotics, prebiotics, and omega-3 fatty acids to promote digestive health

Also Read: Best Cat Food for IBD