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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, DVMVeterinarian
Dr. Jennifer Coates is an accomplished veterinarian, writer, editor, and consultant with years of experience in the fields of veterinary...
How to Help Your Cat Pass a Hairball: 6 Vet-Approved Tips & Tricks
The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.
Learn moreMany cat owners think that hairballs are just a natural part of a cats life and that theres nothing that can be done about them.1 You may be surprised to learn that cats throwing up hairballs isnt actually normal. While their vomiting an occasional hairball isnt anything to worry about, its more natural for cats to pass hairballs when they poop.
When cat hair has a chance to build up in the stomach, it will eventually become too big and need to be removed. If cats regularly pass hair in their poop, they wont need to vomit big clumps of hair.
In this article, we look at six ways that you can help your cat pass a hairball when they poop, along with tips to help prevent hairballs in the future.
How to Help Your Cat Pass a Hairball
1. Change Their Feeding Schedule
Many cat owners feed their cats two large meals a day. This may not help their digestive systems work regularly. Feeding them smaller meals more frequently throughout the day can help the fur in their stomach be pushed into the intestines.
Take your cats daily food allotment and divide it into four to eight small meals throughout the day. Not only can this keep their digestive system working to remove more hair, but it can also help your cat maintain their weight, feel more satisfied, and have more energy. It has been shown that cats prefer to eat little and often, as this mimics feeding habits in the natural environment.
2. Change Their Food
Switch your cat to a food that is made for hairball control or digestive health. These foods have ingredients in them to help the hair move from the stomach through the digestive tract, so your cat can pass it when they poop. Regularly eating these foods can keep cats from vomiting hairballs regularly. Be sure to transition your cat to a new food properly to avoid stomach issues.
3. Add More Fiber
Adding more fiber to your cats diet will help them have an easier time passing hair through their intestines. Talk to your vet about which fiber supplements will be best to add to your cats food. You can also use canned pumpkin. One teaspoon a day can help give them the fiber that they need to pass the hair easily. Just make sure the pumpkin that you use is plain, pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices that may be harmful to your cat.
4. Use a Hairball Lubricant
Hairball lubricant is a paste or gel that comes in enticing flavors. It lubricates the inside of the cats intestines to get the hair moving. Just put a dab of the lubricant on your cats paw, and they will lick it off. Talk to your vet before starting this routine to make sure its the best solution.
5. Give Your Cat Hairball Control Treats
Hairball control treats give your cat the ingredients necessary to pass hairballs without you having to change their regular food or use a messy gel. Even after your cat has passed the hairball, you can continue giving them these treats to prevent hairball buildup in the future.
6. Use Olive Oil or Fish Oil
Adding fish oil to your cats food can help them pass a hairball naturally. A teaspoon of oil every week should be enough to keep things moving. It also helps with coat conditions.
Preventing and Minimizing Hairballs in Cats
Now that you know how to help your cat pass hairballs, there are a few things that you can do to minimize them and prevent them from occurring. Its impossible to stop hairballs completely because cats swallow hair every time they groom themselves. But with these tips, you can slow their frequency and make them easier for your cat to deal with.
Brush your cat regularly. Your cat may self-groom every day, but the less hair they swallow means less of it will wind up in their stomach. Ideally, you should brush your cat weekly. Brushing daily is even better. The goal is to remove as much loose hair as you can. A bonus is that less hair winds up around your house, too.
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Increase your cats water intake. This is especially helpful if your cat only eats dry kibble. Cats dont normally drink as much water as they should. In addition to offering your cat a fresh, clean water source each day, try to encourage them to drink more. Use a water fountain that might interest them more than a regular bowl of water. You can also add water or broth to their food to give them more moisture. The proper amount of hydration will keep their digestive systems working well.
Conclusion
Hairballs dont have to be a regular part of your cats life. We hope that youve learned a few tips and tricks that you can start doing today to help your cat pass hairballs and be more comfortable. By following our suggestions for preventing hairballs, you can keep them from returning frequently. Remember to always monitor your cat for signs of changes in behavior. There could be a medical reason your cat is vomiting hairballs more frequently. If you notice anything strange, contact your vet right away. Be sure to talk to your vet before you make any changes to your cats diet too.
Featured Image Credit: Suzanne Tucker, Shutterstock
