New here / Hairball prevention?

[EnglishRider]

Hi,
I'm new here and found this place while snooping around on the 'net. I'm a 20 year old web designer from NB, Canada.

Anyhoo, I have 2 cats, both from the same litter that are about 11 months old. One is a long hair and the other short. Is there any preventative solutions I should be taking to keep Madison (long haired) from getting furballs, or should I only need to be concerned about them if/when he starts having problems with them? It's that time of year where they are sheding up a storm, and where they are still very playful they leave clumps of hair all over the carpet.

I've attached a photo of him, not that you can see much of him, but you know... we gotta show off our babies, hehe :)

[slick]

Welcome to Pet Talk and greetings from the West Coast. Boy can I identify with that. My long-haired Max leaves clumps of "fluffs" everywhere. I should comb him every night but...with working full-time 12 hrs a day he only gets 3 or 4 combings a week and that seems to cut down on the hairballs quite a bit. In fact, let me get my terminology correct - when you say furballs do you mean hairballs or clumps of fur on the carpet?

I'm able to comb him everywhere except his hind end soooo twice a year he goes to the groomers to get shaved. He's never been one to "upchuck" unless he's got an upset tummy so I don't have many spots to clean up. I used to give him some hairball remedy from a tube (can't remember the name but it smells a bit like caramel) but had to stop because it gave him the runs.

So my regime is comb, comb, and more combing. I use a fine-tooth flea comb to get out the knots then a wider tooth comb to finish the job. It helps the hairballs and the furballs. Good luck and again, Welcome.

Would love to see some pictures of your furbabies :D Maddie looks adorable.

[EnglishRider]

Actually, I meant both, haha :) clumps on the floor and furballs in the tummy. Both cats get brushed about 5 times a week, but it never seems to make a difference.

I bought a new digital camera last week, so I'll have plenty of purr-fect pictures to post of them,I'm sure, hehe
Thanks,
- Carole

[NoahsMommy]

Welcome to Pet Talk!! :)

There are special foods you can give them for hairballs, as well as treats. If you don't have a problem yet, you may not have one. Especially since you brush them during the week.

Can't wait to see more pictures!! Madison is adorable!! :)

We have a long haired orange tabby/maine coone (Noah), you can see him in my signature. He has problems with hair balls and we put him on Royal Canin "Special", it has really helped. He also get shaved in the spring and summer. I know that Royal Canin's "Indoor" formula is suposed to help with shedding.

[jenluckenbach]

welcome to pet talk. Madison is beautiful, can't wait to see more pictures.

For hairballs, prevention is the best. Brushing is one way to cut down on ingested fur. Hairball remedy in a tube is good to give as a preventative. I have just recently found the fish flavor, and the cats would kill for it.

As I understand it, hairball remedy food has a lot of laxative in it and may cause diarrhea if fed exclusively, but can be given as treats.

My cats also like the pounce hairball treats. But the stuff in a tube seems to be a favorite.

[EnglishRider]

Thanks guys! I'll look for some of the treats in the grocery store and pet store next time I go...

Here are a couple pics of my babies. They're marked identical other than one is long haired and the other is short haired. They're just barn cats, but they're just like my babies and have better health insurance and food than I do, lol :)
http://www.bridlepathdesigns.com/temp/photos/data/media/7/madison.jpg <-Madison
http://www.bridlepathdesigns.com/temp/photos/data/media/7/bandit.jpg <-Bandit

And my dog, which lives with my parents, but I still love him to death :)
http://www.bridlepathdesigns.com/temp/photos/data/media/7/scooter.jpg <-Scooter

[Edit]
Can't forget my cat I had when I was living at home. She's 14 and grossly overweight. She doesn't eat that much and poor thing can barely move... I personally think she has a thyroid porb or something, but her time is almost up unfortunately :(
http://www.bridlepathdesigns.com/temp/photos/data/media/7/whiskers.jpg

[jenluckenbach]

Bandit looks just like my Willow (see my signature, the one on the green/pink flowered cushion)

They are both just adorable!!!

[Nomilynn]

I've always fed my cats the Iams hairball remedy, and never had trouble with diareah (sp?). But you could always mix a hairball food in with a regular food too. As for the hairball stuff in a tube, Bassett HATES it but Tilly and Nutmeg love it.

Welcome to PT by the way! LOVE your pics, can't wait to see lots more! :)

[HayleyRosie]

I give my two Hairball treatment treats. Hayley loves them. I also brush them at least 3 times a week. Hayley loves to be brushed but Mandy will not stay still long enough. She is only 11 weeks old.

Welcome to Pet talk. I can't wait to see more pictures.

[ChrisH]

Welcome to Pet Talk!:) Both your cats are lovely, looking forward to seeing more pics!:)

[K & L]

Hello and Welcome

We shave our long-hairs twice a year. This helps both with the shedding and hairballs. We also feed our cats Nutro System, expensive but worth it, and it really helps cut down on hairballs. Your cats are gorgeous!

WELCOME TO PETTALK!!!

One of my cats is long-haired too. I try to comb her regularly, but she does NOT like it! She keeps trying to bite me untill I give up! To avoid hairballs, I give her "Science Hills Hairball Control"
Success!

These ar my two cats! More pics are on my web-site!
http://users.pandora.be/bernardgabriels/images/hangmat%201.jpg