Hairball Questions

[LindysMomma]

I need help with hairballs too. My cat, Fred has had hairballs all his life. We have took him to the vet before, and we got him some medicine. His hairballs stopped for a while, but lately they have been worse. In the last 2 days he has thrown up about 6-7 times. We bought him some Purina Hairball remedy, but it didn't work. Does anyone else's cat have that bad of hairballs?

[wolflady]

Wow lindysmamma!! That sounds like a lot of hairballs!! I would say that extra brushing every day would help curb the problem. My Scooter is a short haired cat, but due to his double coat, he has more hair than most short haired cats and I brush him about 3 times a day and get 3-4 brushfulls of fur out each time!!! That's a lot!
Also, try giving some laxitive if you haven't tried that already. This will help the cat pass the hairballs in the potty instead of throwing it up. Also, Drs Foster & Smith has products that you may be interested in, so feel free to browse in the link above. You might find something helpful there. Good luck!!!

[catwoman]

Lindysmom,

My Thelma has a chronic hairball problem too. Occasionally it escalates into multiple times over 2-3 days (like Fred.) This is usually just a hairball she is trying to get rid of and can't. Try laxatone, available at PetsMart, Petco, etc. Also the Pounce Hairball Remedy treats are very good.

If the vomiting continues, see the vet. Fred may have irritated his esophagus and need a dose of steriods to calm it down. (This worked for Thelma.) If he is an older kitty, 6+, it wouldn't hurt to have bloodwork done to eliminate liver problems or irritable bowel syndrome.

Hope this helps,
Dianne

[LindysMomma]

Thanks for your replys. I dug out the laxatone from the last vet visit. The throwing up has gone down, about twice a day. He is really hungry, but we can't feed him because he'll throw it back up.

[ July 17, 2001: Message edited by: LindysMomma ]