My Cat Has Upchucked Two Hair SNAKES (Not BALLS)

[jasper12]

Okay, I took my cat to the groomers, the fur grows back the same. The cat looks very cute for a few weeks, Mickey looked like a small lamb. The groomers always did an excellent job, he was not abused or traumatized by the experience. However, I must admit that when my ex turned on his electric razor, Mickey would immediately run the other way.

Some cats just have a delicate system, Beau was brushed, groomed, bathed, had excellent hair ball food, medication...and yet he would still cough up hair snakes. Buy a Little Green Machine if you have a carpet. Little Green (R) Deep Cleaner

[BlackShoe]

"Hairball" is certainly a misnomer, hair snake or hair tube much more like it. Not unusual for mine to toss one almost exactly the length, width, and shape of my forefinger. This has been an ongoing messy problem, with no easy solution. My cat detests being combed and groomed, and resists and becomes very stressed. The Furminator is very effective, but she hates it. If not combed, the hair upchucking increases. The Hartz hairball remedy paste does not seem to make a difference one way or another. Must look into the Bissell carpet cleaner for cleaning those stains. My vet suggested it years ago to me, but never followed up on it.

[uggabugga]

my maine coon horked up a big ol' hair snake a couple of days ago as well. the best remedy i can recommend is a buzz-cut.

[J-CityRelo]

If you groom Fozy regularly and he tolerates it, you might look into a groomer shaving him instead of the vet. I had Fritz groomed by this amazing cage-less groomer who actually shaved the knots by his rear end while I waited. It took maybe 20 minutes. And Fritz handled it just fine. Make sure you find someone experienced with grooming cats though. This lady had been grooming animals for 20+ years and said she loves cats so I trusted her. I am much more comfortable with a groomer than with my cat being sedated, but I realize with some cats sedation is the only way.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by stonecypher5413

I adopted a mutt stray as a young kitten two years ago. He's semi-long-haired and an incessant groomer as an adult. He's neutered and a happy, energetic, funny little pet.

Twice in the last month, Foxy has hacked up two amazingly long hair "snakes" after emitting a mournful cry each time and pacing restlessly. I mean, we're talking a wad of compacted hair over an inch wide and five inches long! (Sorry to be so graphic but I'm just trying to paint a visual.) He seemed fine after each event and went back to eating normally.

This is new. Previously, I've never seen him cough up ANY kind of hairball since I've been adding a little psyllium husk and additional water to his wet food as a daily regimen once he reached adulthood. So I figured he was eliminating the excess hair when he pooped.

What should I give him? So far I've tried:

1. The psyllium husks (maybe add a bit more?)
2. The paste in a tube (wouldn't touch it)
3. Oil mixed in the food, even cocoanut (stalked away after sniffing suspiciously at it)
4. Daily brushing all over (which he tolerates briefly)
5. Furminator thingy (ha, he was under the bed like a shot and wouldn't come out for hours -- probably remembering the noise of the "flying jabbie" yellow-jacket that stung him on the nose)

Any advice from you caring experts would be appreciated. Maybe I could sedate him and do a whole-body shave...

If you give your cat a natural raw food and bones (you can get supplement mixture that provide an alternative to the bones ie what I use is http://cats.about.com/gi/rating/revi...Instincts%20TC) diet. He will more than likely be able to digest a lot of the fur and it will pass through the digestive system and come out in the stool on an upgraded diet. I would at least upgrade to a high quality canned food without grains like Wellness or Spot's Stew by Halo Pet and add digestive enzymes.

My 16 year old very long haired Norwegian Forest Cat has been on such a diet for the 13 years I have had him and it hasn't been until very recently that he has vomited hairballs at all.

My first cat that I gave a standard (very low quality vet recommended "dry Science diet to" used to throw up hairballs all the time. In those days I just blindly did what the vet told me to do. NEVER AGAIN will I be so trusting.

You are right about avoiding the tubes of hairball stuff. There are additives in there that are BAD (number one) and number two, it is extremely addictive.

Just be thankful your cat was able to get rid of it. With my first cat there was a time where all he did was vomit. His white blood cell count was through the roof. I had him hospitalized and all the vets could think of to do was do "exploratory surgery". I drew the line at that, brought him home and he recovered. I can't recall if maybe after that he vomited a huge banana sized hairball or not. I know he did at one point. Luckily soon after that, becoming disgusted with standard veterinary "care", I started reading books about natural medicine and discovered The New Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier. Following that book, I made a 180 degree change in the way I cared for my cat and he was the healthier for it.

I highly recommend every cat owner get that book or the newer version and USE it. You won't be disappointed and neither will your cats. In fact they will LOVE you for it and be happier and feel a lot better as a result.

[stonecypher5413]

Thanks, Emily, and all others who have responded with more good tips and advice.

I'll be following up on several of these ideas and see if it makes any difference for Foxy's "Exorcist" episodes.