Why are they called "hairballs"? (vet)

[Tracysherm]

It seems to me, in the interest of accuracy, they should have been named "hair logs."
I've yet to see my cats cough up anything remotely spheroid in shape. It's always a log.


That's all.

[Summer_Rain]

LOL. Truer words have never been spoken!

But yeah... My 1yo old cat threw up a "hairball" recently and I was a bit freaked out initially. There was no "ball" about that sausage-shaped thing that came out. And yep, I did take a photo and showed it to my vet to make sure that it really was just a "hairball"

[catdad7x]

Originally Posted by TracySam

It seems to me, in the interest of accuracy, they should have been named "hair logs."
I've yet to see my cats cough up anything remotely spheroid in shape. It's always a log.


That's all.

I agree. Not an accurate description at all. They more closely resemble what comes out of the other end actually. But hairball is probably the least gross name you could apply, so I'll probably stick with that.

[Gypsy-Moth]

I call them hair cigars.