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I haven't had to deal with hairballs much in a long time, but my long-haired guy is getting a lot of them. Brushing helps, but isn't enough, as I am not here all day while he is grooming. (Unfortunately, he is a grooming fanatic AND grooms every other cat in the house. He even grooms us if we let him.)
What remedies have you found that:
(a) Prevent hairballs; or
(b) Allow the cat to eliminate an existing hairball more easily? I don't care if it makes him vomit or if the hairball comes out in his stool. I just want the poor thing to feel better; he loses his appetite when he has a big hairball. Then eats like a piggy when he chucks up the giant thing!
Please, no oils. Mineral oil is a harsh laxative. It inhibits the absorption of nutrients in food, and the body can become reliant on it if used too often.
First and most important, feed a wet (or balanced raw, or both) diet. No dry food. Cats need to be well hydrated from their food. A dry fed cat is a dehydrated cat, creating a number of problems in addition to hairball issues.
Egg yolk is excellent and/or egg yolk lecithin (comes in capsules that you sprinkle on the food) is good too.
Egg yolk lecithin is a fat emulsifier. Hairballs are made up of fur and fat. The EYL breaks down the fat, freeing the fur to pass through the normal way. There are two brands, Swanson and Nature's Plus. (I use both). Start with half a capsule twice a week, slowly working up to more if needed. Never use any other kind of lecithin, including soy lecithin.
Egg yolks are full of nutrition, including choline. Choline assists with motility. Motility is what keeps things moving along. Again, to help the cat pass the fur through the way it's supposed to go. One or two egg yolks a week Start with one yolk a week and see how it goes.
You can use fresh raw yolk, cooked yolk, or dried egg yolk powder. The powder can be bought or you can make your own. Food Fur Life recently posed instructions on how to do it:
I can honestly say that the number of hairballs decreased when we switched to wet food. The two that are on raw food have never hacked up a hairball (one is 7 and one is 2).
Brush, brush, brush! This makes a huge difference too. Brush your other cats too since he grooms them.
Have you tried cat grass/pet grass? Think that's meant to help with hairballs and it's pretty easy to grow (I get mine in prepared trays, you just have to add water).
Some cats, especially Orange Tabbies, have stiff hair on their backs. This is hard to hack up and makes the cat cough like he has the croup. I give my cats "natural" hairball medicine that uses soybean oil, vegetable oil, cod liver oil, and flax seed oil. No petroleum. It is chicken flavor. The cats like it.
Some cats, especially Orange Tabbies, have stiff hair on their backs. This is hard to hack up and makes the cat cough like he has the croup. I give my cats "natural" hairball medicine that uses soybean oil, vegetable oil, cod liver oil, and flax seed oil. No petroleum. It is chicken flavor. The cats like it.
Yikes! No petroleum but a whole lot of other things that cats should not have! Soy is very bad for cats. Cod liver oil is extremely high in vitamin A, risking toxicity if used too often. Vegetable oil is probably more soybean oil.
This is not a safe for cats product.
I've had two red boys, their back fur was just as soft as the rest of their fur. All the other red cats I've had the pleasure of knowing also had normal soft fur on their backs.
Definitely no petroleum based products--even if your vet recommends it. Vet's Best Hairball relief is what we use but unless we regularly brush our 15 lb Ragdolls they still barf up hairballs. If you have more than one kitty remember they lick themselves as well as their buddy so that's a lot of hair to pass.
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