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My cat frequently coughs up fur balls that look like stools. They are definitely fur balls (no odor). I feed him 1 small can of food daily and he always has a bowl of Royal Canin Intense Hairball dry food available. He is brushed regularly as he is a long haired orange boy. Any other suggestions?
First, has he been to the vet for a check up recently?
In addition to the daily grooming, add a little water to his canned food meals, to get more water into him.
Encourage daily exercise with a routine of interactive games at the same time every day.
Dose with a hair ball remedy every 3-4 days. Dose on an empty stomach an hour before a meal. This means you must pick up the food on hair ball remedy mornings.
Hairball remedy should be given on an empty stomach at least an hour before food for a couple of reasons. It's nature of working is to glom onto the hair in the stomach and digestive tract and help it pass through the other way (or in the case of one of my cats help it come up)
Because of the way hairball remedy gloms onto anything in the stomach it can interfere with nutrient absorption, so always wait an hour before feeding.
You might also want to think about trying a higher quality kibble, or going to an all canned food diet.
I use three different kinds of hairball remedy, in rotation. Tomlyn brand laxatone, Cat Lax, and Petromalt.
My cat frequently coughs up fur balls that look like stools. They are definitely fur balls (no odor). I feed him 1 small can of food daily and he always has a bowl of Royal Canin Intense Hairball dry food available. He is brushed regularly as he is a long haired orange boy. Any other suggestions?
You can buy a tube of goop that you put on your finger (or the cat's paw) and they lick it off. I think those are the three that Catsmom is referring to - it is easy to use and the cat thinks it's a treat!
You can buy a tube of goop that you put on your finger (or the cat's paw) and they lick it off. I think those are the three that Catsmom is referring to - it is easy to use and the cat thinks it's a treat!
Unless you're talking the Unipuker, whose response to Petromalt was to fling it off his paw and directly into the wall within seconds of application. The only way we could even get about a quarter of an application in him was to squirt the goo between his toes because he couldn't fling it as easily then, and he caught on to that after a few applications and wouldn't let us mess with his paws like that anymore.
Since going to all canned food for the last 10 days or 2 weeks - the vomiting has slowed up in my hairball-hacker. She was good for several balls - a few tines a week. Cannot get near her with any kind of hairball remedy & we used the intense hairball formula of many different brands for many years.
Now, we have had only 1 episode in 2 weeks (2 small balls & only in 1 place versus ALL over the house) & she seems happier, healthier & more playful. Side note - the litter box has maybe 1 poop per day ( I have 2 cats!) and about 8 clumps of pee- they are definitely getting enough water now!
I approach my scaredy cat irritable female FROM THE BACK when she isn't looking. I smear the laxatone on her paw and she can't fling it cause its smeared. She licks the stuff off her paw with no problem.
My cat has hairball problems and hates to take medication of any kind, a tough combination. A procedure that works for us is this; when using a commercial remedy that comes in a tube, I turn her on her back and place her gently but firmly between my knees. Holding her head steady, the product is then pressed directly from the tube onto her above the upper lip just under her nose. The cat will then lick the area clean, taking in the medication. Does take a steady hand and a little practice at first though. If you miss and get it on her cheek, too high on the nose, or lower lip, will have a bit of a mess. Still beats trying to put the stuff on a paw, that one usually means it ends up on the couch, carpet, or wall. She got wise to that one years ago.
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