A gross hairball question

I have a cat who makes hairballs. Big surprise right? Well, the thing is, and I apologize because there's simply no way to discuss this without being at least a little graphic, she seems to have a hard time with it. My other cats normally bring up the hairball and sometimes then have another "session" where they bring up a little food or saliva afterwards and are done with it. My one cat though, she will vomit 3 or even 4 times AFTER the hairball is up. And this is routine with her. Is this normal? Does it indicate a health problem? Also, is there anything I can do, a supplement or medication I can offer her that may make dealing with hairballs a little easier for her? She seems a normal cat in every other way but I know they have their way of hiding when they feel ill.

 

I would recommend talking to your vet about it.

My cat actually had issues with it and still does regularly. She seems fine otherwise, but it's horrible to watch/hear. I feel so bad for her. We switched her food to a sensitive stomach and hairball control food, though, and it definitely minimized it for her. She doesn't have nearly as many problems now, so it might help yours, too.

 

Its not normal for a cat to be vomiting all the time. Large unpassable hairballs could be an issue relating to and underlying medical condition.

Bandit would throw up massive hairballs, and be sick multiple times a day, and it turns out he had Inflamed Bowel Disease, and his food was making him sick. We switched his food, and he is 100% better.

You can also buy a thing called Laxatone, its available in pet stores, it basically lubricates the cats insides to better push through hairballs. This really helped Bandit out, and he hasn't had a hairball since!

 

Hmm, I've never heard of that but it sounds awesome. How do you give it to the cat? Is it a pill, powder, liquid....? And how often do they have to take it, too?

 

Laxatone is a jelly in a tube that comes in tuna, malt or salmon flavor.
You can squeeze some on your finger and let the cat lick it off, or put a little on the cat's paw and let the cat lick it off their paw. Some people use it every day if their cat is constipated. It works for both constipation and hairballs.
Amazon sells it too.

 

This sounds really good actually. Is it safe to give your cat Laxatone without consulting a vet first or is this something I need to get a prescription for? I know my cat will appreciate the tuna flavor as she's beyond picky about what she eats. She will straight starve herself if I don't get her the stuff she likes, which is the sensitive system formula luckily.

 

I could only get the tuna flavor at the vet, but I could get the malt at a petstore. I usually squeeze it onto my finger and let him lick it off. Its a thick gel, almost like toothpaste, but the colour is more like maple syrup.

He really likes it, I give it to him maybe once a week but apparently you can add it into their food, etc.

 

You need to buy some hairball remedy at your local pet shop. It only costs around $4 USD and you get a whole tube of it. You only have to use an inch of it and put it on their paws or in their bowl and they will stay hairball free after about a week of treatment. It is usually tuna flavored so your cat won't really mind.

 

Sigh. So I went out yesterday to get the stuff. I found the tuna flavor I've heard so much about and didn't pay an arm and a leg for it. I should have known, given how Maggie is competing for "Most Finicky Organism in Existence", but she simply would not touch the stuff. She backed away from it when I offered it on my finger and would not clean her paws when I rubbed it on them. She just looked at me like I was a jerk, and I felt like one after tuna goo on her.

Is there any way to get this stuff in her now without having to be forceful about it?

 

Knowing cats, I would say the answer is no I'm afraid. The only thing I can think of is trying the other flavours. If she does not like any of those, then you might just have to try to gently introduce her to it. Just keep showing it to her periodically and eventually she might become curious about it. However, I would still recommend taking her to the vet if you think she is having a problem passing her hairballs. There might be some other problem causing it and the Laxatone might just hide the symptom for a while.

 

I wish I could help mine went right for it! I even left the tube sitting on the table unattended and came back to it full of little puncture holes! Maybe you could try mixing it in with the food?

 

Until a few days ago I had never seen a hairball. My cat began making these strange noises, and when I went to check on him, it was one of the most disturbing sites I had ever seen. I had always thought that cats coughing off hairballs were just a myth, but they are definitely true, and disgusting!

 

Sibyl has some issues with this too. I took her to the vet and they gave her some pills to take that eased the bloating in her stomach. After her pills ran out, I had to give her a prescription cat food. These things helped for a while, but the prescription on both did run up. The vet recommended Science Diet cat food for Indoor Cats to help ease the hairballs, as well as some hairball control treats. The combination of the two works really well. Sometimes she'll still have issues, but it makes it happen a lot less often.

 

My cat has hairballs fairly often, but has only thrown up after twice. The first time I called her vet in a panic. He didn't even charge a consult, he was just like, "She's fine. Breathe. If it happens more call me back." As for getting something your cat doesn't want into her system. What about hiding it in wet food?

 

Hairballs are gross but luckily my cat doesn't get any.