what is hairball remedy REALLY supposed to do?

[Alyssa Robinson]

I was under the impression that hairball remedy (whether it be a paste
the cat licks off your finger, or a crunchy treat that hides a gooey,
hairball remedy center) was supposed to help prevent the cat from
barfing up hairballs. I thought it was supposed to ease the passage of
cat hair down the feline intestinal tract, so kitty could poop out the
hair.

Am I mistaken in my understanding?

My experience has been that feeding my cat hairball remedy is more
likely to CAUSE him to barf up a hairball sometime within a day after
feeding it to him. Is this its true purpose? Much like the way that
eating grass can cause a cat to barf up a hairball?

Incidentally, I have a medium hair cat who gets combed nearly
everyday. He barfs up a hairball about once a month.

[Priscilla Ballou]

In article >,
(Alyssa Robinson) wrote:

> I was under the impression that hairball remedy (whether it be a paste
> the cat licks off your finger, or a crunchy treat that hides a gooey,
> hairball remedy center) was supposed to help prevent the cat from
> barfing up hairballs. I thought it was supposed to ease the passage of
> cat hair down the feline intestinal tract, so kitty could poop out the
> hair.
>
> Am I mistaken in my understanding?
>
> My experience has been that feeding my cat hairball remedy is more
> likely to CAUSE him to barf up a hairball sometime within a day after
> feeding it to him. Is this its true purpose? Much like the way that
> eating grass can cause a cat to barf up a hairball?
>
> Incidentally, I have a medium hair cat who gets combed nearly
> everyday. He barfs up a hairball about once a month.

My understanding is like yours, that it is supposed to gather up the
hair and help it exit southwards. How much are you giving? I wouldn't
trust the stuff in the treats to work. You'd have to give a whole lot
of treats to do the trick. In shedding season, I try to give an inch of
the tube stuff a week (when I remember). My three all lick it right off
the tube. For them, it's a treat.

Priscilla
--
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
(thanks be to topfive.com)

[Priscilla Ballou]

In article >,
(Alyssa Robinson) wrote:

> I was under the impression that hairball remedy (whether it be a paste
> the cat licks off your finger, or a crunchy treat that hides a gooey,
> hairball remedy center) was supposed to help prevent the cat from
> barfing up hairballs. I thought it was supposed to ease the passage of
> cat hair down the feline intestinal tract, so kitty could poop out the
> hair.
>
> Am I mistaken in my understanding?
>
> My experience has been that feeding my cat hairball remedy is more
> likely to CAUSE him to barf up a hairball sometime within a day after
> feeding it to him. Is this its true purpose? Much like the way that
> eating grass can cause a cat to barf up a hairball?
>
> Incidentally, I have a medium hair cat who gets combed nearly
> everyday. He barfs up a hairball about once a month.

My understanding is like yours, that it is supposed to gather up the
hair and help it exit southwards. How much are you giving? I wouldn't
trust the stuff in the treats to work. You'd have to give a whole lot
of treats to do the trick. In shedding season, I try to give an inch of
the tube stuff a week (when I remember). My three all lick it right off
the tube. For them, it's a treat.

Priscilla
--
Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
(thanks be to topfive.com)