Hair balls?
 

My cat Emily's BMs have greatly improved to perfectly normal since her diet
change to canned Wellness - no more diarrhea, soft ones, or horrible
smells. Hope it lasts. But now she's started getting hairballs (at least
I'm pretty sure it's hairballs) every day. Maybe the Wellness has less
fiber or something than Fancy Feast which I used to feed her. Once in a
while she hacks up a lot of liquid too. Big mess to clean up, almost as bad
as vomit. sigh I'm trying adding a half teaspoon fiber to her food spread
over three meals; that used to help. Read that in one of my cat books. I
groom her every day, as I have all her life (she's a short-hair). The fiber
sure works for me; I've taken two generous doses a day for decades and
hardly ever get hairballs!

Any other hairball treatments you've successfully tried if this doesn't
work? Preferably something I can put in her food; giving her medications is
very difficult to say the least!


--
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner

Hair balls?
 

Try planting some oat grass for her to nibble on.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Hair balls?
 

Ken,

Sorry to sound gross, but are you seeing hair clumps when you clean up
the vomit? It would look like a clump/lump, usually cigar shaped.
Seems unusual to me that she would get hairballs if you brush her
daily. Doing this daily doesn't sound good--you might call your vet's
office and ask. If she were doing this weekly, I wouldn't worry, but
daily is not normal IMO.

Your comment about more hairballs since starting Wellness is curious.
Since my cats have been on canned Wellness (and some Evo), we've had
fewer hairballs.

You can try and add a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin to her food and
mix that in. (Some cats like pumpkin and will eat it as a treat.) If
she's currently experiencing hairballs, you can give her Petromalt or
other hairball remedy for a few days (don't give near her feeding
time. It will reduce absorption of nutrients.)

Rene

Hair balls?
 

Hair balls?
 

Rene wrote in news:66426a03-532f-4a7e-931b-
:

Sorry to sound gross, but are you seeing hair clumps when you clean up
the vomit? It would look like a clump/lump, usually cigar shaped.

Yes, usually. But smaller - about the size of a cigarette.

Seems unusual to me that she would get hairballs if you brush her
daily. Doing this daily doesn't sound good--you might call your vet's
office and ask. If she were doing this weekly, I wouldn't worry, but
daily is not normal IMO.

We'll see if my other things work. She seems otherwise normal.

Your comment about more hairballs since starting Wellness is curious.
Since my cats have been on canned Wellness (and some Evo), we've had
fewer hairballs.

You can try and add a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin to her food and
mix that in. (Some cats like pumpkin and will eat it as a treat.)

I just tried a tea-spoonfull in her food dish. She wouldn't even taste
it. I'll try mixing it with her food later. (I'll bet she won't eat it!)

That pumpkin was very hard to find. I finally found a large can in the
third store I tried. $3! sigh Better work!

If
she's currently experiencing hairballs, you can give her Petromalt or
other hairball remedy for a few days (don't give near her feeding
time. It will reduce absorption of nutrients.)


We'll see how the pumpkin works first. I suspect the pumpkin is just for
fiber and the unflavored Metamucil clone I've been using is much the same
thing.

Ken




--
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner

Hair balls?
 

"KenK" wrote

Any other hairball treatments you've successfully tried if this doesn't
work? Preferably something I can put in her food; giving her medications
is
very difficult to say the least!

KenK, what works for mine and is gentle with no harm, is to add extra fat to
my cats diet. I've normally had up to 4 cats at a time for many years and
this works better for long term use than those tubes (which are essentially
seeming to me to be exlax for cats). Some cats it doesn't work as well with
if animal based fats but I've not had a problem yet with a little olive oil
added. It doesn't cause diarrhea or any absorption problems but does seem
to 'speed the hairball along' so it becomes part of the kitty litter
leavings ;-)

Do run this by your vet, especially if yours is allergy prone (a situation
I've never had).

Fats I have used: Rendered generally, chicken, pork, beef, fish oils, olive
oil, duck, and butter (melted and you make ghee which is clarified butter).

Hair balls?
 

KenK wrote:

It will take a few weeks to grow. (referring to oat grass)

I am constantly growing oat grass and find it only takes one week. I
water it twice daily and grow it by a window.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Hair balls?
 

That pumpkin was very hard to find. I finally found a large can in the
third store I tried. $3! sigh Better work!


I should have mentioned that it might be harder to find. I had heard
that canned pumpkin will not be as plentiful this year, due to rain/
rotting of crops in the fields. :-/

Hair balls?
 

Hair balls?
 

"Rene S." wrote in news:b466189c-2188-4be6-
:

I should have mentioned that it might be harder to find. I had heard
that canned pumpkin will not be as plentiful this year, due to rain/
rotting of crops in the fields. :-/


Yeah. I heard that last fall. I'm making up teaspoon portions of the
large can and freezing them. It'll probably only stay eatable in the
refrigerator for four or five days.

For the first time since I switched her to Wellness she has had a semi-
soft very smelly BM this AM. The pumpkin? That's the only thing I've
changed in her diet. The pumpkin seems to be working for her hairballs,
if that's what she has - for the first time since 5/14 she didn't vomit
last night. Amazing that a little bit (one teaspoon in one meal at noon
yesterday) would be that effective. Or co-incidence? If it continues to
work, I wonder how long should I add it to her food? My cat books don't
say. Forever? Until three or four days of no vomiting?

--
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always
remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner