Hairball question

I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be on
the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me one
on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had to ask
here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how much I
knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Tweed

I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be on
the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me one
on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had to ask
here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how much I
knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Don't feel stupid about this - I worked in a shelter and the Fundraising
Coordinator was freaking out and calling to us cause one of the cats was in
her office and had puked up a hairball. She had no idea what it was and was
worried about him. When I told her what it was she was surprised cause of
what it looked like - she had never seen one. She had a cat too but had
never saw him cough up a hairball either. He went outdoors so maybe outdoor
cats do them out there. I think if they had a build-up of hair inside of
them, there would be some symptoms. Also, some of the hair exits their body
through their poop too!

NanCe

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...dotes/200602/1

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be
on the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me
one on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had
to ask here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how
much I knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Tweed



Hey, don't worry. I've never had hairballs horked up either!Oh, no except
for once when Jasmine was shedding in spring. I put it down to jasmine
shedding all her fur on me......I feed them a 'furball' cat food mixed with
a 'kitten' catfood (dry that is) and i cook them fresh rather than give them
tinned once a day.

On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:04:08 -0000, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be on
the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me one
on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had to ask
here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how much I
knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Scouty and Silver have NEVER coughed up a hairball... occasionally
Silver crouches and coughs and makes 'hairball-evacuation noises' for
a minute or so, but then she stops and acts like she's perfectly
okay... we give them some lactone hairball medicine every so often to
help keep them lubricated and to move the hairballs on down through
their digestive systems and out the other end. They're shorthaired
cats so there's not as much hair to build up...
I THINK Scouty has a hairball now but I don't know for sure... we'll
find out tomorrow.
--
~Karen aka Kajikit
My website - http://www.kajikitscorner.com
My photos - http://community.webshots.com/user/kajikit
There is no more intrepid explorer than a kitten. - Jules Champfleury

My short-haired cats haven't thrown up hairballs (as far as I know!), but my
two medium-haired ones have if I slacked off on brushing them. Cats that go
outside probably leave some of their fur behind as they crawl under and
between plants.

It is possible for a hairball to clog the stomach, but I think it's rare.
If your cat is still eating, she's probably fine.

Sandy

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be
on the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me
one on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had
to ask here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how
much I knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Tweed

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be
on the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me
one on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had
to ask here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how
much I knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Tweed


None of my cats have ever had a hairball problem that I've been aware of.
That's seven cats who for the most part had fairly long lives. None of them
were long hair cats. And all of them have spent some time outdoors. We've
never really had much of a shedding problem with any of our cats either.
When its shedding season, I usually brush them thoroughly a few times so
they don't have to go after all the undercoat themselves, but even when I
haven't we haven't had hairballs.

Then again, we have never really had to deal with clipping claws either.

Just lucky I guess.

Jo

On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:04:08 -0000, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be on
the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me one
on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had to ask
here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how much I
knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Between the two of them, Sammy and Little Bit have left me two in the
past five years. Rocky seemed more prone, as he horked up a couple in
a year. Course, it might have been more, since he was an in/outdoor
cat. Spotty hasn't barfed up one yet, but she does barf about once a
month. I figure it's because she sometimes has flashbacks about being
hungry and scarfes up her food two fast. Most of the time she just
nibbles at the dry food I leave out during the day, but if I let the
bowl go empty she turns into a hoover and tries to enhale the whole
bowl, and ends up barfing it back up.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot
with loving memories of Rocky (RB)

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

Christina Websell wrote:
I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem
to be on the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left
me one on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was,
and had to ask here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball
shaped, that's how much I knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal
for everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why
don't mine? Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden?
Always? I think not, particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now
it's winter. It's very puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get
hairballs at all? Or even worse, what if their stomachs are filled
with hair and they can't cough it up for some reason? panic

Tweed

It depends on the cat, out of the seven cats I've lived with, only Figaro,
the cat I grew up with, coughed up furballs, often looking like something
that came out the other end. So, from the small sample I've seen, most cats
don't cough them up, it must go straight through.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
A House is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

I'm with everyone else. SOme cats do some don't. Pearl doesn't but Sugar and
Grant always did. I also think maybe cats that have more roughage eating out
door things may pass hair easier and don't have to throw them up. I think
you are OK!

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I hope you all won't think this sounds stupid but as hairballs seem to be
on
the agenda right now, I would like to ask this:
I have only ever had one hairball horked up from my cats, Kitty left me
one
on the rug about a year ago. I didn't even know what it was, and had to
ask
here! I imagined that a hairball would be ball shaped, that's how much I
knew about them.
Well, that has been the one and only. So, since it seems so normal for
everyone else's cats to hork them up all over the place, why don't mine?
Are they doing it secretly outside in the garden? Always? I think not,
particularly as Kitty hardly goes outside now it's winter. It's very
puzzling. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

Tweed

On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 02:52:59 +0000 (UTC), Cheryl Perkins
wrote:

. Is it possible for cats not to get hairballs at all? Or even
worse, what if their stomachs are filled with hair and they can't cough it
up for some reason? panic

I don't think that's likely!

Speckles' required surgery.

Jeanne