POLL: Hairballs and Vomiteers - seriously.

I'm curious now after that thread of Hairballs not being normal or
being normal.

Starting about 20 years ago I've had two cats all the time and three
for a short period. That totals six cats including my current Espy and
Nipsy so four are now dead. Of all six cats, only one was a regular
vomiteer and that was Nico who was eventually diagnosed with IBD,
which killed him although he did live to 16 which is far and away the
oldest of my cats.

Let's define vomiteer as a cat that vomits more than ten times a year.
I think we can safely exclude the occasional "blades of grass" vomits
for those that may go outside. All of my cats have been allowed into
my fenced in yard. I now have a webcam in the yard so I can watch them
on TV when I'm working on the computer.

So, to start it off:

# of cats = 6
# of vomiteers = 1

On Fri 17 Mar 2006 10:23:29p, dgk wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
):

Let's define vomiteer as a cat that vomits more than ten times a
year. I think we can safely exclude the occasional "blades of
grass" vomits for those that may go outside.

I remember your Epsy and IBD, and others from here, and my Shadow.
Shadow was *always* a puker. Even though it had food in it, there was
always fur in it, too. I used to think that puking was normal for a
cat. Once he was on prednisone, and for the short period of time that
nothing abnormal came from either end, it seemed that regular puking
is NOT normal. When Shadow's IBD progressed, his diarrhea also
contained a lot of fur.

--
Cheryl

dgk wrote:

Let's define vomiteer as a cat that vomits more than ten times a year.
I think we can safely exclude the occasional "blades of grass" vomits
for those that may go outside. All of my cats have been allowed into
my fenced in yard. I now have a webcam in the yard so I can watch them
on TV when I'm working on the computer.


Hmm. Counting my cats along with mom's, sister's, and nephew's for all
of my memory, that makes 15 cats.

There's been the occasional hairball and sick stuff. One of the was a
stray who was sick and injured before I got him. I only had him 2 1/2
weeks before he died, so I can't honestly say if he would have been a
barfer or if that was just because of his condition at the time.

So, that leaves 2 that I would call barfers. And Maynard only became a
barfer in old age. He was 17 or 18 when he started puking on a regular
basis. I had to work to keep weight on him. Kira is my real barfer
cat. It used to be only once a month or so. She used to pass the
hairballs and have poops with hair in them. Over the past year or so,
she has changing to just hacking them up. And it got to be pretty often
til her last vet visit. She has puked a couple times since then, but
mostly from eating too fast.

I think there is more to it than how old they are. Are they long or
short haired? Are they indoor or outdoor, or a combination. Are they
the only cat? How often are they groomed?

When I had two cats, the female never cleaned herself. The male
cleaned her and himself. It also seems the older they get, the more
hairballs they get. The vet says that is because their digestive
system isn't as good, as they age.

My opinion is that as the phrase "grass grows" is true, so it cats have
hairballs!

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 03:23:29 GMT, dgk
wrote:

I'm curious now after that thread of Hairballs not being normal or
being normal.
While hairballs are the most common cause of feline vomitting, as
long as remains infrequent there is no cause to worry. If a cat vomits
regularly without forming a hairball. that IS something to worry
about. So what is this for Hairballs or Vomitting for another reason?


http://www.black-cat-gfx.co.uk/

"A cat is only technically an animal,
being divine" - Robert Lynd

dgk wrote:

# of cats = 2
# of vomiteers = 0

One of my last cats vomitted hairballs a lot. Vets checked her out and
said it was just normal.

One of my present cats never vomits hairballs. Even when I brush her,
I get only a very tiny amount of fur in the brush. My other cat has
vomitted maybe 1 or 2 hairballs in the past year. I don't know if it's
because they're on a homemade raw diet, or what. I just find it
interesting that they don't have hairball problems like my previous
cats did.

Lauren

On 18 Mar 2006 09:22:56 -0800, "PawsForThought"
wrote:


dgk wrote:

# of cats = 2
# of vomiteers = 0

One of my last cats vomitted hairballs a lot. Vets checked her out and
said it was just normal.

One of my present cats never vomits hairballs. Even when I brush her,
I get only a very tiny amount of fur in the brush. My other cat has
vomitted maybe 1 or 2 hairballs in the past year. I don't know if it's
because they're on a homemade raw diet, or what. I just find it
interesting that they don't have hairball problems like my previous
cats did.

Lauren

I have a longhair who never sheds. All that hair and even brushing him
I rarely get much off him. However my other cat, DSH, just walks down
the hall and hair is abandoning ship. JUMP JUMP. Dust bunnies form
behind him as he walks. I can't figure it out.

And, of course, just when I start this thread one of them upchucked a
hairball slug.

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:02:13 +0000, deci wrote:

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 03:23:29 GMT, dgk
wrote:

I'm curious now after that thread of Hairballs not being normal or
being normal.
While hairballs are the most common cause of feline vomitting, as
long as remains infrequent there is no cause to worry. If a cat vomits
regularly without forming a hairball. that IS something to worry
about. So what is this for Hairballs or Vomitting for another reason?


Good question. I was curious to see how many cats actually vomited up
hairballs. I would think that a cat vomiting without hairballs would
definitely be abnormal. Nico used to vomit every day and of course he
was indeed IBD. Sometimes with hair but sometimes without.

dgk wrote:
And, of course, just when I start this thread one of them upchucked a
hairball slug.

LOL! That'll teach ya

dgk wrote:
I'm curious now after that thread of Hairballs not being normal or
being normal.

Starting about 20 years ago I've had two cats all the time and three
for a short period. That totals six cats including my current Espy and
Nipsy so four are now dead. Of all six cats, only one was a regular
vomiteer and that was Nico who was eventually diagnosed with IBD,
which killed him although he did live to 16 which is far and away the
oldest of my cats.

Let's define vomiteer as a cat that vomits more than ten times a year.
I think we can safely exclude the occasional "blades of grass" vomits
for those that may go outside. All of my cats have been allowed into
my fenced in yard. I now have a webcam in the yard so I can watch them
on TV when I'm working on the computer.

So, to start it off:

# of cats = 6
# of vomiteers = 1

I need to chime in here. I have had cats for almost 20 years.
#1: Siamese kitty who shed like mad. He once got a hairball so bad,
he had to have a gi tube inserted because he wouldnt eat. One day I
came home to a huge vomitty hairball, and part of the gi tube too!
#2: Longhaired tabby who we just lost in November at 19.5 years old.
Very efficient at removal of hairballs: vomitted one up once a month
like clockwork!
#3: Short hair tuxedo - just 2 weeks ago she was sick with a bad
hairball. Eventually pooped it out with the aid of laxatone. Vomits a
lot, but not hair
#4: Long haired orange and white - just like kitty #2- once a month up
comes a nice tubular hairball. No other vomit.

Beth