Q: Hairballs

Apr 15, 2009

Vaseline works but your cat may not voluntarily eat it since its tasteless. Its just petroleum jelly which is the main ingredient in hairball remedies, any of which are also good. Be sure when giving any of these though, to give them on an empty stomach. They interfere with vitamin & mineral absorption so you want to avoid that. You also don't want to give any of these products on a daily basis indefinitely because of the vitamin absortption issue, especially with the fat-soluble vitamins.

Pure canned pumpkin (not pie filling) or baby food squash is very good because it adds fiber & bulk. Its also good for constipation & diarrhea. Many cats readily eat it & think its a treat. If not, mix it into their canned food. All it takes is about 1 tsp a day. Since its natural, it can be given every day without side effects.

Of course, brushing keeps so many hairballs from forming by removing all the loose shedding hair, plus its a great bonding experience.

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Apr 04, 2009

I recommend mixing dry and wet foot. Thats the only thing thats been able to work for my cat. But try out different things and see what sticks.

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Apr 03, 2009

There are allot of special food nowadays, I have never used any of them so I could not tell you which the best is. But my long haired Tabby never had any issues with furballs, I would give him a can of real tuna (human brand) in oil once a month. He absolutely loved it, and it did not matter the brand cheapest worked as well as any, but it had to be packed in oil, no water. It worked for him, hope this helps.

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Apr 03, 2009

I use Hartz Hairball Remedy (also recommended by my vet). My longhair cat Callie gets hairballs once in a great while but since using this and putting her on a Hairball Control food, it has helped greatly. i have noticed that brushing her helps a lot too. I also try to buy hairball control treats although for the treats i get a variety also. Hope this helps.

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Apr 02, 2009

Laxatone or Petromalt works...we used to give my cat vaseline on her paw way back in the 70's before they had products specifically for hairballs. Try changing her food, but do it gradually over a week or two. Are you sure it is hairballs? Both my cats are longhaired and my kitten was throwing up several times a week. I changed her dry food and no vomiting for 2 weeks. My older cat gets brushed (the Furminator is great, but he hates it) at least 4-5 times a week. If the vomiting continues you may want to bring you kitty to the vet to see if there may be another problem going on. Manx cats in particular can have bowel problems that usually need medical care....

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Apr 02, 2009

We use laxatone too. Our cats love the flavor, (I think it comes in tuna fish or salmon), and we never have trouble with hairballs. I put a small dab on my son's finger, and he loves having the kitties lick it off just before bedtime every night. We've used the Hartz brand too, which also worked fine. Sometimes though, it would fall off my son's finger onto the carpeting. The laxatone is stickier.

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Apr 02, 2009

I use the furminator too! I also give my cat a special food specific for her breed that is supposed to help with hairballs.

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Apr 02, 2009

I use Laxatone, from my vet its base is petroluim jelly.
I give it to my cats 1 time a day for a week and then 1 time a week.
It really helps. Also I use the Furminator to help groom the cats undercoat of fur. And I have three short haired cats.

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Apr 02, 2009

Hairball medicine works great! It is at walmart over the counter for a good price!

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Apr 02, 2009

We have found that our cat does really well if we feed a hairball control food. We have accidentally purchased without and did notice a difference.

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