My cat has a lot of trouble with hairballs. She is a short coat mix, but her fur is very thick. She often throws up - mostly clear fluid (I'm assuming stomach juices) and a mat of hair. But sometimes she also throws up right after she eats - and again there will be hair in the mixture. I have put her on hairball control food and tried giving her various over the counter hairball control cat treats. Nothng seems to help. Do you know of a better product? Or is there a prscription drug my vet can prescibe?
oh, and I do brush her almost daily.
2007-01-12 15:57:07 · 9 answers · asked by Camirra 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
Brushing your cat is very important even though she has short hair. Laxatone is very good for hairballs and you get it from your vet. It seems that she probably has a very sensitive GI tract. Try a good hairball food like Science Diet. Eukanuba is a very good food but it is usually too rich for cats with sensitive stomachs. You might want to try the Science Diet Sensitive Stomach food. If that doesn't work ask your vet about putting her on a prescription diet called w/d. It is very high in fiber and might give a little more bulk causing everything to pass through her system. I would start with the Laxatone though and daily brushing. If for some reason the vomiting becomes more persistent or she looses weight you will need to see medical attention ASAP. Good Luck.
2007-01-12 16:06:37 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have a long haired cat and it is normal for them to throw up a hairball every so often, so i did the right thing for a long haired cat and bought her Science diet hairball control and it made it worse she threw up all the time drove me nuts, so i have put her back onto Iams food Chicken or light and i have not had a problem since. So i don't know about those hairball control diets they didn't work for my cat. Cat-lax is also another product you can get from your vet as well to assist in the problem.
2007-01-16 19:30:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look at the ingredients in the food you're feeding. Make sure there's Psyllium in the ingredients list. Psyllium is a soluable fiber---it's the 'hairball control' in cat foods. If it's higher up on the list of ingredients, it means the food has a higher concentration of it---the lower on the list it is, the less of it that's in the food. Also, look for fish oil and sunflower oil---all help lubricate the digestive tract to help ingested hair pass through it.
Please be aware that certain ingredients in foods can also cause allergic reactions that can result in vomitting. Avoid ingredients like: corn (whole ground, corn gluten, ect.), by-products (these are things like beaks, feet, and feathers), wheat (hard to digest for obligate carnivores), and soy (again, hard to digest for obligate carnivores).
Feeding a higher quality food is both cheaper and easier than feeding a lesser quality food and supplementing it. If you have a Petsmart, I recommend Blue Buffalo's Spa Select's Hairball Formula. It's the ONLY cat food in Petsmart that doesn't have corn in it. Innova, Wellness, ect. are also very good foods (though I have no direct experience with them).
Keep up that brushing as well...
Hope that helps!
2007-01-13 03:08:56 · answer #3 · answered by strayd0g 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hairbal control food is nothing more then a sales gimic. It does nothing.
I suggest feeding a good quality food ...not Science Diet, IAMS/Eukanuba, Purina Cat Chow ...and get some catlax or other product from your vet.
2007-01-13 15:52:31 · answer #4 · answered by Great Dane Lover 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best and easiest thing to use is Vaseline (petroleum jelly), which was recommended to us by a vet. You just put a gob on your finger - first try to offer it to the cat, some actually like it and will lick the whole thing right off (gross, I know, but we have really had cats who have done this). If not, you kinda of just have to shove it in their mouth, and they will lick it up. I would do this twice a week to start, then go down to once a week, then once every two weeks.
2007-01-13 06:11:53 · answer #5 · answered by Lydia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My Vet recommended just plain old Vaseline, a tsp every few days. Some cats like it & will lick it off your finger. If yours doesn't you can wipe it on her and she'll lick it off. Brushing her would also help.
2007-01-13 00:06:44 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try using Petromalt. It can be boght at any pet supply store. If that doesn't work, you should ask your vet what would be best for your pet.
2007-01-13 00:04:45 · answer #7 · answered by shawn a 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
keep brushing, you could veg oil on her food or one slice of bacon cooked and the grease from it to. or you could use petromalt from the pet store
2007-01-13 00:11:57 · answer #8 · answered by gunter_thehunter 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
SOMETHING GOOD FOR THIS PROBLEM IS OLIVE OIL OR VEGETABLE OIL YOU CAN BUY THE TUNA IN OIL TO GIVE HER ONCE A WEEK SEE HOW IT GOES IT HELPED MY CATS
2007-01-13 00:06:50 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋