I have just switched his food to the stupid expensive kind that is made just for hairballs. I have gotten laxitone from the vet- no good. The vet also gave him de-wormer medicine-and that worked for like a day- I have even spent money on the treats you can get from pets mart, and still, nothing- but gross black hairballs. Anyone else have any home remedies or other tricks I can maybe try to get this insanity to stop!!! He barfs at least once a day, a couple piles at a time- and I am sick of cleaning it up!! and I am sure it is not too healthy for him either.
2007-03-14 11:36:55 · 13 answers · asked by ? 3 in Pets ➔ Cats
I do brush him on a regular basis- the carpet hair thing might be the problem!! lol. We vacuum regularly, but I have 2 and they are both long haired and black- but still . . . I can't stop this completely I guess. . .
2007-03-14 11:44:21 · update #1
DONT LET HIM EAT CARPET HAIR!
2007-03-14 11:40:28 · answer #1 · answered by kmario wart godzilla bowser 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If none of that worked the best thing to do is try brushing your cat 2-3 times a week and see if that helps. Even the best hairball treatments don't work if the cat is ingesting huge amounts of hair.
2007-03-15 05:33:04 · answer #2 · answered by stingra385 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's possible that your cat may have a sensitive stomach - vomiting daily or more than once daily sounds too frequent for it to just be hairballs (to me, anyway). I'd suggest gradually switching your cat over to a high-quality canned food that does not contain common stomach-upsetting ingredients such as soy, wheat, or corn (read the labels). The extra moisture in the canned food will help move the hairballs through, and avoiding corn, soy, and wheat may help solve his stomach upset problem. One of my cats used to vomit 2-3 times every day for years and the vets could never find anything wrong with her. I finally figured out that she might have a sensitivity and made the switch to a high-quality canned food. Now, the only time she vomits is if she gets into the other cat's prescription dry food.
If you must feed dry, look for one without soy, wheat, or corn ingredients. Look for unusual protein sources such as duck, venison, or lamb, and grains such as rice or peas. Ideally, you should feed mostly canned with just a little dry, or all canned.
Make sure to make any diet change gradually to avoid increased stomach upset - introduce a small portion of the new food to mostly old food, and gradually increase the portion of new to old until it's all new after a couple of weeks.
If your cat still gets hairballs after switching to canned food, try adding a little fiber to his diet - put a little bit of plain unsweetened canned pumpkin in his food, or you can get fiber capsules for cats at the pet store. Make sure he always has plenty of fresh water available too.
Also, try raising his food bowl a little bit, and be sure to brush him regularly.
See these articles for more information about food allergies and the importance of including canned food in a cat's diet.
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=foodallergiesincats
http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=whycatsneedcannedfood
Of course, if you haven't had your cat checked out by the vet for this, you'll want to do that too, to rule out any health problems that might be causing the vomiting.
Hope this helps!
2007-03-14 14:24:42 · answer #3 · answered by Bess2002 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My cat kept barfing and I thought it was hairballs. However when I stopped giving him the "kitty treats" he rarely barfs now. (At least he seems to aim for the hard floor and not the carpet when he lets loose with the grossness.)
Call your vet.
2007-03-14 11:46:32 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Punky has the best answer.
We have a long-haired silver grey cat who practically chokes on his fur when he washes and used to cough up hairballs on a daily basis.
We also tried the special food without much success.
The best remedy we found was to brush him daily. He enjoys it, we enjoy the bonding session and his hairballs have definitely reduced.
2007-03-14 11:46:04 · answer #5 · answered by the_lipsiot 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy some hairball reducing cat food and get come of that squishy hairball reducing stuff that your cat eats at Wal-Mart
2007-03-14 14:57:14 · answer #6 · answered by yourcool79 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As soon as I stopped feeding my cat canned food he stopped hacking hair balls all the time. I know it seems cruel, but he will learn to eat the dry food. Its better for his teeth and for his digestive tract. Pumpkin only hacks maybe once or twice a year now and its usually when my sister comes to visit and gives him canned food.
2007-03-14 11:53:39 · answer #7 · answered by Kate 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lady I know who has had cats all her life told me to give my cats a bit of vaseline on a qtip. She said her himalayans lick the vaseline directly from the qtip & it works. My cats cough it up outside so I don't go thru the big clean up. I hope this helps.
2007-03-14 11:45:39 · answer #8 · answered by curiousgeorge 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The more you brush your cat the less hair will get in his mouth when he grooms himself. Some cats like to lick petroleum jelly and this helps.
2007-03-14 11:52:34 · answer #9 · answered by p00756 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
several things can help, get a spearmint plant and place it where your cat can chew on it. also if you give you cat cod liver oil. just pour oil on dry catfood. cats love it. also, brush your cat daily to remove loose hair-mine like to be vaccumed-so does my long haired dog-this helps but most cats do not like the vaccum-i started when cat was very young.
2007-03-14 11:45:09 · answer #10 · answered by charlie_corral 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I get mine to lick butter, or dribble a capsule of cod liver oil on their coats for them to lick off. It is supposed to help them pass the hair balls through instead of sicking them up. It seems to help.
2007-03-14 11:50:06 · answer #11 · answered by Older&Wiser 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋