Yup, that fits it exactly..... `hair with a poop crust on it`.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Vet's Best Hairball Relief - Interesting observation
- Thread starter peaches08
- Start Date
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #182
Instead of 1/2 tab twice daily, I figured I'd try a "clean out" way of handling it since that works for the hairball treats. So instead I'm giving a full tab once a day. Wow, somebody is laying logs in the litter boxes! No smell thankfully, so I'm waiting and watching. If this works then I have an answer to the problem.
This is what I am pretty much doing with my blend - the equivalent of one tab once per day for Tim and a few times a week for Abby. Yep, they lay logs and I've noticed the big ones are usually jammed full of hair. My theory is the psyllium creates some bulk that helps clear out the hair; too little, it won't work; too much, and you've got poops that are too big. Hopefully this works for you!
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2014
- Messages
- 931
- Purraise
- 168
I wonder if I should be giving Obi more than 1/2 tab a day....do you all give SEB, or do you just give the tabs?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #185
I'm just giving the VB tabs, other than the few times I had to clean them out using hairball treats.
@LDG you mentioned not liking the larger stools from psyllium...I don't want to hurt my cats, but hacking up hairballs isn't good either. Would you mind expanding on your thoughts about the larger stools?
@LDG you mentioned not liking the larger stools from psyllium...I don't want to hurt my cats, but hacking up hairballs isn't good either. Would you mind expanding on your thoughts about the larger stools?
I am not LDG, but I'll share what I think about large stool sizes. Keep in mind, I am coming from the perspective of having a cat that had two severe constipation/obstipation episodes, though he never had chronic constipation.
In June 2013, after Tim's second severe episode, more than two years after his first, our traditional veterinarian put Tim on cisapride and warned us about megacolon, which sounded funny at the time but I quickly learned is not. I began to fear, perhaps irrationally, that if Tim continued to have big, hard poops, especially if they were stuck and would not move, his colon would at some point stretch and become damaged, and we'd have a megacolon cat on our hands. This continues to be a concern for me, as I don't know if Tim's colon has some damage from his two episodes: If his poops are consistently bigger than they should be, they'll stretch and damage his colon.
Another issue with stool size comes from learning more about feline nutritional needs and digestive systems. Large stools mean the cat is passing stuff that wasn't digested. Either it's indigestible stuff like fiber or fur, or maybe the cat's digestion just isn't working properly.
Finally, consider the comfort of the cat. A large stool, especially if it's hard and dry, is probably pretty darn uncomfortable to pass. Even a large soft one probably doesn't feel very good.
It really took a lot of faith, as well as education about the various kinds of fibers, for me to give psyllium to Tim, given my fears about stool size and megacolon. I continue to examine and measure his output and, happily, it mostly remains in his pre-psyllium range. I have also noticed that when his output creeps up above the range, it's due to a LOT of hair. His "hair-poops" typically have the texture of a barely damp sponge (hard as the crust breaks, but spongy once the crust is broken through), so I am guessing they are easy to pass. I sometimes fret about giving fiber to a cat that MAY be prone to constipation, so I include details about Tim's stool size in my periodic email updates to our holistic vet. We have adjusted the dose to make sure there is enough stimulation and bulk to support him as we get him off cisapride, but to also keep his stools in a reasonable size range. For Tim, 125mg (or 1/4 of a 500mg capsule or 1/16 tsp) daily seems to strike that balance. At the present time, I am splitting that so he gets 50mg as part of the hairball blend in the evening and 75mg in the morning. I am planning to taper the 75mg, starting in the next day or so. While I am not worried about his stool size at the present time, I've heard about fiber becoming ineffective with constipation-prone cats over time and I want Tim to adapt to pooping on his own. I also don't know if Tim actually is constipation-prone, or if he just had two very bad episodes due to a combination of factors we have resolved, so maybe a little bit of mostly-soluble fiber isn't a bad thing for him, at least right now as we continue to work on his digestion. Trial and error, hopefully minimizing error.
In June 2013, after Tim's second severe episode, more than two years after his first, our traditional veterinarian put Tim on cisapride and warned us about megacolon, which sounded funny at the time but I quickly learned is not. I began to fear, perhaps irrationally, that if Tim continued to have big, hard poops, especially if they were stuck and would not move, his colon would at some point stretch and become damaged, and we'd have a megacolon cat on our hands. This continues to be a concern for me, as I don't know if Tim's colon has some damage from his two episodes: If his poops are consistently bigger than they should be, they'll stretch and damage his colon.
Another issue with stool size comes from learning more about feline nutritional needs and digestive systems. Large stools mean the cat is passing stuff that wasn't digested. Either it's indigestible stuff like fiber or fur, or maybe the cat's digestion just isn't working properly.
Finally, consider the comfort of the cat. A large stool, especially if it's hard and dry, is probably pretty darn uncomfortable to pass. Even a large soft one probably doesn't feel very good.
It really took a lot of faith, as well as education about the various kinds of fibers, for me to give psyllium to Tim, given my fears about stool size and megacolon. I continue to examine and measure his output and, happily, it mostly remains in his pre-psyllium range. I have also noticed that when his output creeps up above the range, it's due to a LOT of hair. His "hair-poops" typically have the texture of a barely damp sponge (hard as the crust breaks, but spongy once the crust is broken through), so I am guessing they are easy to pass. I sometimes fret about giving fiber to a cat that MAY be prone to constipation, so I include details about Tim's stool size in my periodic email updates to our holistic vet. We have adjusted the dose to make sure there is enough stimulation and bulk to support him as we get him off cisapride, but to also keep his stools in a reasonable size range. For Tim, 125mg (or 1/4 of a 500mg capsule or 1/16 tsp) daily seems to strike that balance. At the present time, I am splitting that so he gets 50mg as part of the hairball blend in the evening and 75mg in the morning. I am planning to taper the 75mg, starting in the next day or so. While I am not worried about his stool size at the present time, I've heard about fiber becoming ineffective with constipation-prone cats over time and I want Tim to adapt to pooping on his own. I also don't know if Tim actually is constipation-prone, or if he just had two very bad episodes due to a combination of factors we have resolved, so maybe a little bit of mostly-soluble fiber isn't a bad thing for him, at least right now as we continue to work on his digestion. Trial and error, hopefully minimizing error.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #187
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #188
Peaches, do your cats overgroom? Aside from slow digestion, I wonder what other circumstances make up this problem. I haven't found the answer of course, but a couple of things I have tried that have helped a bit.
I brush my cats with a furminator brush. I noticed as soon as I finished brushing, they would start grooming. So once I interfered and picked up fine tiny fur as I ran my hands through their coats. Brushing brings up a lot of fur and not all of it is picked up by the brush. Well, guess who ingests it? I came upon this mystery because one of my cats would always, always have a hairball 12-18 hours after a good brushing. And it was so frustrating because conventional wisdom is that brushing is supposed to prevent hairballs. But for my Dory, brushing always resulted in a hairballs. So now, I brush my cats thoroughly, then rub them with a damp cloth to pick up debris and then I run my hands through their fur many times over. When I rub my hands together, the fine fur turns into a tiny string. I do this until I no longer pick up enough fur to roll together.
And...sometimes when they groom, I just rudely interfere and distract them, lol. Enough already. And I do give petroleum jelly. I also suspect the state of my home also contributes to hairballs. I'd probably help things a lot by vacuuming more as I'm sure the cats pick up a lot of my hair and fur from the carpet and floor. I had new carpet installed 10 days ago--I wonder if the new carpet free of fur and hair has helped?
The last hairball was 10 days ago. The irony is during this period, my cats haven't received supplements as they had diarrhea and limited food rotation. No EYL, no probiotics, no VBH.
I brush my cats with a furminator brush. I noticed as soon as I finished brushing, they would start grooming. So once I interfered and picked up fine tiny fur as I ran my hands through their coats. Brushing brings up a lot of fur and not all of it is picked up by the brush. Well, guess who ingests it? I came upon this mystery because one of my cats would always, always have a hairball 12-18 hours after a good brushing. And it was so frustrating because conventional wisdom is that brushing is supposed to prevent hairballs. But for my Dory, brushing always resulted in a hairballs. So now, I brush my cats thoroughly, then rub them with a damp cloth to pick up debris and then I run my hands through their fur many times over. When I rub my hands together, the fine fur turns into a tiny string. I do this until I no longer pick up enough fur to roll together.
And...sometimes when they groom, I just rudely interfere and distract them, lol. Enough already. And I do give petroleum jelly. I also suspect the state of my home also contributes to hairballs. I'd probably help things a lot by vacuuming more as I'm sure the cats pick up a lot of my hair and fur from the carpet and floor. I had new carpet installed 10 days ago--I wonder if the new carpet free of fur and hair has helped?
The last hairball was 10 days ago. The irony is during this period, my cats haven't received supplements as they had diarrhea and limited food rotation. No EYL, no probiotics, no VBH.
Last edited:
AbbyNTim did a great job of covering my issues with the larger stool. I mean - with the Vet's Best and the SEB syrup, their stool was HUGE. It wasn't hard, but it was just enormous. I think bigger than when they were eating kibble and canned.
But yeah - large stool is better than frequent vomiting. I know someone that just had to put down their cat because the esophagus had become so scarred it only had a 0.2mm opening and she couldn't get food down - not even a liquid diet would go down/stay down!
Right now, both Lazlo AND Spooky have hairballs. I've got Tuxedo and Sheldon eating the Vet's Best by quartering it and getting it wet and coating it in freeze dried liver powder, but Spooky and Lazlo aren't going for it.
So I've resorted to using vaseline for them.
But yeah - large stool is better than frequent vomiting. I know someone that just had to put down their cat because the esophagus had become so scarred it only had a 0.2mm opening and she couldn't get food down - not even a liquid diet would go down/stay down!
Right now, both Lazlo AND Spooky have hairballs. I've got Tuxedo and Sheldon eating the Vet's Best by quartering it and getting it wet and coating it in freeze dried liver powder, but Spooky and Lazlo aren't going for it.
So I've resorted to using vaseline for them.
Yes, I noticed the same thing with furmination. The problem is that brushing creates a large static charge on the cat`s fur which attracts any loose hair fibers. I had to resort to one of those green rubber anti-static brushes to eliminate the problem. The other issue is I am afraid to furminate everywhere. Can`t the furminator tear off a nipple?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #192
Overgroom...not really. They groom each other frequently, but no one has bald patches or anything. When I run my hand over them, a little hair ends up in my hands. I can barely brush these bunch of gomers, much less run a damp cloth over them. Bunch of dingdongs that they are.
The hairball treats work because of petrolatum, which is what I was trying to avoid using and hoped to rely only on VB. What's weird is the VB seemed to work for a while on its own. Now it's like I'm not giving them anything at all, despite 1 tab at night of VB and starting the hairball treats again.
The hairball treats work because of petrolatum, which is what I was trying to avoid using and hoped to rely only on VB. What's weird is the VB seemed to work for a while on its own. Now it's like I'm not giving them anything at all, despite 1 tab at night of VB and starting the hairball treats again.
Sounds to me like it might be less of a headache to just go ahead and shave them and be done with it.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #194
LOL I think I'll pass. I can just see me trying to shave cats that act like idiots when I brush them. Or should I say "try" to brush them?
I'm thinking about taking the four with the problem and get their bellies shaved. Most cats groom their bellies the most (being the most accessible to them).
I'd rather that than be giving them the vaseline to move hairball blockages around.
Clearly yolks, lecithin, Vet's Best and Slippery elm bark syrup are NOT stopping this craziness this year!- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #196
You know, maybe that's what I'm missing. This year is particularly bad, and I was hoping "natural" would cut it for "heinous" hairballs?I'm thinking about taking the four with the problem and get their bellies shaved. Most cats groom their bellies the most (being the most accessible to them).
I'd rather that than be giving them the vaseline to move hairball blockages around.Clearly yolks, lecithin, Vet's Best and Slippery elm bark syrup are NOT stopping this craziness this year!
Okay, this made me laugh. The fur on Sebastian's belly never grew back after his last ultrasound (in February). Don't ask. I don't know why it didn't. It's like it decided after the 5th shave that it has had enough. No complaints here. It keeps him cool in the summer. But now that you say this, it makes me wonder if the bare belly is the whole reason he's not throwing hairballs!
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2014
- Messages
- 931
- Purraise
- 168
My cats have thrown somewhat fewer and smaller hairballs since I started 'furminating' them, including on their bellies. And yes, Obi has an overgroomed belly. I think they do that when their tummies dont feel good.
I know this sounds like that scene from `Meet the Fockers` but can a cats nipple get caught in the furminator?
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2014
- Messages
- 931
- Purraise
- 168
I dont think so, it hasnt happened yet...the teeth on the furminator are very close together - hardly any space at all.
Latest Posts
-
-
-
Mother cat has started hissing and swatting her 1 year old daughter
- Latest: catloverfromwayback
-
-
