Greenies Hairball Treats?

forcryinoutloud

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I recently purchased a bag of Greenies Hairball Treats. I gave a couple to each of my four remaining cats, but am now wondering if I should. I know there are issues with the dog version of various Greenies products, but can't seem to find anything definitive about the cat formulas. Almost every negative review I have seen concerns dogs.

So...are they safe to use with your cats? The bags says to give 12 treats throughout the day, something I would never do regardless because that seems like a really high number of treats, but I certainly don't want to give them any more if they aren't safe.
 
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forcryinoutloud

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Thanks for the links.

I will most likely toss them out.

Have you by chance heard of vetri-science? I purchased some senior multi-vitamins from them that haven't arrived yet. There seems to be mixed reviews. Some people find their cats love them, others talk about a formula change that has cats ignoring them. None mention pets getting sick, just refusing to eat the "treats".
 

missmimz

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Thanks for the links.

I will most likely toss them out.

Have you by chance heard of vetri-science? I purchased some senior multi-vitamins from them that haven't arrived yet. There seems to be mixed reviews. Some people find their cats love them, others talk about a formula change that has cats ignoring them. None mention pets getting sick, just refusing to eat the "treats".
Cats don't really need "multi-vitamins" if they're eating appropriate foods. I just looked at that and I don't really understand what the point of it is. Seniors benefit from omegas, probiotics, digestive enzymes, but they don't need a multi-vitamin if they're eating balanced food.
 
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forcryinoutloud

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The multi-vitamin I bought has omegas, taurine, and lysine.

Jack doesn't always eat the amount suggested on the bag - between 3/4-1 cup - and refuses to eat wet food (in fact most of the wet food he actually would willingly eat, he would immediately throw up other than one grain free that I had him on until they increased the price to $4 a can) so I worry he isn't getting everything he should out of the amount he is eating. Though he is eating more of the new food that I started him on.
 

missmimz

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The multi-vitamin I bought has omegas, taurine, and lysine.

Jack doesn't always eat the amount suggested on the bag - between 3/4-1 cup - and refuses to eat wet food (in fact most of the wet food he actually would willingly eat, he would immediately throw up other than one grain free that I had him on until they increased the price to $4 a can) so I worry he isn't getting everything he should out of the amount he is eating. Though he is eating more of the new food that I started him on.
Well my opinion is multi-vitamins are unnecessary. Taurine is water soluble, so that's ok, but those omegas probably aren't that good quality, and lysine isn't that beneficial. Throwing up right after eating can be a lot of things. Intolerance, eating too fast, going too long without food. You just have to "train" kibble addicted cats to eat wet food. I transitioned a 12 year old (at the time) cat from all kibble to raw, it's totally possible, it just takes time, patients, and finding the right foods.
 
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forcryinoutloud

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Finding the right food is the problem unfortunately. I wouldn't want to feed him whiskas or the like after all the stuff I've read about people's cats getting sick on the low quality by-product heavy wet foods (which unfortunately is the only thing available here - and the store here charges $1 per can (or more depending on brand), of those teeny tiny cans which they'd need like three of a day or more, each - times four cats is just too expensive for me). The closest place to get a good wet food is about a 2 hour drive from me - a global pet foods. I've looked into ordering online, but because I live in a rural area the shipping charges are usually utterly ridiculous. A new pet store has opened in the mall about 40 minutes away recently, but I haven't had the chance to check and see what they have yet with everything going on. I'd love to find a good grain free wet food for them in the larger cans - the others would eat absolutely anything which can be a problem at times - so will have to see what they've got when I get to town next. Thankfully they all are very good at drinking water.
 

missmimz

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Finding the right food is the problem unfortunately. I wouldn't want to feed him whiskas or the like after all the stuff I've read about people's cats getting sick on the low quality by-product heavy wet foods (which unfortunately is the only thing available here - and the store here charges $1 per can (or more depending on brand), of those teeny tiny cans which they'd need like three of a day or more, each - times four cats is just too expensive for me). The closest place to get a good wet food is about a 2 hour drive from me - a global pet foods. I've looked into ordering online, but because I live in a rural area the shipping charges are usually utterly ridiculous. A new pet store has opened in the mall about 40 minutes away recently, but I haven't had the chance to check and see what they have yet with everything going on. I'd love to find a good grain free wet food for them in the larger cans - the others would eat absolutely anything which can be a problem at times - so will have to see what they've got when I get to town next. Thankfully they all are very good at drinking water.
Are you in the US? Amazon Prime has a lot of foods, free shipping if you're Prime. Chewy has free shipping over $49, and Only Natural Pet always has coupons for free shipping and 15% off first time orders, and they sell individual cans so you can try different ones. There aren't a whole lot of brands that sell food in 13oz cans other than Wellness, 4health at Tractor Supply, and Instinct which has a dog version that is the same as cats. There are several decent brands that sell in 5.5oz cans, though.
 
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forcryinoutloud

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No, I'm in Canada. So none of the US sites that offer free shipping above a certain amount do so for non-US buyers. And the Canadian amazon has far less than the US one, and usually it's third party reselling for ridiculous prices. I'm actually trying to find a Canadian company. I was looking at Orijen but apparently the Canadian version is eventually going to be changed to what is being made in the US plant which is getting bad reviews.
 

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No, I'm in Canada. So none of the US sites that offer free shipping above a certain amount do so for non-US buyers. And the Canadian amazon has far less than the US one, and usually it's third party reselling for ridiculous prices. I'm actually trying to find a Canadian company. I was looking at Orijen but apparently the Canadian version is eventually going to be changed to what is being made in the US plant which is getting bad reviews.
Ah that is a struggle. Well fingers crossed the new pet store has some good foods you can try!
 

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I'd like to add the greenies dental and their hairball treats even one treat gave my cat awful diarrhea for days. Took me months to figure out what the heck was causing it. They went in the trash never to buy again
 

everariana

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I'd like to add the greenies dental and their hairball treats even one treat gave my cat awful diarrhea for days. Took me months to figure out what the heck was causing it. They went in the trash never to buy again
I really wish I read this sooner. My 6 month old kitten swallowed the tail of her mouse toy so I gave her like 12 Greenies hairball treats to help the toy pass through...luckily it did but she's had the worst and stinkiest diarrhea for the past 5 days...never will I give her or her brother Greenies again.
 

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I really wish I read this sooner. My 6 month old kitten swallowed the tail of her mouse toy so I gave her like 12 Greenies hairball treats to help the toy pass through...luckily it did but she's had the worst and stinkiest diarrhea for the past 5 days...never will I give her or her brother Greenies again.

So sorry! I was just googling when I wrote this and I found this thread... I work at a cat vet and a lot of our boarders come with these treats and are just fine it seems to be hit or miss... makes me wonder what on earth could cause the diarrhea though what ingredients. I just , if I were you, get some canned pumpkin and either syringe a little a couple times a week or if you're lucky like me your cat will lap it up on it's own. Mine loves pumpkin! But no greenies ever again.
 

everariana

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So sorry! I was just googling when I wrote this and I found this thread... I work at a cat vet and a lot of our boarders come with these treats and are just fine it seems to be hit or miss... makes me wonder what on earth could cause the diarrhea though what ingredients. I just , if I were you, get some canned pumpkin and either syringe a little a couple times a week or if you're lucky like me your cat will lap it up on it's own. Mine loves pumpkin! But no greenies ever again.
Thank you! I’m gonna try out the canned pumpkin and maybe some bone broth.
 
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