A little help getting Jackie to eat his hairball goop?

[danteshuman]

3-4 times a year he needs it. When he starts making little gagging noises I give it to him. I have tried chicken and even fish flavored and he flat out refuses to eat it! Holding him still, to pry open his jaws & shove the hairball medicine on his tongue is well a trial. Next time I might wrap him in a towel first.

Is there anything I can do to get my picky eater to eat it willingly!?!?!?! I tried the same stuff on other cats and they all ate it willing!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

What is the texture of it? Could you roll it in tuna, maybe?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Why not try other brands/types? Some folks have luck with just using something as simple as margarine/butter to help with hairballs. You can give a dab of one of those just to see if he will take it. If he does, you could probably administer a couple of days or so in a row, and the reduce giving it to him once a week.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

One of my guys absolutely refuses to eat the hairball gel stuff, but he likes Vet's Best Hairball Relief tablets. Who can figure cats out . My other cat seems to love the gel stuff, but doesn't really like the Vet's Best.

 

[danteshuman]

I will try the tablets. I know he loves butter.

The texture is like sticky toothpaste. Since I have tried 2 brands and 2 flavors, I think he just hates it!

Could I try squirting 1/2 a teaspoon or 1 teaspoon of olive oil every other day or maybe a few days in a roll to see if that makes his hairballs pass?

 

[Jem]

You could mix it into one of his meals to see if he'll take it that way. If he's an avid eater, he may not notice it in a serving of wet food.

My girl won't take it either so I have to force it in her. The best way I found to do it was to put it on my finger and put it on the roof of her mouth, getting her front teeth to scrape it off my finger. I only have to open her mouth wide enough to get one finger (plus goop) in and it's just a quick scrape. She doesn't fight as much as if I would try to get in on her tongue. And it doesn't get pushed around, making a mess all over her mouth and my hand, with all the tongue flicking.

 

[cocoanlace]

I just push that or a probiotic paste, for instance, into the side of my cat's mouth and once it's there, he eats it. I approach them from behind so I am over them, get down to their level so there is no escaping, and then I just push it in the side and make sure it doesn't come back out. Sometimes it stays on the teeth. Doesn't matter. I'm finding this works with meds that I am able to crush, as well, like Pepcid.