At my wit's end with hairballs

[Lucy2008]

I am new here, and here is a bit of backstory about the cats:
Silas: almost 9 years old. Grey & white short haired shelter cat. Neutered male. A few years ago he had a urinary blockage, so he is now on prescription food (dry, Hills C/D chicken).

Lucy: almost 13 years old. Spayed female, front declawed. Blue point Himalayan, given to me when she was around 6 or 7 because her owner was moving and couldn't keep her. She eats mostly ND food (dry), either the ocean herring or the duck/pumpkin. Lucy, being longhaired, goes for grooming about every three months--I get her shaved because she doesn't especially enjoy being brushed/combed, and it really helped with the hairballs. She goes to a feline-only master groomer.

Lucy has always thrown up the occasional hairball but lately it has been insane. It is really driving me crazy! I have lost track of how many hairballs I've cleaned up over the past three or four weeks. And to top it off, I witnessed Silas throwing up a GIANT hairball a couple of weeks ago, and to my knowledge he's never done this before.

Since then I've been giving them a squirt of Laxatone several times a week, but so far this is not helping much.
They have three water bowls available, and one is used heavily....they both seem to drink a lot of water. I know his food is formulated to make him thirsty, so that he drinks, and therefore flushes his kidneys etc....but Lucy seems to drink a lot too. Daily there are huge pee balls in the litter box. Of course, not sure who's doing that. And to be honest, not sure who is throwing up all the hairballs--we've been blaming Lucy all along, but since I saw Silas hack up a huge one, it could easily be him too....can't be sure short of catching them in the act.

A couple of years ago, Lucy wasn't eating much, so I took her to the vet--they did bloodwork, urinalysis, etc ,but found nothing wrong. They suggested feeding her Temptations as a meal as a last resort. I also bought a tube of laxatone, and the combination of the laxatone (and throwing up lots of hairballs in the space of a week) and feeding her treats as a meal, got her eating again. Then I decided to transition her to some good food, and now she's on the ND stuff and NOT on Temptations. Seemed like in that instance, she wasn't eating because she was full of hairballs, but now.....now she's eating OK. I have to feed them separately, because Silas can't get her food due to being on RX food....so they get fed twice daily and Lucy's food is put away when she walks away from it. Silas always finishes ALL of his food

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am so frustrated with this!!

 

[LTS3]

Here's info on how to treat hairballs besides the typical store bought hairball gel: How Best to Manage Hairballs

They have three water bowls available, and one is used heavily....they both seem to drink a lot of water. I know his food is formulated to make him thirsty, so that he drinks, and therefore flushes his kidneys etc....but Lucy seems to drink a lot too. Daily there are huge pee balls in the litter box. Of course, not sure who's doing that. And to be honest, not sure who is throwing up all the hairballs--we've been blaming Lucy all along, but since I saw Silas hack up a huge one, it could easily be him too....can't be sure short of catching them in the act.

It would make more sense to feed both cats canned food than dry food. That's better for the urinary system and kidneys and overall health than dry food. Cats have a low thirst drive and won't drink enough water from a bowl. Food that has a high moisture content will help get water into the cat easily. Any cat that drinks a lot water is going to have a high urine output. That's not necessarily a problem unless the urine is sugary smelling and forms sticky hard to scoop clumps.

 

[Lucy2008]

Thanks for the link. I offered both cats a little egg yolk today (I have chickens, so I have plenty of eggs!). Just a little. Silas ate it but Lucy was not interested.
The article mentioned high quality food, which Lucy definitely gets. Hers is grain free, comes from a 'boutique' pet food store--definitely not cheap grocery store food. I actually tried wet food with her and she was really not interested. Same for Silas, when we switched him to RX food we tried the dry and wet varieties and he likes dry.

As I mentioned before both cats drink a good bit of water. I know his water intake is by design, because of his medical issue and the makeup of his food, but Lucy seems to drink a lot too.

My concern is that this could be related to a more serious issue. Given Lucy's age, maybe chronic renal failure?? Not sure if vomiting is a sign of that or not--she does vomit her food occasionally, but that's usually followed a day or so later by a hairball coming up. But honestly, the number of hairballs lately is unlike anything I've experienced, and I've had cats for my entire adult life--and I'm 64!

 

[BlackCatOp]

Is it true hairball or vomiting of food? CKD can cause vomiting due to the build up of metabolic waste products. Bloodwork would be the only way to diagnose.
As far as hairballs, have you tried a hairball food? While they may not have the premium of ingredients, the increase of fibers seem to work for some cats. (Royal Canin Hairball Care)

 

[Lucy2008]

It's both. Typically she'll vomit up her meal a couple of times, then the next day (or two, or three) there'll be hairballs.
I'm surprised to hear that the hairball food actually works! Seems like a marketing ploy but might be worth a try if she'll eat it (and if I can find it in a relatively SMALL package! Nothing worse than buying a bag of food that the cat won't eat....)

 

[daftcat75]

It is indicative of a larger problem. Cats are supposed to be able to pass ingested hair in their stool. They are also meant to get the majority of their moisture from their food rather than a water dish. Even your most avid drinker cannot and will not drink the same amount of moisture as they can get from an all wet food diet.

I would certainly make a more concerted effort to get more wet food into both of their diets. I would also get Lucy an ultrasound to see if the hairballs are early symptoms of IBD.

I would contact Rawz and ask them to send you some samples of their pates. If your cats enjoy these foods, they are the best canned food you can feed for IBD/food allergies.
Where to Buy | RAWZ

Otherwise, I would pick up grocery store canned food. Popular brands are popular with cats. They would not be on the shelves otherwise. Don't worry about quality. Or the boutique brands. Quality doesn't matter if it's just coming back up. Start with wet food they will eat. Then work on eliminating ingredients that might be causing them grief--most often the gums like carrageenan, agar agar, and xanthan gum. Guar gum is often benign though.

 

[Xena44]

It is indicative of a larger problem. Cats are supposed to be able to pass ingested hair in their stool. They are also meant to get the majority of their moisture from their food rather than a water dish. Even your most avid drinker cannot and will not drink the same amount of moisture as they can get from an all wet food diet.

I would certainly make a more concerted effort to get more wet food into both of their diets. I would also get Lucy an ultrasound to see if the hairballs are early symptoms of IBD.

I would contact Rawz and ask them to send you some samples of their pates. If your cats enjoy these foods, they are the best canned food you can feed for IBD/food allergies.
Where to Buy | RAWZ

Otherwise, I would pick up grocery store canned food. Popular brands are popular with cats. They would not be on the shelves otherwise. Don't worry about quality. Or the boutique brands. Quality doesn't matter if it's just coming back up. Start with wet food they will eat. Then work on eliminating ingredients that might be causing them grief--most often the gums like carrageenan, agar agar, and xanthan gum. Guar gum is often benign though.

I definitely concur with getting checked out by a vet. A full blood panel with a urine analysis (As well as the ultrasound or Xrays) seems in order to me if you can do this financially. I wouldn’t but any food that contains carrageenan. It’s bad news. ANY food that calls itself high end that contains this ingredient is NOT high end. Or even good food. Or food that should ever be eaten. And I also agree with the RAWZ recommendation. That is truly a premium food. Those bagged foods are ok. That’s it. Just ok. I really think a lot of our critter’s ailments (including and particularly urinary crystals) are caused by the food they are eating at the time of the affliction. The foods vets sell.... well I’ll put it this way. The science is good. The quality is not. I just came across a food that I found about on the Cat Site. The ingredients seem clean. The reviews are really good. I got a Adams,e for a cat I take care that has CKD. He didn’t like the vet rx’d diet but r3ally likes this one and you can get a free taste sample.

Forza10 - Dog and Cat Food for Pets with Sensitivities

Improving dog and cat lives with proper nutrition since 1995. Backed by 30 scientific studies & 10 patents. You don’t have to travel to the ends of the world to find the cleanest ingredients for your companion, we have done it for you!

forza10usa.com

Something to look into if you wish. An alternative if you decide you don’t want to try the rawz.

 

[maggie101]

I am new here, and here is a bit of backstory about the cats:
Silas: almost 9 years old. Grey & white short haired shelter cat. Neutered male. A few years ago he had a urinary blockage, so he is now on prescription food (dry, Hills C/D chicken).

Lucy: almost 13 years old. Spayed female, front declawed. Blue point Himalayan, given to me when she was around 6 or 7 because her owner was moving and couldn't keep her. She eats mostly ND food (dry), either the ocean herring or the duck/pumpkin. Lucy, being longhaired, goes for grooming about every three months--I get her shaved because she doesn't especially enjoy being brushed/combed, and it really helped with the hairballs. She goes to a feline-only master groomer.

Lucy has always thrown up the occasional hairball but lately it has been insane. It is really driving me crazy! I have lost track of how many hairballs I've cleaned up over the past three or four weeks. And to top it off, I witnessed Silas throwing up a GIANT hairball a couple of weeks ago, and to my knowledge he's never done this before.

Since then I've been giving them a squirt of Laxatone several times a week, but so far this is not helping much.
They have three water bowls available, and one is used heavily....they both seem to drink a lot of water. I know his food is formulated to make him thirsty, so that he drinks, and therefore flushes his kidneys etc....but Lucy seems to drink a lot too. Daily there are huge pee balls in the litter box. Of course, not sure who's doing that. And to be honest, not sure who is throwing up all the hairballs--we've been blaming Lucy all along, but since I saw Silas hack up a huge one, it could easily be him too....can't be sure short of catching them in the act.

A couple of years ago, Lucy wasn't eating much, so I took her to the vet--they did bloodwork, urinalysis, etc ,but found nothing wrong. They suggested feeding her Temptations as a meal as a last resort. I also bought a tube of laxatone, and the combination of the laxatone (and throwing up lots of hairballs in the space of a week) and feeding her treats as a meal, got her eating again. Then I decided to transition her to some good food, and now she's on the ND stuff and NOT on Temptations. Seemed like in that instance, she wasn't eating because she was full of hairballs, but now.....now she's eating OK. I have to feed them separately, because Silas can't get her food due to being on RX food....so they get fed twice daily and Lucy's food is put away when she walks away from it. Silas always finishes ALL of his food

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am so frustrated with this!!

Even though your cats drink lots of water, senior cats are at greater risk of UTI, crystals,cr
Kidney disease so I highly suggest canned food. No high allergins like fish. Getting a cat shaved is causing her stress which can be a cause for UTI. There are gloves for brushing. Give her a swipe everytime she walks by.. my cat Peaches does not like to be brushed. Only on her back by her tail.maybe your cat has a special spot.

 

[maggie101]

Your cats are throwing up too many hair balls. It should be twice a month. All the throwing up can hurt their esophagus. Is it always a furball? One of my cats has acid reflux. She throws up morning before eating.. Medication helped. One good thing about canned is it helps the fur ball break up. Canned is better for thier teeth which is important since they are senior

 

[stephanietx]

Switch them to wet food and cut the dry. Dry food takes much longer to work through the system. Too much food can cause a backed up gastro system. I agree with switching to a better food. You could even try raw. My cats are on wet and we have very few hairballs.

 

[MissClouseau]

I think a trip to the vet for a check-up is absolutely necessary. And not to forget there could be more than one problem going on.

To add one more thing though, what the weather is like when this is happening? Cats shed more hair when the weather gets hotter. Even a cat who normally passes the hair just fine might get nauseous and puke up a hairball because of the unusually increased amount of hair. The weather in Istanbul got too hot like overnight this summer and literally everyone I know with a cat had to clean hairball puke at least once. Myself included.

 

[dustydiamond1]

A trip to the vet may be a good idea. Gypsy has soft under-fur and sheds a lot. Luckily she enjoys brushing. Have you tried different brushes? I also give her this

and use these as treats and meal toppers
the skin & fur isn't sold in stores around here so I use Amazon prime. These meat sticks are a big favorite and pieces are used for rewards and food toppers.
.

I got this brush at Walmarts, one side is soft and she loves to have her face brushed with it.
.

This brush she absolutely adores, it also has an easy cleaning feature.

She enjoys this comb too.

I mix one of these Churus with her daily probiotics. They have a very high moisture content

All the food stuff have healthy ingredients.
Good luck, keep us updated.

 

[Lucy2008]

Thanks for everyone's replies.
I went to get her some more of her food today, which is pumpkin & duck. She's been out of this for a few weeks, and of course pumpkin can help with digestive issues, so maybe that is playing into it. Also picked up a sample of N&D digestive food, and a couple of cans of food to try as well. They also had some hairball treats (which contain a lot of psyllium [metamucil ingredient]) and she seems to really like them. They are "Pet Naturals of Vermont" brand.

I'm anxious to see if she likes the canned food, will try a little this evening.
Due to the cost, I'm trying to manage this without a vet visit, but will certainly take her if nothing improves.

 

[LTS3]

I'd schedule an appointment with the vet now and cancel if it's no longer needed. Many vets are backed up right now so the earliest available appointment might not be for several weeks or more out.

Huge strain on veterinary clinics post-pandemic

A combination of a rise in pet ownership and pet owners putting off veterinary care due to the pandemic has caused long wait times at veterinary clinics and a huge stress on veterinary staff. Be prepared for along wait time get a appointment booked and hours long waiting at a vet ER for an...

thecatsite.com

 

[stephanietx]

One other thing that I'm not sure anyone mentioned, it could be a food allergy or intolerance, especially if you're feeding fish or chicken flavors.

 

[maggie101]

Thanks for everyone's replies.
I went to get her some more of her food today, which is pumpkin & duck. She's been out of this for a few weeks, and of course pumpkin can help with digestive issues, so maybe that is playing into it. Also picked up a sample of N&D digestive food, and a couple of cans of food to try as well. They also had some hairball treats (which contain a lot of psyllium [metamucil ingredient]) and she seems to really like them. They are "Pet Naturals of Vermont" brand.

I'm anxious to see if she likes the canned food, will try a little this evening.
Due to the cost, I'm trying to manage this without a vet visit, but will certainly take her if nothing improves.

If needed slowly add the canned to mixed. I also use freeze dried chicken treats

 

[Lucy2008]

I took Lucy to the vet today. They did bloodwork and urinalysis, results will be in on Monday. The vet said it could be thyroid or kidney related; I am just hoping for an answer.

 

[maggie101]

Yes, I would like to know since she still does it and has been treated for crystals

 

[Lucy2008]

Lucy isn’t the one who had crystals, that’s the other cat.

 

[Lucy2008]

Heard back from the vet. Her kidney values are elevated. He wants to put her on a prescription food (Hills k/d) and recheck her values in 4-6 weeks. He also said to continue with the laxatone for hairballs; said that kidney disease can make them nauseated and maybe that's why she is having so many hairballs. Not sure how I feel about that--I feel that a lot of the hair ought to be moving through--but whatever. Also said we can give subcutaneous fluids as needed. I am not anxious to do that--been there, done that, with two other cats. I ordered the prescription food and just hope she likes it.