chronic hairballs, again...

[myrnafaye]

Hi, folks. I have posted before about this but hope for something new. My cat mittens (14) has chronic hairballs. I have tried everything; miralax, metameucil, egg yolk lecithin, pumpkin, slippery elm, probiotics and other specific hairball supplements. The only thing that help is keeping her rather closely shaved in a lion cut. At least for a few months until she grows out, there are few if any hairballs. Recently I took her in for a haircut ( different place) and they did not clip her as closely; and now it is hairballs again several times a week. Of course my vet wants to do an ultasound, which is scheduled. But she has had ultrasounds before, and have shown nothing. I realize things could have changed since her last one in 2021, but she is very healthy otherwise (and just had a perfect blood chemistry panel for seniors. IDK what I can do other than keep her shaved. Any thoughts that are not redundant will be appreciated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Any thoughts that are not redundant will be appreciated.

I don't know about redundant, hopefully this thought isn't but are you grooming her?

 

[myrnafaye]

I guess I need to do more of that....is that necessary? I hope this is not a foolish question.. she does not love being brushed. I have several different brushes..

 

[stephanietx]

What are you feeding her, wet or dry? Does she have any food allergies that you know of? Does she have any kidney issues that you know of? How is her pooping? I ask because my kidney girl was more prone to throwing up because of constipation, which is common with kidney kitties.

 

[lisahe]

I guess I need to do more of that....is that necessary? I hope this is not a foolish question.. she does not love being brushed. I have several different brushes..

Yes, brushing is really important, probably the most important thing! And over time many cats get used to it. Our shedder did, though she initially really hated being brushed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You will get redundancies, unless you have a particular thread you posted before that you would like to include here. Nonetheless, since your cat does not have issues with hairballs when she is trimmed, it sounds mostly like her ability to get to her hair - and, very possibly because she eats it. Feeby tends to eat her hair, and while she only throws up a hairball about once a month - and she is short haired - daily brushings have helped some.

I am guessing you were advised previously to try a dab of butter/margarine from your finger or on her paw to lick off, and/or olive oil added to her food. Did you try those as well? I am also guessing folks have suggested combing gloves vs. brushes/combs.

 

[myrnafaye]

What are you feeding her, wet or dry? Does she have any food allergies that you know of? Does she have any kidney issues that you know of? How is her pooping? I ask because my kidney girl was more prone to throwing up because of constipation, which is common with kidney kitties.

She gets wet ID, no known allergies. She is really very healthy; just had a complete senior panel and all is good, no kidney issues. Her poops are somewhat dry; I do wish she would drink more water, I think that is part of the problem. And yes, we do have a kitty water fountain, a great one from the Miaustore.

 

[myrnafaye]

You will get redundancies, unless you have a particular thread you posted before that you would like to include here. Nonetheless, since your cat does not have issues with hairballs when she is trimmed, it sounds mostly like her ability to get to her hair - and, very possibly because she eats it. Feeby tends to eat her hair, and while she only throws up a hairball about once a month - and she is short haired - daily brushings have helped some.

I am guessing you were advised previously to try a dab of butter/margarine from your finger or on her paw to lick off, and/or olive oil added to her food. Did you try those as well? I am also guessing folks have suggested combing gloves vs. brushes/combs.

I have found a Furminator brush is best at picking up hair. I am working on getting her to tolerate it. I have tried the commercial hairball preps like laxatone, hairball treats, and other hairball remedies. I may have tried some type of fish oil a while ago...but not butter or olive oil. She sees the vet this week - I will ask her.

 

[Furballsmom]

Just in case this helps, thinking of the baby food soup that's mentioned in the article, and also my Poppycat liked tall drinking glasses filled to the top.

Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – TheCatSite Articles

This is from todaysveterinarynurse .com ;

Making sure all water bowls are cleaned daily may encourage water consumption. Circulating water fountains can be provided for cats that like to drink running or dripping water, and multiple water bowls should be offered throughout the home. Also, the size and depth of water bowls may need to be considered, and different types of water (e.g., distilled, warm, cold) may need to be tried.

 

[myrnafaye]

I clean the bowls daily. There is a circulating fountain, a lovely one - she uses it occasionally but not very often. I have given distilled. My water here, I understand, from the tap, has some lead so I dont drink it and I dont want my cats drinking it. I could try bottled spring water... she has never been a great drinker. I have given my cats distilled because I felt - rightly or wrongly - that with minerals filtered out, the male cats would be less likely to develop crystals. I would like to know if I am right or wrong about this....

 

[Furballsmom]

I've read that distilled as the only source can cause other problems, but I'm not a nutritionist or a vet.

Would a faucet end, or pitcher type of filtering method help reduce that lead?

 

[myrnafaye]

Honestly I can just as easily by gallons of spring water at the store, we already use this in our coffee maker. I can see if she likes that a little bit more than the distilled water.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have given my cats distilled because I felt - rightly or wrongly - that with minerals filtered out, the male cats would be less likely to develop crystals. I would like to know if I am right or wrong about this....

I don't think there is a wrong or right. All cats - just like humans - are different, what can affect one cat may not affect another.

As far as dry poops, if you can't get her to drink more - which may not do anything at all for that anyway - it could be related to the hair accumulation in her system. If you have not done so already, thoroughly check her poop to see how much hair you find in it. If you don't find any, then drier poops might just be her - as long as she is not straining and goes routinely, it may not be an issue, given you say she is in good health.

All said, in your situation, just keep the lion cuts going - it seems you found a solution that works. It may not be what you had hoped for, but at least you found something that changes the outcome to your desired one.

 

[Furballsmom]

I can see if she likes that a little bit more than the distilled water.

I would try it, definitely

 

[lisahe]

All said, in your situation, just keep the lion cuts going - it seems you found a solution that works. It may not be what you had hoped for, but at least you found something that changes the outcome to your desired one.

I so agree with this. I remember mentioning lion cuts to a vet tech, who said one of our cats (the fluffy one) might benefit from it. We didn't have to do it but it didn't sound like such a bad option at the time!

 

[myrnafaye]

I so agree with this. I remember mentioning lion cuts to a vet tech, who said one of our cats (the fluffy one) might benefit from it. We didn't have to do it but it didn't sound like such a bad option at the time!

Y'all here probably know that there is a strong school of thought (the Feline Specialists say) that cats should not throw up hairballs; that if they do, there is a GI issue. I have had cats for 50 years, and most have thrown up hairballs. Mittens throws up more; she is a "long-ish" haired girl. Its hard for me to accept that cats are just supposed to have their GI system push the hair through. So my vet - even though she is supportive of the Lion cut - feels somewhat that this does not really get to the heart of the problem. Mittens is supposed to have an ultra sound ( she has had them before, and they fortunately revealed nothing) but it had to be postponed. She is quite healthy otherwise; all her numbers are good in her senior chemistry panel. I wonder what others here think of the hairball theory.

 

[lisahe]

Y'all here probably know that there is a strong school of thought (the Feline Specialists say) that cats should not throw up hairballs; that if they do, there is a GI issue. I have had cats for 50 years, and most have thrown up hairballs. Mittens throws up more; she is a "long-ish" haired girl. Its hard for me to accept that cats are just supposed to have their GI system push the hair through. So my vet - even though she is supportive of the Lion cut - feels somewhat that this does not really get to the heart of the problem. Mittens is supposed to have an ultra sound ( she has had them before, and they fortunately revealed nothing) but it had to be postponed. She is quite healthy otherwise; all her numbers are good in her senior chemistry panel. I wonder what others here think of the hairball theory.

Yes, this school of thought is from veterinarian Gary Norsworthy. For anyone that's not familiar with it, here's (below) an article he wrote about why chronic vomiting in cats isn't normal. One of our cats has been known to vomit a fair bit, so the vet and I have discussed this topic more than once. Fortunately, Edwina's hair-related vomiting has always pretty much stopped if she's brushed regularly. Seasonality plays a role, too, and I do suspect Vet's Best anti-hairball tablets now help as well. Chronic Vomiting in Cats isn’t Normal After All

Personally, I think your vet is right on both counts: the lion cut wouldn't get at the heart of Mittens' problem. But until you have a real diagnosis and treatment plan, it's a big plus if the lion cut prevents Mittens from vomiting up hairballs. Of course there's not always a real diagnosis in these cases, making it hard to come up with an effective treatment or dietary plan. I'll mention, FWIW, that Edwina's vomiting problem, which initially looked like it was caused by fur (hence thoughts of a lion cut, though I would have tried a motility drug first), turned out to be caused by something else: severe stomach inflammation, the cause(s) of which, alas, will never be diagnosed even though chunks of her stomach were surgically removed and biopsied. Her spleen also ruptured and had to be removed. Fortunately, she's barely vomited up hair or much of anything else (knock wood!) in the six months since she had her operation... Her ultrasound showed some thickening of her intestine but as long as we keep her diet fairly simple (low-carb, wet only, minimal thickeners, no ingredients she's sensitive to) feeding her six small meals a day works pretty well. She does sometimes eat too fast and then regurgitate (Norsworthy mentions that as an "excuse"!) but the frequent meals and, just as important, not feeding her when she's keyed up (by things like changes of routine or loud windy weather, which gets both cats worked up) can prevent regurgitation, too.

I hope you're able to figure out what's causing Mittens' vomiting!