Excessive Cleaning

Mainer

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Any idea what both my cats clean themselves excessively?? Makes me wonder if they have OCD. Then they proceed to bring up what they have ingested. I give them fur ball remedy on a regular basis. My older cat is a long hair and I would think he’d bring up fur ball but he does not. Instead he brings of liquid or chunks of undigested food. My younger cat is a shorthair and has been bringing up fur ball. Also stomach acid stains the carpet so bad even the carpet cleaner doesn’t work to remove stain. I’m at wits end.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I am not sure what you are calling excessive. My cat cleans herself multiple times a day, but admittedly she doesn't throw up hairballs often. She also gets brushed once a day as well. I think that goes a long way to help with reducing hairballs. So, if you are not brushing your cats you might want to do so.

Perhaps, this TCS article (see link below) will give you some other ideas on how to reduce the amount of hairballs your one cat is producing. A lot of stomach acid is not typically normal, even when throwing up a hairball, so that could be from going too long in between meals, which allows excess stomach acid to build up - but it is possible the hair is aggravating his stomach too.
How To Treat – And Prevent – Hairballs In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
As far as the older one who regurgitates food, that may be a whole other issue, and if you want to share more with us about that, please feel free. It could be that he eats his food too fast or has stomach issues associated with the type of food he is eating.
Your Cat Throwing Up? – TheCatSite Articles
 

Tobermory

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In addition to the good guidance from FeebysOwner FeebysOwner , here are a couple more ideas. How old is your older cat? It’s possible for elderly cats to become somewhat fixated on a particular behavior such as grooming. My 18-year-old Iris does this, in fact. I brush her often, and to help everything move along, I give her probiotics and fish oil.

Regarding the carpet stains, try a 50/50 mixture of water and distilled white vinegar. It has never failed me yet. Test it in an out-of-the-way spot first, though.
 

susanm9006

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Cats do really really vary in how much they clean themselves. I have had ones you hardly ever saw cleaning themselves and others who seemed to be doing it multiple times a day. With two or more it seems when one washing starts the other doing the same thing. Anyway, as long as they aren’t licking themselves to the point of losing fur, you are certain they don’t have fleas or skin conditions that are making them itchy and they are receiving regular brushing from you, then there probably isn’t reason for concern.

You should of course mention it to your vet and you may want to increase or add wet food as part of their diet. The oils and fats in wet food seem to lessen hairballs.
 

maggie101

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Any idea what both my cats clean themselves excessively?? Makes me wonder if they have OCD. Then they proceed to bring up what they have ingested. I give them fur ball remedy on a regular basis. My older cat is a long hair and I would think he’d bring up fur ball but he does not. Instead he brings of liquid or chunks of undigested food. My younger cat is a shorthair and has been bringing up fur ball. Also stomach acid stains the carpet so bad even the carpet cleaner doesn’t work to remove stain. I’m at wits end.
What are the age of your cats? Canned food will help prevent furballs because of the moisture. Throwing up liquid could mean she's trying to get a furball out or medical. If she is senior a visit would help. Do you brush them? How often is one of your cats vommiting? What time of day?
 

Hellenww

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Is your litter scented? By process of elimination we figured out that Yoshi is allergic to Febreze and you'd be surprised how many litters contain it.

I put baby blankets on all cat beds and trees to make it easier to remove hair. I change them when they get hairy. It has helped with hair balls.
 

Alldara

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Mainer Mainer throwing up food or liquid is not a hairball. Especially if a hairball is not present before or after. If it's more than one a month and/or more than once a week during hairball season, it's time for a vet visit. Cats get a reputation for throwing up a lot, but truly more than once a month is cause for concern.

Your vet should especially check for thyroid issues as vomiting frequently is an early sign of this. Especially in older cats.

Cats grooming throughout the day is normal. Cats can over-groom if bored or anxious. If you want them to groom less, you can provide enrichment. Adding enrichment for food time is a great way to keep the moving and happy. There's lots of articles on basics and some fun articles like this Feline DIY Enrichment

For less hairballs try (and I don't know what you've tried already so let us know! :) )
1. Daily brushing. Try different brushes, I actually use a horse deshedder and a fine toothed one. My spouse uses one of those glove ones. Different brushes work better on different cats.

2. Shaving all or part of your cat's hair to a shorter length. Nobel is short haired but we still shave his belly and bum to 1/2 length.

3. 1/4 tsp of plain pureed pumpkin or sweet potato as a treat 2-3 times a week

4. Hairball specific food
 

maggie101

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My cat runs over and meows when I bring out a brush. Wipe her fur with a wet towel after. It only takes a strand of hair to vomit. My cat Maggie does spit and fur so once dry you can't tell but patches of fur! I also use churu or tiki sticks, almost 90 % water
 
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Mainer

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Hi. I am not sure what you are calling excessive. My cat cleans herself multiple times a day, but admittedly she doesn't throw up hairballs often. She also gets brushed once a day as well. I think that goes a long way to help with reducing hairballs. So, if you are not brushing your cats you might want to do so.

Perhaps, this TCS article (see link below) will give you some other ideas on how to reduce the amount of hairballs your one cat is producing. A lot of stomach acid is not typically normal, even when throwing up a hairball, so that could be from going too long in between meals, which allows excess stomach acid to build up - but it is possible the hair is aggravating his stomach too.
How To Treat – And Prevent – Hairballs In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
As far as the older one who regurgitates food, that may be a whole other issue, and if you want to share more with us about that, please feel free. It could be that he eats his food too fast or has stomach issues associated with the type of food he is eating.
Your Cat Throwing Up? – TheCatSite Articles
Lower liver enzymes is the cause of his vomiting. He’s on anti nausea medicine. He was too get his teeth cleaned but that’s been postponed for the second time due to high liver enzymes.
 
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Mainer

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Mainer Mainer throwing up food or liquid is not a hairball. Especially if a hairball is not present before or after. If it's more than one a month and/or more than once a week during hairball season, it's time for a vet visit. Cats get a reputation for throwing up a lot, but truly more than once a month is cause for concern.

Your vet should especially check for thyroid issues as vomiting frequently is an early sign of this. Especially in older cats.

Cats grooming throughout the day is normal. Cats can over-groom if bored or anxious. If you want them to groom less, you can provide enrichment. Adding enrichment for food time is a great way to keep the moving and happy. There's lots of articles on basics and some fun articles like this Feline DIY Enrichment

For less hairballs try (and I don't know what you've tried already so let us know! :) )
1. Daily brushing. Try different brushes, I actually use a horse deshedder and a fine toothed one. My spouse uses one of those glove ones. Different brushes work better on different cats.

2. Shaving all or part of your cat's hair to a shorter length. Nobel is short haired but we still shave his belly and bum to 1/2 length.

3. 1/4 tsp of plain pureed pumpkin or sweet potato as a treat 2-3 times a week

4. Hairball specific food
High liver enzymes caused vomiting he’s on anti nausea meds now
 
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