Hair In Butt?

Kayeff

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Earlier today I noticed a long piece of hair (obviously mine) hanging from one of our cats butts. He has a habit of trying to eat any hair that’s laying around and since I have very long hair, there’s pretty much bound to always be hair on the carpet.

Without thinking I instinctively pulled the hair out. I instantly realized that this was a mistake and that I should’ve cut it and it pass on its own.

However I can’t change what I’ve already done :( it seems like the entire hair is out but he did give a little squeal as the other end came out. I’m not sure if it actually hurt him or if he was just annoyed with me holding him. Afterwards he immediately went to eat from his bowl and seems normal.

My question is essentially could any damage have been done and what are symptoms I might need to watch out for? Like I said it seems like the whole hair is out but could it still have caused some sort of damage? I’m very paranoid about these things and I regret pulling it although some sites say a gentle pull is okay.
 
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Kayeff

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Update:

Pretty much as soon as I posted this, he came into the bedroom to cuddle but I realized he had a huge glob of poo stuck to his tail. I took him to clean it off and saw another long hair. This one is as pretty much completely out already so just cleaning off his tail pulled it free.

Is this a good sign that he was able to go to the bathroom easily?
 

kimmehjean

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Update:

Pretty much as soon as I posted this, he came into the bedroom to cuddle but I realized he had a huge glob of poo stuck to his tail. I took him to clean it off and saw another long hair. This one is as pretty much completely out already so just cleaning off his tail pulled it free.

Is this a good sign that he was able to go to the bathroom easily?
Hey! I have the exact same issue with my cat. He eats my hair as well as anything else he can manage to chew enough to eat including but not limited to:

-plastic wrappers (he shat out a piece plastic the size of a 2 dollar bills the other day...HOW THOUGH!? lol)
-dry wall pieces (this is a new behavior as of yesterday)
-hair (mine and the other cats)
-hair ties
-paper
-cat litter
-etc.

I've been told that lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea/constipation and bleeding when they try to defecate are all symptoms you should consider an emergency when it comes to cats ingesting inedible objects. If your cat shows any signs of this, I'd take them to a vet immediately. I would watch your cat for these and just try to keep things like hair brushes and the like out of reach to try to prevent ingestion of hair as much as possible.

Never pull an item out! This can cause internal damage. Let them try to pass it and if they can't after a few days and you know they ingested something, take them to the vet. Also, watch their poos to make sure there's no blood, diarrhea or constipation. Unfortunately, I now spend a lot of time looking through poos after I know my cat has eaten something bad to make sure he passes it. So far so good but it could go badly. We've been lucky.

Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend pet insurance if this is a common behavior for your cat. Ours costs $55 a month and covers him and our other cat up to $5k in medical costs for non pre-existing conditions. This covers things like testing and exploratory surgery. Pre-existing condition being the operative word. It only works if your cat isn't already sick so get it now if you are concerned. And it's a month by month commitment so you can cancel later. If you can afford it get it now until you can be sure your kitty is okay. Otherwise, you risk spending A LOT on x rays and other tests as well as possible surgery if they need it for ingesting foreign objects. I used PetFirst in the PA area (USA).

I plan to keep my insurance for a while as I try to help my cat learn not to eat trash in case we need it for him. I don't want to get stuck with a huge bill because my cat has a death wish lol
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Does his poo look normal? Does he commonly leave poo on his behind like that - or, do you think that is because of your hair?

I would just monitor him for the next couple of poo sessions. If you don't see any issues, or blood/mucous you are probably OK. But, for the long term, you need to find a way to reduce the amount of your hair that he can access (obviously). If they are left in long pieces like that, then he is not digesting them and this will continue to be a problem.

You can try giving a dab of butter/margarine every few days to help pass hair, or perhaps some plain pumpkin to help bulk up his stool to aide in passing the hair. But, if he is not prone to hairballs (of his own hair, due to grooming), your best bet is to find a way to stop him from eating your hair!
 
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Kayeff

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Hey! I have the exact same issue with my cat. He eats my hair as well as anything else he can manage to chew enough to eat including but not limited to:

-plastic wrappers (he shat out a piece plastic the size of a 2 dollar bills the other day...HOW THOUGH!? lol)
-dry wall pieces (this is a new behavior as of yesterday)
-hair (mine and the other cats)
-hair ties
-paper
-cat litter
-etc.

I've been told that lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea/constipation and bleeding when they try to defecate are all symptoms you should consider an emergency when it comes to cats ingesting inedible objects. If your cat shows any signs of this, I'd take them to a vet immediately. I would watch your cat for these and just try to keep things like hair brushes and the like out of reach to try to prevent ingestion of hair as much as possible.

Never pull an item out! This can cause internal damage. Let them try to pass it and if they can't after a few days and you know they ingested something, take them to the vet. Also, watch their poos to make sure there's no blood, diarrhea or constipation. Unfortunately, I now spend a lot of time looking through poos after I know my cat has eaten something bad to make sure he passes it. So far so good but it could go badly. We've been lucky.

Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend pet insurance if this is a common behavior for your cat. Ours costs $55 a month and covers him and our other cat up to $5k in medical costs for non pre-existing conditions. This covers things like testing and exploratory surgery. Pre-existing condition being the operative word. It only works if your cat isn't already sick so get it now if you are concerned. And it's a month by month commitment so you can cancel later. If you can afford it get it now until you can be sure your kitty is okay. Otherwise, you risk spending A LOT on x rays and other tests as well as possible surgery if they need it for ingesting foreign objects. I used PetFirst in the PA area (USA).

I plan to keep my insurance for a while as I try to help my cat learn not to eat trash in case we need it for him. I don't want to get stuck with a huge bill because my cat has a death wish lol
Yeah I realized pretty much immediately I shouldn’t have pulled it out. I guess it was just instinct. But he seems alright now. He’s had food and treats eagerly and is playing now.

Hi. Does his poo look normal? Does he commonly leave poo on his behind like that - or, do you think that is because of your hair?

I would just monitor him for the next couple of poo sessions. If you don't see any issues, or blood/mucous you are probably OK. But, for the long term, you need to find a way to reduce the amount of your hair that he can access (obviously). If they are left in long pieces like that, then he is not digesting them and this will continue to be a problem.

You can try giving a dab of butter/margarine every few days to help pass hair, or perhaps some plain pumpkin to help bulk up his stool to aide in passing the hair. But, if he is not prone to hairballs (of his own hair, due to grooming), your best bet is to find a way to stop him from eating your hair!
It looked a little soft but that’s not too unusual for him. No blood or anything. And he doesn’t seem lethargic now. He took a little nap earlier but now he’s up and about. I’ll definitely keep an eye on him and the litter box.
 

Kflowers

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sometimes the hair will be entangled in the poop and the cat will think the poo is chasing him through the house. Stay clear and the poo will be knocked off before you can catch him and do something about it.

The only thing I know to do is vacuum a lot. Particularly in your bedroom and around your computer. This is where you will be doing the most of your shedding. Which reminds me, be sure to check the vacuum cleaner brush and cut your hair off of it, otherwise it will stop the brush and the vacuum will over heat breaking the belt and melting the brush into a shape that will not work. It will also smoke and smell rather bad.
 
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