Hairball advice/raw diet/egg yolk

[Georgina887]

Hi all,

I switched my cat to raw diet and been slowly transitioning over the last month. Since doing this she has been having a fair amount of hairballs maybe once a week. This is more than she used to have. It is summer where I am and extremely hot so there is a lot of loose hair.
I read this https://www.foodfurlife.com/best-manage-hairballs.html#/

Which basically says that the raw diet can cause hairballs to come up and they should go away after a while. I guess my question is how long???

She does have history of having a bad diet in the past. When I first got her 8 years ago I had no idea about cats and just fed her whiskers dry food (I feel so bad about that now) but did progress onto a better brand of dry food that was grain free. For the last year she ate a combination of dry and wet food.

I also read that it can take some time to heal the gut.

I have just started adding yolk to her food as well. Giving half a yolk every other day. Since I only just started that I can’t say if it’s working yet but she did have a hairball this morning.

She was fully examined by a vet about a month ago. She doesn’t have IBD but did have a bout of colitis which has since cleared up and she’s doing really well poop wise now.

 

[Maurey]

At what point did you fully transition? I'd give it up to a month after she's been fully on raw. If she doesn't start improving, I'd suggest a vet visit to further rule out any health issues. I'd also suggest being very careful with the egg yolk if you don't live in a country with stamped eggs (i.e. guaranteed to be salmonella free) -- while cats do have high stomach pH that makes them less susceptible to foodborne illness, they are still at risk from salmonella. I'd suggest looking into malt paste, or perhaps fish oil instead. Even unsalted butter in small amounts works a charm :> I personally use both Beaphar's Duo Malt Paste, which also has yeast in it if memory serves, and a twice monthly fish oil capsule.

I have a Maine Coon that's been on raw since weaning so I can't provide the perspective of someone who transitioned their cat, but in the year and a bit I've had her, she's never once had a hairball. If your raw is properly formulated, it shouldn't be a dietary issue, at least not in the long term. If she used to be on an exclusively or primarily dry food diet, it could be that she's been cleaning out 'residue', and her digestive system is properly 'lubing up' with her new high moisture diet to pass hairballs properly. That said, afaik that period shouldn't last long.

How often (and using what tools) are you brushing her? That's probably the most important place to start with frequent hairballs once dehydration/lack of dietary moisture is ruled out. During peak shed, I'll brush my girl daily, sometimes twice, with a slicker brush first, then a rubber-banded middle-toothed comb (fine teeth are great for short haired cats, but not so much for longhaired ones). Always use a detangling/moisturizing spray, especially on longhair cats -- best thing Jum's groomer taught me was that brushing dry fur is damaging. I'll also sometimes sparingly use a silicone brush on her if she's shedding a lot, and personally would discourage the use of furminators, as they're prone to cutting the fur due to their construction. :>

 

[lisahe]

The Food Fur Life site has great information about hairballs: perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is their reference to Dr. Norsworthy's research into hairballs and IBD. That's especially important to keep in mind, given your cat's colitis diagnosis. Our previous cat also had a colitis diagnosis at around your cat's age but the vets kind of dismissed it, didn't think it was important. Her symptoms (which included occasional hairballs) came and went over the years, then culminated with her developing what was likely IBD and lymphoma late in life. (Despite many health problems, she lived to be at at least 16, likely even older!) Like you, we didn't know how to feed her so she ate lots of cheap dry food and wheat gluten; I still feel guilty about that. Only in her last year (months, really) did I learn about feline nutrition. The cats we have now eat a meaty diet!

I write all that not to scare you but to say that -- based on our experience -- it's important to regard that first colitis incident as a signal to find a cat's optimal (carnivorous!) diet. You're already doing that, so you're way ahead of where we were when our cat first developed problems. Another very important thing to keep in mind: cats' (digestive) motility decreases with age. Reduced motility can contribute to collecting hair in the stomach. Our vet has mentioned this numerous times, noting that there is a drug that works well to increase motility.

One of our cats -- they're almost eight -- has occasional hairball problems. She's not a long-hair but she has a thick, fluffy coat. We generally keep her fur problems under control with a combination of things:
-meaty, very low-carb diet (almost all wet: commercial raw, homemade cooked, canned food, small snack of dry food with no fillers)
-about 1.5 egg yolks per cat per week, mixed into their homemade food. I use hard-boiled yolks: they're neater and safer than raw, plus they freeze nicely
-small amounts of pumpkin puree (for fiber) mixed into the cats' homemade food
-brushing, once or twice a day
-I've used the petroleum jelly trick (Food Fur Life mentions it) a couple times

One thing on the egg yolk: I'd try to keep it consistent so your cat (what's her name, by the way?) gets roughly the same amount every day, to keep the active ingredients somewhat constant in her gut.

Good luck!

Beyond all that, given what research says about hairballs and other digestive issues, keep an eye out for other symptoms of IBD. IBDKitties – Helping Save Lives…One Paw at a Time is a great resource.

 

[Georgina887]

Thanks all for your advice. Her name is Mittens but we call her Mitty.

I live in Australia so all our eggs are salmonella free so that’s not a worry. Interesting you recommend small amounts of egg every day.

she fully transitioned a day ago.

Regarding the IBD, she has an ultrasound and there was no inflammation - only in colon but she was also diagnosed with very early stage heart disease so since then I’ve just wanted to get her into as good shape as possible to help her health generally. And to also avoid all these issues in the future with my other cat too.

I had never thought of brushing her just because she’s a short hair cat

 

[lisahe]

Thanks all for your advice. Her name is Mittens but we call her Mitty.

I live in Australia so all our eggs are salmonella free so that’s not a worry. Interesting you recommend small amounts of egg every day.

she fully transitioned a day ago.

Regarding the IBD, she has an ultrasound and there was no inflammation - only in colon but she was also diagnosed with very early stage heart disease so since then I’ve just wanted to get her into as good shape as possible to help her health generally. And to also avoid all these issues in the future with my other cat too.

I had never thought of brushing her just because she’s a short hair cat

I try to keep the amount of egg (and pumpkin, too) as constant as possible so the effect is even and consistent. If something's working, even a day off can make a difference! We see this with our other cat, who tends to get constipated: pumpkin and egg are helpful for her, too, but I need to be very careful not to give her too much or too little pumpkin.

Another thing about egg is that if you feed too much, the cat can get diarrhea. There's a thread here about that somewhere: if I remember correctly, someone fed a constipated cat egg yolk -- I forget the amount, if it was half or a whole yolk -- and it most definitely cleared everything out. I think the "one or two a week" advice from Food Fur Life is probably very good! And they do also mention feeding "smaller amounts fed more frequently."