My cat Snukums is an eight year old short-haired tabby. About four or five months ago, I switched him to Nutro Indoor Senior catfood. He did well with it for quite some time. I even noticed that he had stopped coughing up hairballs. About three weeks ago, he started producing hairballs. Lots of 'em. He's thrown up three times this week and when he did this morning, it was just catfood. He is brushed regularly with a shedding blade and the amount of food is controlled. Could I be missing something here? What would cause a streak of no hairballs, then a sudden burst of them?
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hairball/vomiting issues
- Thread starter monterey
- Start Date
I had a recent uptick of hairballs with one of mine that I think might have been because of the heat--she is shedding more than usual, because it's hot, so she's getting more fur in the tummy, even with regular brushing, etc. There are good otc hairball remedies you can buy, and if you're lucky, your cat will think it's a treat and lick it right off your finger. When the hairballs started, I started giving her the remedy once a week, and she's been doing well since. (The other kitty won't take the hairball remedy, but he hasn't really had hairball issues, so I don't worry about it.)
Maisey just recently went through a hairball spell. She will throw up for a few days, then it's like she's gotten it out of her system and she's back to normal for at least 2 weeks. I do think food has something to with it. Mine also will sometimes throw up food with no hair. I noticed that Nine Lives and Science Diet (yes quite a difference there) will make her throw up more than say Iams or Purina. I think the difference is Nine Lives and Science Diet have more of an odor to them and are probably richer foods. I'm getting her back on Iams or maybe will try Maxximum Nutrition if I can find it.
Hairball remedies don't make much of a difference with Maisey. I've tried Cat Lax and Hartz Hairball Remedy. Someone suggested petroleum jelly, so I've been rubbing a dab on her coat so she'll lick it off. We'll see how that goes. I think it's pretty inevitable - the vet seems to think it's normal, as long as it's not ongoing and she doesn't display other symptoms. Just trying to curb it the best I can, esp. since my apartment has beige carpeting!
Hairball remedies don't make much of a difference with Maisey. I've tried Cat Lax and Hartz Hairball Remedy. Someone suggested petroleum jelly, so I've been rubbing a dab on her coat so she'll lick it off. We'll see how that goes. I think it's pretty inevitable - the vet seems to think it's normal, as long as it's not ongoing and she doesn't display other symptoms. Just trying to curb it the best I can, esp. since my apartment has beige carpeting!
