Help! Is This A Hairball?!

[supergirl]

Hello everyone,

I have an 11-month-old mixed Persian female cat, my little sweet Cotton. I think we experienced today her first hairball! She has vomited previously but it was like two weeks ago and she had a bit too many snacks at the time.

Today, she didn't eat anything more than she should, and I noticed in her last poop, she did it all normal and then a little runny poop came out (that was about 4 hours ago).
Now, she had a loud meow, seemed like a cry, when I ran to her I found her about to throw up, and then she vomited a kinda elongated thing with hairs sticking out of it. I was alarmed at first and called my vet, but his secretary said he's busy with a case and will call me back later.
I thought of taking a picture of it after wiping it up!

Then I realized it's probably a hairball! So can you please tell me if it is? and should I worry? I know there is this malt paste that's given and some specific food, but what shall I do in the meantime? shall I feed her anything? let her be? she hasn't eaten in 9 hours, and she's crouched, I put the drapes down so she will have a dim cool place. The air conditioning is set at 24 C, which is 75.2 f. This is her picture now.

I know I might be overreacting, but please put my mind at ease!
update, she went to the bed area in her cat tree, which she never did before!

 

[ReallySleepy]

It certainly sounds like a hairball. Any chance you could pick it out of the dustbin and take a pic? You could also slice it with a knife to get a look at the interior.

My cat once threw up a half-digested rat. Anything like that would be instantly recognizable.

 

[foxxycat]

If she continues to vomit-you may want to get her looked at. They sit that way when belly hurts. you can try feeding canned plain pumpkin to help any constipation or runnies that could be causing discomfort. Some hairball rememdy may help pass the hair she ingests. Do you brush her? Brushing will help cut down on hairballs. Does she eat wet food? you can try a few drops of olive oil. or a few licks of butter. these will help pass the hairballs or get hairball treatment. Coconut oil works well too.

 

[supergirl]

It certainly sounds like a hairball. Any chance you could pick it out of the dustbin and take a pic? You could also slice it with a knife to get a look at the interior.

My cat once threw up a half-digested rat. Anything like that would be instantly recognizable.

this is the picture, I thought I had attached it earlier, but apparently, I didn't:s

she hasn't vomited anymore, but she won't eat. A friend of mine told me to give her safflower oil, olive oil, a bit of butter either is fine and helps digestion. She said the stuff pastes sold in pet stores is unhealthy as it has petroleum in it!

 

[katlady-18]

Seems to be a hairball from what I can see. They're usually shaped like a turd, so not sure why they're called a ball at all, LOL. In my experience, though, cats are usually completely normal before and after expelling a hairball; mine, at least, would want to eat shortly after vomiting a hairball so check with your vet again if your kitty still isn't eating.

Btw, I didn't know cats lying down in this position indicates belly pain. Mine have just seemed to like that position from time to time.

 

[arouetta]

Judging from the first picture, she's completely chilled. Both pictures of her lying down, you can see that her front paws are tucked under in such a way that the bottom of the feet are not touching the floor. That is a cat that does not feel there is any danger around, as her paws are tucked in such a way that she can't spring up fast in an emergency.

And while the picture was shadowed, it certainly looks like a hairball to me. The orange-y fluid around it and filling it is just stuff that hadn't been fully digested yet.

Don't try to make her eat, she'll eat when she's good and ready to. In fact trying to force food is just setting up a food struggle, cats are like toddlers in that respect. Nor do you have to change her diet or try to get her to eat some sort of paste. Changing the food for no good reason can either trigger not eating or all sorts of digestive problems. Hairballs are perfectly normal for cats.

Best advice I can give is brush her on a regular basis to reduce (not eliminate) hairballs forming and to get a good carpet cleaning spray for post-hairball cleanup. Hairballs are part of cat ownership, especially with long-haired cats.

 

[Willowy]

Occasional hairballs are perfectly normal, and from the pics I'd say she feels just fine. When a cat is crouched from pain they don't tuck their feet under and they look kind of tense. She looks pretty relaxed.

When you say she hasn't eaten in 9 hours, is that due to her normal meal schedule or is she refusing food? If she's refusing food at normal feeding times I'd be concerned. Otherwise don't worry. They only need help (like hairball food or paste) if they're having trouble passing a hairball; if it comes up nice and normal they don't need any extra help .