My weirdo Quinn 😹

[Meowmee]

Quinn has been doing this for a while and I wonder if anyone else's cats do it too. He and Zena love to wrestle and do it a lot. Zena is lh, like a forest cat and Quinn is shorthair, a pb Siamese. Fur flies and sometimes Quinn runs away with some of Zena's fur in his mouth like it's a trophy I try to chase him and get it away from him because sometimes he swallows it. Not easy to catch him. I am worried it is causing fur balls and vomit sometimes. Does anyone else's cat do this and swallow the other cat's fur in the process? Last time he came back with the fur still in his mouth and I managed to get it away from him. As usual it is all a big game to him.

 

[epona]

Quinn has been doing this for a while and I wonder if anyone else's cats do it too. He and Zena love to wrestle and do it a lot. Zena is lh, like a forest cat and Quinn is shorthair, a pb Siamese. Fur flies and sometimes Quinn runs away with some of Zena's fur in his mouth like it's a trophy I try to chase him and get it away from him because sometimes he swallows it. Not easy to catch him. I am worried it is causing fur balls and vomit sometimes. Does anyone else's cat do this and swallow the other cat's fur in the process? Last time he came back with the fur still in his mouth and I managed to get it away from him. As usual it is all a big game to him.

I can't imagine it would cause any more issues if he swallowed the occasional bit of long fur than if a LH cat swallowed their own hairs when grooming, it's not the same as swallowing string or cotton/nylon thread which is many many times stronger and doesn't break down in the digestive system - yes he will probably get furballs which is probably a first for a Siamese given they are ultra-shorthair, but I think just treat with remedies as if he was a LH cat if that is an issue.

Sonic (OSH) had a bit of pica and used to chew my long hair and eat rabbit fur off of cat toys, he produced some interesting furballs but never suffered any ill effects because it was just hair/fur - I made sure he couldn't get hold of any string or thread of course - manufactured threads are actually many many threads twisted together to form a strong structure, cat fur/hairs aren't constructed like that.

 

[Draco]

I'm glad you posted this, because I was going to ask about the swallowing of fur! My older cat has taken to picking up clumps of my LH's cat's fur and eating it when she comes across it. I've been trying to pick it up before she does.

I would imagine it may become a hair ball if it isn't passed naturally.

I think as long as they aren't actively seeking out the fur to swallow and make a habit of it, it'll be okay. Pica cats generally make it an obsessive habit from what I read.

 

[Meowmee]

I can't imagine it would cause any more issues if he swallowed the occasional bit of long fur than if a LH cat swallowed their own hairs when grooming, it's not the same as swallowing string or cotton/nylon thread which is many many times stronger and doesn't break down in the digestive system - yes he will probably get furballs which is probably a first for a Siamese given they are ultra-shorthair, but I think just treat with remedies as if he was a LH cat if that is an issue.

Sonic (OSH) had a bit of pica and used to chew my long hair and eat rabbit fur off of cat toys, he produced some interesting furballs but never suffered any ill effects because it was just hair/fur - I made sure he couldn't get hold of any string or thread of course - manufactured threads are actually many many threads twisted together to form a strong structure, cat fur/hairs aren't constructed like that.

Thanks He does get furballs and sometimes vomits them- even before Zena was here, I presume from his own fur which is short of course but not super short for a Siamese, but still pretty short. He also gets constipated and then sometimes that causes it. I give him some cat lax when he has that and it does not seem to be specifically a fur ball maybe. I have asked dvm about it but they say he is fine. I can only give him the cat lax in canned food because he won't eat it in his home cooked food and it's almost impossible to get it on his face etc. Zena and Cinn get them too sometimes.

I was thinking maybe he is eating Zena's fur more than I know of and because it is longer his body is not adapted to it. You're prolly right though and it's an occasional thing.

 

[Meowmee]

I'm glad you posted this, because I was going to ask about the swallowing of fur! My older cat has taken to picking up clumps of my LH's cat's fur and eating it when she comes across it. I've been trying to pick it up before she does.

I would imagine it may become a hair ball if it isn't passed naturally.

I think as long as they aren't actively seeking out the fur to swallow and make a habit of it, it'll be okay. Pica cats generally make it an obsessive habit from what I read.

Do you give her cat lax for it, does she vomit? He is not obsessed with it, it only seems to happen after they wrestle and Zena's fur comes out. He is definitely more of a chewy cat though, desiccants and rubber bands get thrown out right away. Once he may have chewed some that was on a blanket. And they wash each other too, nothing to do about that. I don't think he has Picca but I worry about him chewing stuff. He likes to chew the end of the wee pads too. He is so stubborn and will not listen to me when I tell him not to do something, it just makes it worse and makes him do it more.

 

[Draco]

Do you give her cat lax for it, does she vomit? He is not obsessed with it, it only seems to happen after they wrestle and Zena's fur comes out. He is definitely more of a chewy cat though, desiccants and rubber bands get thrown out right away. Once he may have chewed some that was on a blanket. And they wash each other too, nothing to do about that. I don't think he has Picca but I worry about him chewing stuff. He likes to chew the end of the wee pads too. He is so stubborn and will not listen to me when I tell him not to do something, it just makes it worse and makes him do it more.

She sometimes chucks hairballs regardless, it's not out of the norm for her since she sheds a lot (Short fur). I only give hairball remedies, like cat lax, if she's excessively chucking hairballs, if she's shedding more than usual (Seasonal shedding) or if she's struggling to poop because of all the hair (I've had to help her pull the poop because it'd get stuck because of the hair, sometimes it's more hair than poop).

It's only been recent she's been picking up fur, too soon to see if she's had an adverse affect to it. But I am not too worried. But as always, watch them for any signs of distress

Your boy probably thinks the clump of fur is a toy! He just wants to play with it, but also eats it.

 

[Meowmee]

She sometimes chucks hairballs regardless, it's not out of the norm for her since she sheds a lot (Short fur). I only give hairball remedies, like cat lax, if she's excessively chucking hairballs, if she's shedding more than usual (Seasonal shedding) or if she's struggling to poop because of all the hair (I've had to help her pull the poop because it'd get stuck because of the hair, sometimes it's more hair than poop).

It's only been recent she's been picking up fur, too soon to see if she's had an adverse affect to it. But I am not too worried. But as always, watch them for any signs of distress

Your boy probably thinks the clump of fur is a toy! He just wants to play with it, but also eats it.

That is good. I only give him the cat lax when he has vomited due to constipation. He has dry poop. I tried pumpkin but it didn't work. Whereas cat lax helps both the furballs and constipation it seems. Yes he definitely thinks it is a catch, lol. The way he was running around with it was so funny. He never has any fur in his poop.

Everything he does he loves to have my approval for it, such a siamese trait and he meows at me to make sure I know what is going on etc. Today I woke up to him bringing me his wire twisty to play fetch. He is such a happy guy

 

[Draco]

He sounds like a great cat! I am glad he has a home with you

 

[Kris107]

My cats do this but maybe with less intention. They sometimes even have interest when I brush them and pull the hair off the brush. Obviously, like you, I always try to prevent. I figure the hair will come out whatever way it needs to.

 

[epona]

I do wonder what everyone's thoughts are on growing a pot of cat grass for indoor cats.

I know sometimes when my darling old boy Jakey (may he rest in peace) was feeling a bit nauseous due to his health issues including chronic pancreatitis late in life he would go and find a cobweb or some dust under the sofa to eat, he developed a bit of an obsession with cobwebs (I just let spiders be around the flat, we don't have any majorly venomous ones here), he seemed to have a drive to eat something weird at those times after he'd thrown up, I wonder if growing some cat grass might be an idea instead (for my new kittens).

 

[Meowmee]

I do wonder what everyone's thoughts are on growing a pot of cat grass for indoor cats.

I know sometimes when my darling old boy Jakey (may he rest in peace) was feeling a bit nauseous due to his health issues including chronic pancreatitis late in life he would go and find a cobweb or some dust under the sofa to eat, he developed a bit of an obsession with cobwebs (I just let spiders be around the flat, we don't have any majorly venomous ones here), he seemed to have a drive to eat something weird at those times after he'd thrown up, I wonder if growing some cat grass might be an idea instead (for my new kittens).

I tried cat grass in the past for my other cats, but it just seemed to make them vomit. I don’t know.

I never did it for Quinn and these current cats. Quinn also eats insects in the warmer weather. And they make him vomit too. We’ve had somewhat of an infestation of basket, crickets that I keep treating outside for, but they just keep coming back and they get really big. Then in the winter are they usually die off, but not always completely because The garage is warmer and I put insulation panels on the doors. Although we’ve had a deep freeze here and I haven’t seen any for a while, fingers crossed.

you can try it and see how your kittens like it. I also used to have lots of catnip growing outside and my cats loved that they would just go and sit right on top of it to the point that it got smooshed down.

Fred loved one of the heather plants I have by the patio. He used to sleep inside it and there was a big hole in the middle of it which I just left for him. I was thinking about that the other day, the hole is gone now and so is he.

 

[Meowmee]

My cats do this but maybe with less intention. They sometimes even have interest when I brush them and pull the hair off the brush. Obviously, like you, I always try to prevent. I figure the hair will come out whatever way it needs to.

Merlin used to love to be brushed. When I started brushing Xena, he would run over and demand to be combed and brushed. Xena who didn’t really like it would then get jealous of Merlin and asked to be brushed more.

A lot more hair came out when I combed and brushed Merlin, than Zena, a dlh, he was an extra fluffy dsh who had paw tufts. I would take all the fur off and collect in a ball and show it to them and they would sniff it, but Merlin and Xena didn’t eat it.

Quinn is super sensitive and doesn’t really like to be combed or brushed. I can only do it a little bit and mostly on his face. If I get near his rear end, he goes berserk and starts swatting at me, etc. He’s a short hair, Siamese and almost no hair comes out when you comb him so he doesn’t really need it anyway.

 

[Margot Lane]

I do wonder what everyone's thoughts are on growing a pot of cat grass for indoor cats.

I know sometimes when my darling old boy Jakey (may he rest in peace) was feeling a bit nauseous due to his health issues including chronic pancreatitis late in life he would go and find a cobweb or some dust under the sofa to eat, he developed a bit of an obsession with cobwebs (I just let spiders be around the flat, we don't have any majorly venomous ones here), he seemed to have a drive to eat something weird at those times after he'd thrown up, I wonder if growing some cat grass might be an idea instead (for my new kittens).

My cat loved to nosh on cat grass. Maybe for him it was a diet supplementary, or roughage. Maybe it made up for something I hadn’t added to his food?