Question re: using real egg yolks for a few days for hairball control

[cheeser]

I've been kinda busy lately, and forgot to reorder Buddy's egg yolk lecithin until we were down to our last two capsules. *hangs head in shame*

So how much real egg yolk from a boiled egg can I give him for hairball control to tide him over until our order gets here?

 

[lisahe]

I don't know the conversion (meaning how many egg yolks give how much egg yolk lecithin) but the Food Fur Life page mentions feeding one to two egg yolks a week to help prevent hairballs. There's lots more on that whole topic here. (FWIW, each of our cats gets around 1.5 egg yolks a week.)

Edit: Our cats seem to like having egg yolk added to their food.

 

[cheeser]

I don't know the conversion (meaning how many egg yolks give how much egg yolk lecithin) but the Food Fur Life page mentions feeding one to two egg yolks a week to help prevent hairballs. There's lots more on that whole topic here. (FWIW, each of our cats gets around 1.5 egg yolks a week.)

Edit: Our cats seem to like having egg yolk added to their food.

Cool! Thanks oodles!

I tried to order some EYL as soon as I realized we were almost out, but were told that orders for our area were not being accepted at that time due to the approaching hurricane. So I guess I'll give Buddy an egg yolk today while we still have power, and may have to make do with mixing slippery elm bark powder and water for hairball control until things are somewhat back to normal.

 

[Furballsmom]

due to the approaching hurricane.

Sending love and hugs, and hopefully things stay safe for you and return to normal as fast as possible !

 

[lisahe]

Cool! Thanks oodles!

I tried to order some EYL as soon as I realized we were almost out, but were told that orders for our area were not being accepted at that time due to the approaching hurricane. So I guess I'll give Buddy an egg yolk today while we still have power, and may have to make do with mixing slippery elm bark powder and water for hairball control until things are somewhat back to normal.

You're welcome! Oh my goodness, yes, I forgot you're in the hurricane's path! (For some reason I thought you were in Florida but see you're in Texas, eek!)

I think some people say pumpkin helps with hairballs. We use pumpkin to prevent constipation. Which egg yolk also supposedly helps, by improving motility. (One cat has the hairball problems, the other has the constipation problems so we're lucky the remedies fit both of them!)

I'm not sure how much egg yolk is too much at one time but our cats get it in small doses. Each gets only 1.5 egg yolks a week. (So I guess roughly .2 egg yolk per cat per day! )

I hope the storm's not as bad as expected. Stay safe!

 

[cheeser]

Sending love and hugs, and hopefully things stay safe for you and return to normal as fast as possible !

Bless you!

Fortunately (this time!), we're on the western side of Galveston Bay. So when Laura shifted eastward later in the day yesterday, that took us out of the hurricane warning zone. Hopefully that eastward shift means my relatives on the other side are okay today, albeit it a bit worse for wear, especially those near Port Arthur, which earlier forecasts described as "unsurvivable." Most of them had the good sense to leave the day before, but a couple of them decided to try to ride things out.

But I was finally able to place my order this morning for the egg yolk lecithin, as well as syringes and a few other odds and ends. So hopefully things will soon get back to normal for Buddy.

 

[cheeser]

You're welcome! Oh my goodness, yes, I forgot you're in the hurricane's path! (For some reason I thought you were in Florida but see you're in Texas, eek!)

I think some people say pumpkin helps with hairballs. We use pumpkin to prevent constipation. Which egg yolk also supposedly helps, by improving motility. (One cat has the hairball problems, the other has the constipation problems so we're lucky the remedies fit both of them!)

I'm not sure how much egg yolk is too much at one time but our cats get it in small doses. Each gets only 1.5 egg yolks a week. (So I guess roughly .2 egg yolk per cat per day! )

I hope the storm's not as bad as expected. Stay safe!

Thankfully, we're all safe and sound here at Casa Cheeser. I just feel weirdly guilty that our blessing was someone else's misfortune, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered the worst of the storm.

I wasn't sure how much of an egg yolk to give Buddy. But since he hadn't had any egg yolk lecithin for several days, and hacked up a pretty wicked hairball yesterday morning, I gave him a whole egg yolk as one of his syringe feedings. I also gave him some slippery elm bark syrup, which I have to confess, hadn't give him for a couple of days because sometimes it makes him constipated.

So today is a new day, and I'm going to try to be better organized! This morning I'll give Buddy some Natural Balance LID Duck, which usually helps when he's prone to constipation. I'll also sneak some Miralax into another feeding, and then give him a good brushing with the Zoom Groom while we binge watch some episodes of Downton Abbey. Buddy has become quite the fan lately!

Alas, we haven't had much luck with pumpkin, as Buddy won't eat it willingly, and I can't manage to get it to a decent consistency that won't keep clogging up the syringe. I've thought about giving pumpkin powder a try, but didn't know if lacked the necessary fiber to keep things moving downstream.

Thanks again, hon!

 

[lisahe]

I hope the whole egg yolk goes (ha!) okay! I also hope your hopes for organization go better than mine usually do. ( or ? I'm not sure!) It's too bad pumpkin doesn't work for Buddy. It's become a standard in our cats' homemade food because Ireland tends to get constipated without it.

I'm glad to hear you're safe, sound, and entertained. I hope this hurricane turns out to be far, far less destructive than predicted.

 

[cheeser]

I hope the whole egg yolk goes (ha!) okay! I also hope your hopes for organization go better than mine usually do. ( or ? I'm not sure!) It's too bad pumpkin doesn't work for Buddy. It's become a standard in our cats' homemade food because Ireland tends to get constipated without it.

I'm glad to hear you're safe, sound, and entertained. I hope this hurricane turns out to be far, far less destructive than predicted.

Okaaaaay, about that egg yolk...

Let's just say that Buddy isn't constipated anymore, and any hair that was in his system isn't there anymore. Hoo boy.

Suffice it to say, I needed to adjust my plans for the day a bit. Maybe next time I need to give the pumpkin another try.

 

[lisahe]

Okaaaaay, about that egg yolk...

Let's just say that Buddy isn't constipated anymore, and any hair that was in his system isn't there anymore. Hoo boy.

Suffice it to say, I needed to adjust my plans for the day a bit. Maybe next time I need to give the pumpkin another try.

Ah, yes, it could definitely have that effect! Well, at least the hair's cleaned out... we'll take that as a plus, right?!

Does Buddy dislike pumpkin mixed into his syringe food? And does he hate being brushed? That's what we suspect really keeps Edwina from getting hairballs. She used to hate being brushed but now loves it. Because she's an attention-craving diva!

 

[cheeser]

Ah, yes, it could definitely have that effect! Well, at least the hair's cleaned out... we'll take that as a plus, right?!

Does Buddy dislike pumpkin mixed into his syringe food? And does he hate being brushed? That's what we suspect really keeps Edwina from getting hairballs. She used to hate being brushed but now loves it. Because she's an attention-craving diva!

I have to confess, I never really got that excited about cat poop until Buddy gave us a good scare during the great hairball epidemic in our humble household a few years ago. And Buddy's present in the litter box yesterday certainly got me excited. Definitely no obstruction there!

It's not that Buddy really dislikes pumpkin in his syringe feedings. I just can't seem to get it blended fine enough so it doesn't clog up the syringe. Someone told me that baby food sweet potatoes, carrots, or squash might have the same, uh, "therapeutic" qualities, and it does flow through the syringe quite nicely. It just doesn't help other things flow.

Thankfully, both of our cats adore being brushed, and can be pretty obnoxious about demanding it. I got to the point where I had to hide the brushes at night so I could get some sleep.

 

[lisahe]

Someone told me that baby food sweet potatoes, carrots, or squash might have the same, uh, "therapeutic" qualities, and it does flow through the syringe quite nicely. It just doesn't help other things flow.

Beech Nut makes pumpkin baby food! I only learned this the other day... it's significantly cheaper than Weruva pouches and a jar is far more convenient than a pouch so I will be all over that when the pouches run out.

And how funny about the cats being so obnoxious about loving to be brushed. Even Edwina, the diva, , isn't quite that enthusiastic!

 

[cheeser]

Beech Nut makes pumpkin baby food! I only learned this the other day... it's significantly cheaper than Weruva pouches and a jar is far more convenient than a pouch so I will be all over that when the pouches run out.

Oooh, way cool! I'll look for it the next time I'm at the grocery store. Thanks bunches!

 

[lisahe]

Oooh, way cool! I'll look for it the next time I'm at the grocery store. Thanks bunches!

I have no idea if our cats will like it as much as the Weruva stuff but it seems a whole lot more convenient.

And what did I just do? I made a batch of cat food and forgot to put in pumpkin! Not a big deal because I can add it as a condiment when it's served but even so...

 

[cheeser]

I have no idea if our cats will like it as much as the Weruva stuff but it seems a whole lot more convenient.

And what did I just do? I made a batch of cat food and forgot to put in pumpkin! Not a big deal because I can add it as a condiment when it's served but even so...

That's hilarious and frustrating when we accidentally skip a step. I made a bundt cake a while back, and it had already been in the oven for about 10 minutes when I realized I forgot to put the rest of the liquid in it. I guess I just zoned out when the batter looked like a good consistency!

Just curious...once I manage to get my paws on the baby food pumpkin, what's considered a good maintenance dose, and what's a good dose for when your kitties need a little extra help to get things moving along?

 

[Furballsmom]

This talks about using 1/2 a teaspoon to a teaspoon;
Is Pumpkin Good for Cats?

 

[lisahe]

This talks about using 1/2 a teaspoon to a teaspoon;
Is Pumpkin Good for Cats?

Thank you, Furballsmom, for beating me to it! I think I use even less than that. This seems to be a very individual thing. I'd start with 1/2 teaspoon and see how that goes.

That's hilarious and frustrating when we accidentally skip a step. I made a bundt cake a while back, and it had already been in the oven for about 10 minutes when I realized I forgot to put the rest of the liquid in it. I guess I just zoned out when the batter looked like a good consistency!

Ha ha, last week I went to the trouble of melting butter to go into blueberry muffin batter but then forgot to add it. Fortunately it wasn't very much and fortunately the muffins tasted great without it. My husband even though he liked the no-butter batch better than the butter batch I'd made a couple days before! We have a neighbor in the blueberry business we brought us some as a treat so it was the perfect time for taste testing!