Vet's Best Hairball Relief - Interesting observation

[ldg]

I saw this a while ago but forgot to circle back. :anon:

Good thought - but I know it's not the problem here. Mine were having the hairball problem before I swapped the ground rabbit that was meat/bone/organ for the whole ground rabbit. I'm surprised it would cause hairball issues, actually. The ones I get don't seem to have a lot of hair in them - it looks to me like hair isn't a large percentage of the rabbit. :lol3: Not only that, but it's ground - the hair I see in the food is short, chopped up - much shorter than cat hair, and something I don't really see as a likelihood for causing a problem. :dk:

Have you tried going back to the meat/bone/organ grind rather than using the whole ground rabbit?

Things are finally settling down here. Spooky and Lazlo aren't on anything other than the normal routine at this point. Billy's no longer on anything (other than the normal routine) - don't know what that short bout was about, but...

Sheldon and Tuxedo are now on 1/2 tablet of the VB twice a day.

And no one is on slippery elm bark syrup.

KNOCK WOOD!

 

[ldg]

Now that they have started eating raw (and I don't think I'm blaming the raw, I really believe it is the fur from the rabbit and cavies) we are back to a hairball a week for BOTH cats! It is unbelievable.

Actually, we're finding it to be VERY, very common that cats develop hairball issues during the first few months (or just weeks - sometimes just days) of a transition, often right away, and often really bad for the first week or so. I think the transition to raw causes so many changes internally, things get seemingly out-of-whack until their bodies adjust to the new diet. Or rather - it can take some kitties time to have their bodies adjust to the new diet.

I suspect that if it were introduced MUCH more slowly - as in over months - this wouldn't be an issue. But when we introduce it over a shorter period, it seems it can take a while for their bodies to sort things out.

Of course, at this point I'm working primarily with IBD kitties - so the transition clearly doesn't just fix things, it reveals problems and just takes some time to settle down.

 

[abby2932]

ah, I see. I didn't know to expect hairball problems after a transition. Hopefully things die down soon, as we have been 100% raw for just over 2 months now. I was so used to never seeing hairballs the last few years and it was so nice.

You're right about the rabbit not having much fur but the cavies are loaded with it. I almost feel like I am serving them a hairball when I feed them cavies

 

Since Malibu can't handle beef,  I give Kali the beef and Malibu the cavies on that rotation day. (So Kali doesn't eat cavies anymore and Malibu doesn't eat beef anymore). Since Kali stopped eating cavies, she hasn't had a hairball 

. So I guess I'm not sure if it is the reduction of fur from the cavies or, like you said, her body is adjusting to the new diet but she's doing great.

Malibu's last hairball was last Thursday, so a week ago. I also bought a Furminator and brushed the heck out of him on Sunday and plan to continue that once a week to help out. I do usually brush him a few times a week but just with a regular brush and I have never seen much hair come off with a regular brush.

Awesome news that hairball season is slowing down for you! 

 I hope Spooky is doing well...

 

[ldg]

Yeah, I tried the cavie once - and the mouse. Both loaded with fur and dry because of it, I think?

Not every cat will have a hairball problem during the transition. We're just finding it's much more common than we thought - especially with kitties that have impaired GI systems going into it.

I guess the only way you'll know if it's the cavie is to feed it again in a few months.

Glad it sounds like things are calming down for your kitties, too!

 

[ldg]

Oh - and Spooky is doing GREAT, thank you for asking! The leukeran doesn't have any side-effects I can see (yet, knock wood). But the pred is making her ravenous. :lol3: She is a bit short-tempered on the pred, but at least it's not making her nutty or aggressive.

 

[peaches08]

Still having hairball issues here, but not as much since I moved.  3 vomits since I moved here on 8-2, I don't know which cat(s).  Still giving the VB and once a week hairball treats.

I'm glad Spooky is tolerating the Leukeran so well.  Prednisonehas interesting side effects on human patients, ravenous and angry are the most common side effects.