Cat people...hairball question

Mush-Tastic

So our little Sampson hacked up his first hairball this morning.

I think he's been working on it for weeks now as he's been having these random wheezing attacks that last for 5-10 seconds at a time.

Is this something that needs to be treated? Like go to a vet? Or something we can do to help him at home? Food change? If it's nothing serious, I don't want to bring him in. We tend to be the people that jump straight to the e-vet (think paid $100 to have a vet tell me my puppy reverse sneezed at 3AM - yes, that did happen), and if it's normal, I'm just curious.

There was no puke involved, no blood. He's been acting fine. He's definitely eating us out of house and home...

Just suggestions. If you think we should go to the vet, we will, but just wanted to make sure before we go there and look like weirdos cuz our cat just did a normal cat thing.

maria120

I think (hope) it's totally normal.  Our cat hacks up furballs on occasion too.

hkiesling

We have a 15 year old cat who hacks up hairballs all the time and several other cats (we took in pregnant stray...anyone want a kitten?) that never do.  I think a lot of it depends on the hair texture of the cat.  Our older cat sheds a lot more and has thick, fluffy fur.  The other cats don't shed (yet) or have flat (less fluffly) fur.  I do notice that when our older cat is working on a hairball, she'll kind of dry-cough off and on for a day or so beforehand.  I wouldn't worry about the hairball, but do keep an eye on the wheezing.  If it gets more frequent or the attacks get longer or if he seems unable to get air in, then I would take him in to the vet.  But otherwise, hairballs are completely normal.

 On a side note, I know that IAMS makes a hairball-reducing formula of dry cat food. 

huwehotaling

It's normal every once in awhile. I wouldn't worry about it unless it becomes an ongoing issue.

Whitman_Poe

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255UYY

We give this to ours about once a week. I squeeze about a half inch or so onto a spoon and they lick it off. The do not like the fish flavor only the malt. If your cat won't eat it, you can always put it on his paw and he will lick it off. Using this has completely eliminated hacking up hairballs.

littlemissflip

We've never worried about our cats' occasional hairballs, but since our cats are short-hair cats, they don't get them very often.

I think regular brushing is supposed to help prevent hairballs too, and our cats enjoy being brushed, so maybe this is partly why they don't get hairballs often.

SillyStraw

One of our cats starting barfing up hairballs and we've corrected the issue so here are my suggestions:

-You can try a gel like pp posted. We didn't use that exact one, the one we got was a Petco/Petsmart (one of those).  You can also use a small dab of plain vaseline on their paw. The flavored stuff like pp posted does the same job as vaseline. You can google why it works but my simplified knowledge is that it is totally harmless and just works to coat the cat's insides so hair passes through and doesn't get stuck and clump all up into a hairball in their belly.  This worked for my cat but he really hated it and as soon as he saw us get that little tube out he would run away.

- Wet food. Does your cat currently get wet food?  Coincidentally we started feeding our 2 cats a small amount of wetfood because the same one that got the hairballs got a UTI (my problem child ).  We stopped with the above mentioned gel because he hated it so much and still noticed that he was not getting hairballs at all anymore.  I saw a post on the pets board about (quality) wet food helping with hairballs so I can only believe that this is why he isn't getting them anymore.  We've been hairball free since August!! They get Wellness wet.

I don't think a vet trip is necessary unless he is barfing a couple times a day and you've already tried the above.

mysterons

I agree that hairballs are normal, but the wheezing is something to keep an eye on. I brush and feed hairball treats (Friskies Hairball control) occasionally to help control it. My cat(s) eat Wellness wet and dry food.

mbgreenwalt

If it is occasional it is really no big deal.  Some cats can have chronic issues that have to be monitored.  Hair does not digest so it can cause obstructions. 

Brushing your cat and any other cats you have (they like to groom each other) will help with some of the ingestion.

You can use Laxatone or Petromalt to lubricate the hair to help it pass through.

They make hairball foods that do the same things as the supplements.

Just monitor.  If it becomes more frequent, he devlopes a lack of appetite, lethargy or frequent vomiting then I would go to the vet.

Mush-Tastic

Thanks everyone!

He's definitely doing fine today. I'll look into some of the products you talked about. He's a short hair, and while I realize he's a cat and prone to having hairballs from time to time, it just kinda freaked me out. We've had him for almost a year and never saw him do this before.

I appreciate the advice!