Cat question

[Night Elf]

Hairballs. What's the norm for cats to dispell these? My dd is saying her cat is doing this every morning. When she eats doesn't seem to matter because she's done it before breakfast sometimes. I just cleaned up one that was clearly a hairball and it was fairly large. The cat is a medium hair I think. Her hair doesn't look as long as some cats I've seen. We tried laxotone but she doesn't like it. We purchased food for digestive care and found some treats that say they prevent hairballs. What else can we do? Should I call the vet again? I did call about a month ago and they told me it was probably hairballs and to make sure she had the laxotone, but the cat isn't taking it. She hacks every single night and it disturbs dd's sleep because she has to jump out of bed to see if the cat has thrown up and where so she can clean it up. She's thrown up on the sofa before and her favorite places to be are really sitting/laying on the electronics like the video game console and the computer keyboard. My poor dd is losing sleep over this. We've had the cat for close to two years now and it hasn't always been this bad.

[dancingmama]

Our cat was doing this.  Change of food really helped.  I also kept the kitty contained to a room with access to her box, a scratch post, and a couple toys overnight until she stopped so that the puke was contained.  She still does it but only once a month or so.  I think it took about a week after we completly changed her food over before we saw results.  Good luck.  Puking cats are no fun. 

[nmoira]

How often does the cat get brushed?

[Pawz4me]

Yes, brushing can really help.  Anything you get out with a brush is that much less that's being ingested.  Some cats love being brushed and others don't.  Usually if you try enough different kinds of brushes you'll find one that even a resistant cat will at least tolerate.

[zoobie]

Is it mostly hair or a little hair? One of my cats started with furballs and then it was straight vomit, which was caused by hyperthyroid.

 

The Furminator brush is great for getting out extra hair. Just don't brush too much or kitty will get bald streaks. If she really likes being brushed, switch out to a regular brush after getting the loose stuff out with the Furminator.

 

Food can make a big difference. Buy the highest quality stuff you can afford. My kitties have been doing great on Blue Buffalo brand, but there are many options. It makes such a difference in their coats and poop! You usually feed less of the good stuff, and the litter box is less smelly as a bonus. A squirt of salmon oil may help fur health too. If there's an independent pet food store near you, the owners/workers can be a wealth of information. Ours is so great, and she always has samples! The bags are slightly more than Petco/Petsmart, but ours runs buy 10 bags get 1 specials, so they're actually a little cheaper in the end.

 

Cats are supposed to vomit on the most inconvenient space possible. ;) We have all hardwoods and three lone area rugs. The cats will run from the easily-wiped wood to a rug, the couch, or my favorite, bed pillows! Little freaks.

[Pawz4me]

The Furminator brush is great for getting out extra hair. Just don't brush too much or kitty will get bald streaks. If she really likes being brushed, switch out to a regular brush after getting the loose stuff out with the Furminator.

 

I'm not a fan of the Furminator.  Mostly because I started lurking on a groomers' message board a couple of years ago and have read too many horror stories.  But I do have one and will occasionally use it on my cats.  Just make sure you use a very light hand.  Cats' skin tends to be thinner than dogs', and it's easy to cut them with a Furminator.  And be aware that if you brush more than a few strokes, you're probably cutting the top coat instead of pulling out the loose undercoat.  That's how you get bald streaks, and I was guilty of that before I learned better.

[zoobie]

I'm not a fan of the Furminator. Mostly because I started lurking on a groomers' message board a couple of years ago and have read too many horror stories. But I do have one and will occasionally use it on my cats. Just make sure you use a very light hand. Cats' skin tends to be thinner than dogs', and it's easy to cut them with a Furminator. And be aware that if you brush more than a few strokes, you're probably cutting the top coat instead of pulling out the loose undercoat. That's how you get bald streaks, and I was guilty of that before I learned better.

Yikes! I have a big, dog sized one from our old Shepherd mix. It was great for her coat during shedding time. She hated to be brushed and it was efficient. I do two or three passes then switch to a regular brush (a people hair brush, lol) on the cats who enjoy being brushed. The ones who hate it at least get some dead hair gone. Not that it keeps the couch from looking like someone sneaks down and shaves random animals at night. :)

[Night Elf]

I didn't think about brushing her. I have a furminator for my short haired dog but I can't imagine using it on the cat. It just seems so sharp. I'll buy a brush and see what the cat thinks about it.

 

It's a lot of hair she's hacking up. It's always surrounded by a pool of liquid though.

[luvnlattes]

We brush regularly and also use a "hairball formula" dry food. Our kitty was also getting a small amount of canned food daily. He would throw up occasionally on that regimen. A couple of months ago I tried a new canned food that kitty absolutely LOVED. He went crazy for it. Problem was, over time, he started throwing up daily. We decided to eliminate the canned food altogether (didn't even go back to the original) and he has not thrown up for the past two weeks.

 

I don't know if your kitty gets any canned food, but if so, you could try dropping it altogether and see what happens.  She won't be happy about it though!

[nmoira]

I didn't think about brushing her. I have a furminator for my short haired dog but I can't imagine using it on the cat. It just seems so sharp. I'll buy a brush and see what the cat thinks about it.

 

Two of mine like the fine wire brush, the other loves a rubber brush like this one:

 

[Hypatia.]

My cats love the Zoom Groom brush like the one above.  I haven't been brushing them as much lately and they've started hacking up more hairballs again, I need to start brushing them more.

[TechWife]

I have one cat that loves the Laxatone and one that hates it. For the one that hates it, I rub it on her paws and then she has to lick it off. She runs under the bed and has a very sad look on her face as she licks it off! 

[Guest BulbasaurIsAwesomeSauce]

Hairballs. What's the norm for cats to dispell these? My dd is saying her cat is doing this every morning. When she eats doesn't seem to matter because she's done it before breakfast sometimes. I just cleaned up one that was clearly a hairball and it was fairly large. The cat is a medium hair I think. Her hair doesn't look as long as some cats I've seen. We tried laxotone but she doesn't like it. We purchased food for digestive care and found some treats that say they prevent hairballs. What else can we do? Should I call the vet again? I did call about a month ago and they told me it was probably hairballs and to make sure she had the laxotone, but the cat isn't taking it. She hacks every single night and it disturbs dd's sleep because she has to jump out of bed to see if the cat has thrown up and where so she can clean it up. She's thrown up on the sofa before and her favorite places to be are really sitting/laying on the electronics like the video game console and the computer keyboard. My poor dd is losing sleep over this. We've had the cat for close to two years now and it hasn't always been this bad.

My cat does this too, he's a Main Coon, and he has long hair. Just brush it every day (optional, you could to it every other day :3) Possibly change the food diet to all natural things. If she still continues vomiting and hairballs and other thing like that, you should go to a vet (WARNING: A quick change in food diets may cause bloody feces, so don't be worried) My cat just had hairballs and I knew it was a natural thing from grooming, but it got worse and he started hacking up bloody fur balls. Turned out that he scratched his throat :(

[skeeterbug]

Is the cat otherwise acting normal? Several weeks ago our cat began vomiting and then stopped eating and became lethargic. Turns out he had swallowed something that wasn't moving through very well, he had to spend a couple of nights at the vet.

[Pawz4me]

A quick change in food diets may cause bloody feces, so don't be worried)

 

A diet change should NOT cause bloody diarrhea.  Any time blood is coming from a body cavity it should be considered an emergency.