Cats and Hairballs

Last week Poppy was feeling a bit under the weather. Initially I put this down to the fact she was neutered a couple of weeks back and her staples were still in place. I got a little worried when she started vomiting and ended up having our vet see her on a Sunday (he's a very patient man!). After examining Poppy he concluded it was either (a) a hairball problem or (b) Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She got a shot and was put on special food for sensitive tummies for a week and a twice weekly dose of liquid paraffin. After that she was fine!

I was quite worried at the thought of her having IBS, it would mean keeping her on a special diet and as a two cat household it's difficult to prevent them eating each others food. At the moment she's back on regular old Whiskas, which seems to be suiting her fine. I think it was just a hairball, probably from all the grooming of the area around her operation wound. I think prevention is probably better than cure in the case of hairballs.

I've had a look on for some advice on hairball prevention and treatment in case it's of use to anyone else. This more or less summarises what I came across..


Hairballs can cause vomiting, loss of appetite and constipation in your cat. In rare cases, removal may require surgery. Spare your cat from these problems by following these guidelines.
Steps
1
Brush your cat daily, especially while she's shedding, to help prevent hairballs from forming in the stomach.
2
Use a bristle or rubber brush for short haired cats.
3
Brush long haired felines with a wide-toothed comb or wire slicker brush.
4
Feed your cat a "hairball control" cat food high in vegetable fiber, or administer a commercial hairball prevention preparation available from your veterinarian or at pet stores.
5
Alternatively, mix 1 tsp. mineral oil or petroleum jelly per 10 lb. body weight into your cat's food, as a home remedy. (The average cat weighs 8 to 10 lbs.) My vet recommended Liquid Paraffin.
6
Understand that feeding other oils, such as vegetable oil, to your cat will be ineffective, because they will be digested and absorbed.