Should I Stop My Cat From Grooming
In general, grooming is an excellent indicator for overall health in your cat. As long as a cats coat is sleek and shiny, it means he feels well enough to groom himself regularly. In fact, vets typically recommend that cat owners bring their feline friends in immediately if their coats begin to look uncharacteristically dull, patchy, or overgrown. Its one of the most visible symptoms of illness or stress in a cat, and catching it early can mean better treatment success for whatevers ailing them.
The only two times pet parents should keep a cat from grooming himself are during excessive stress or parasite-related grooming , or if he has something on his fur he cant ingest safely. Topical flea medications are a very popular treatment among cat owners, who are equally familiar with the unusual application site. Typically, directions state to apply the medication between the shoulder blades thats because its the one place a cat cant reach to groom himself. For households with more than one cat, be aware that cats need to be isolated, at least temporarily, when topical medication is used: otherwise, they may groom it off of each other and become ill.
Can Hairballs Be Dangerous
Cats often vomit up hairballs what some people call “coughing up” hairballs but if hair becomes lodged in the small intestine, it can cause a life-threatening obstruction, which could require surgery.
“A cat that is vomiting or retching, lethargic, or does not want to eat may have an obstruction from a hairball,” Dr. Whittenburg says. “Defecating does not rule out a hairball, as feces are stored in the colon and intestinal obstructions occur in the small intestine.”
How Online Vet & Emergency Fund Can Help
If your cat is experiencing hairball issues, it would be a great help to be able to consult with a vet about it throughout the process. Having said this, wouldnt it be better if you can consult a vet wherever and whenever you find the need to consult or ask questions? Petcubes Online Vet is among such services.
With Online Vet, you can consult with licensed vets regarding your cat’s hairball issues, from inquiring about cat food with hairball control to asking about what to do during emergency situations, right before bringing your cat to the vet.
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Since the service is available 24/7, you get peace of mind knowing that you can talk to a vet anytime regarding your pet’s health and wellness.
Apart from the Online Vet service, Petcube also offers a Pet Emergency Fund that offers a worthy alternative to pet insurance. Having a pet emergency fund secures the veterinary expenses that might be needed to save your cat in case of a critical situaition.
Not to mention, Pet Emergency Fund is inclusive of the Online Vet service also by Petcube, allowing you to consult with a veterinarian throughout the process of caring for your pet.
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Prevention Of Cat Hairballs
Grooming your cat is one of the best things you can do to prevent cat hairballs. Regular brushing and/or combing removes much of your cats loose hair before it can be ingested, thus limiting the amount of hair that your cat swallows.
In turn, less hair ingested means fewer cat hairballs being produced.
Chicken Soup For The Soul Indoor Recipe With Hairball Care Dry Cat Food
Our Top Pick for the Best Affordable Hairball Cat Food: You dont necessarily need to spend a lot to find a high-quality cat food that is designed for hairball control. This Chicken Soup for the Soul Indoor Recipe with Hairball Care Dry Cat Food is a great option. Made with real chicken, turkey, duck, and salmon, this recipe is protein-rich and supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables for nutritional support. It features whole-grain carbohydrates for healthy digestion and carbohydrate energy, plus supplemental sources of fiber for an overall fiber content of 8%. This recipe is rich in omega fatty acids for healthy skin and coat, plus it contains dried fermentation products for probiotic support as well. Overall, its a great choice for any indoor cat, but it is particularly beneficial for cats with hairball problems.
- Pros: Formulated for indoor cats, several premium animal proteins, digestible whole-grain carbohydrates, fresh fruits and vegetables, supplemental fiber, beneficial supplements
- Cons: Not a grain-free recipe , contains some plant protein
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Signs Of Hairball Blockage
Hairball blockages often cause your cat to become constipated. If shemakes more frequent trips to the litter box, strains to defecate or cries painfully while shes in the box, chances are she may be constipated. If you notice only small, dry feces in the box, this is another indication of possible constipation.
Other indications of a hairball problem in your cat can include a drycough, gagging or retching after meals, lethargy, fatigue and a generalloss of interest in daily activities.
Symptoms Of Hairballs In Cats
It can be disturbing to watch your cat eliminating a hairball. Some common hairball symptoms include hacking, gagging, and retching. Usually, your cat will then vomit the hairball in relatively short order.
If you notice the following hairball symptoms, be sure to contact your veterinarian, as they could indicate that a hairball has caused a potentially life-threatening blockage:
- Ongoing vomiting, gagging, retching, or hacking without producing a hairball
- Lack of appetite
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Petroleum Jelly Is An Alternative Way To Lubricate The Digestive Tract
This is a bit of a strange one, but something that is mentioned a lot by those trying to help other cat owners in this situation. Instead of focusing on what you can put in your cats meals which could lead to them turning their nose up at their bowl you could put something on their paws. The idea here is that the cat licks off the petroleum jelly and this passes through their system, lubricating any hair along the way.
There is a lot of debate over the use of Vaseline® as a lubricant. This is designed for topical application rather than ingestion but in tiny amounts should not harm your cat as the molecules are too large for absorption and should pass straight through your cats digestive system.
Fish Oils Alone Could Be Enough To Help
If you dont want to change the main source of food in your cats diet, for fears of them getting fussy, you could find a way to add the fish oils from fish products. Tinned tuna and mackerel in their own oils are great. When draining the tins, save the oils and juices and pour them over your cats meal. Dont do this with brine as this is too salty.
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Dont Ignore Cat Hairballs
Something to keep in mind: cat hairballs are not normal.
Although it is normal for a cat to ingest some hair while self-grooming, in a healthy cat, the hair should pass through the digestive tract and be expelled from the body in the stool. Cats that bring up hairballs more than once or twice a year should be examined by your veterinarian.
Cats that experience recurring hairballs require some lifestyle changes to reduce the incidence of hairballs or diagnostics to find the cause of the hairballs.
What Causes An Abscess
The most common causes of abscesses in cats is when the skin is punctured by another cats claws or teeth during a cat fight.
An abscess develops when bacterial infection is somehow introduced beneath the skin. The bacteria multiply, prompting the animals immune system to respond with inflammation, and this reaction generates liquid pus, which causes the swelling of the abscess to develop.
Pus is a foul-smelling, thick, yellow, green, brown, or reddish opaque liquid made up of white blood cells and bacteria mixed with general debris and fluid seeping in from surrounding blood vessels and other bodily tissues.
In cats, an abscess is most commonly caused by a cat fight. Cats teeth and claws harbor bacteria, and if a cats skin is punctured in a fight, these bacteria are injected beneath the surface of the skin. The bodys defenses rally to protect the body against the bacteria, and the result is the accumulation of pus which we refer to as an abscess.
Another less common cause of abscesses is dental abscesses, where a tooth root canal is exposed leading to a tooth root abscess.
Rarely, abscesses might also be seen inside a body cavity, for example, following surgery or following a penetration wound of some kind.
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What Do Cat Hairballs Look Like
Hairballs typically have a cylindrical, feces-like shape and usually come up with some clear or yellow liquid. If your cats eaten grass recently, grass or bits of undigested food may also come with the hairball.
Hairballs typically have a cylindrical, feces-like shape and usually come up with some clear or yellow liquid. You may or may not also see food or grass in the vomited hairball mass.
Cat hairballs all look different, but they are generally wet wads of hair, saturated with a clear or yellow liquid that might be foamy or slimy-looking. Although called hairballs, they are not always ball-shaped when your cat vomits them up.
The hair becomes stretched and compressed as it passes through the esophagus. For this reason, cat hairballs usually look like long, thin tubes of compacted hair. If there is a lot of liquid or food in the vomit, it may sometimes be difficult to see the wad of hair.
How Do Cats Pass Hairballs
According to the Journal of Feline Medicine, 10% of short-haired cats and 20% of long-haired cats bring up a hairball once a month. Cats either vomit the hairball as a thin, tube-like clump or poop it out.
Cats use their rough-textured tongues to dislodge dirt and remove dead hair, making way for new growth. Cats spend 25% of their lives grooming themselves, so its no surprise that some of this dirt and fur ends up in their stomachs.
Over time, this fur starts to clump together in the stomach, forming a trichobezoar . Once the fur has begun to develop into a clump, it becomes difficult to poop out, so the cat has no option but to vomit it out.
One of the reasons cats cough up furballs is that they dont have the same amount of housekeeper contractions that other animals do. These help to sweep undigestible matter through the stomach and out through the bowels.
Cats do have these contractions, but not to the same extent as other animal species. Most of the hair will be pulled through the intestines, but some will clump together in the cats stomach and get coughed up.
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Can A Cat Die From A Hairball
Thats a grim headline, but 320 people ask every month, so it needs to be answered. Most of the time, hairballs are just unpleasant for you and the cat. The dangers of hairballs range from the hairball being a symptom of another health problem, impairing the cats digestive health, or causing a medical emergency that could cause death.
So, most hairballs fit into the annoying thing you may have to experience when living with a cat category, but they do pose risks, particularly as the number of hairballs increases.
Whyyou Should Take Care Of Hairballs In Cats
Unfortunately for cats, hairballs are unpleasant and can cause discomfort which may result in different behaviours to usual. Hairballs can be formed when your cat swallows hair during grooming and it accumulate sin the stomach and wont pass through to the next part of the digestive system. To support being able to relieve themselves of their hairball, our cat hairball treatments has been designed to help your cat pass a hairball and makes the process easier, quicker, and cleaner for your cat. Hairballs can cause intestinal blockages and many other digestives or respiratory issues which can be easily avoidable. Sometimes your cat cant cough up a hairball, so they are crucial to remove and should be routinely checked for when caring for your cat.
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Home Remedies For Cats With Hairballs
Cats are known for being clean animals, and part of this is due to their fastidious grooming. Every time your cat licks himself, however, loose hairs get swallowed. Hairs aren’t digestible, but they usually just get passed through your cat’s stomach and intestines.
Sometimes — in long-haired cats during periods of heavy shedding, or in cats that groom other cats or themselves excessively — the cat swallows enough hair to form a wad in his stomach. These wads of hair are ejected in a long, moist tube known as a trichobezoar, or “hairball.” Kittens don’t usually get hairballs, but they’re common in older cats as they learn how to groom themselves better.
A hairball on occasion is normal, but hairballs several times a week or even daily are a problem. It’s also an issue if your cat is having a hard time bringing up a hairball. Hairballs usually come up in one or two tries so if your cat continues retching, you should take him to the veterinarian. Hairballs that won’t pass can also cause lethargy, diarrhea, defecation problems, a bloated abdomen or a loss of appetite in a cat. Occasionally, hairballs can get so bad that they block his throat, stomach or intestines, resulting in death. If there’s enough hair to cause a blockage, your cat may need surgery. Hairballs the size of baseballs have been removed from cats’ stomachs.
Increase Fibre Or Lubricants:
- Add a teaspoon of canned or boiled pumpkin to the food.
- Metamucil is a bulk-forming laxative that is prescribed as off-label. Add 1/2 teaspoon to water and mix in with the cats food.
- A small amount of Vaseline given to your cat can also help with the passage of hairballs. Add 1/2 tablespoon to your cats food . If your cat refuses to eat the food, you can smear the same amount onto his paw. Be warned this can be messy. If your cat is prone to hairballs, try adding Vaseline 2-3 times a week. An alternative to Vaseline is to add 1-2 teaspoons butter to the diet, at the same frequency.
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Cat Hairball Or Vomit
When a cat coughs up a hairball, she is in fact vomiting. However, cats can vomit for other reasons that dont involve hairballs. Many cats that regularly bring up hairballs have an underlying intestinal motility problem like Inflammatory Bowel Disease .
Even if you see hair in your cats vomit, it may not be due to a hairball. On average, cats spend about 3.5 hours per day grooming, so there will often be some transient hair in their stomach. If your cat vomits and is acting ill it might not be a simple hairball.
Its also possible for a cat that does have a hairball in her stomach to vomit without producing any hair, so a lack of hair in the vomit is not always indicative of whats causing the vomiting. If your cat experiences repeated vomiting, it always warrants a visit to the veterinarian to investigate the cause.
Preventing Hairballs In Cats
The best way to prevent hairballs in your cat is through regular grooming. Long-haired cats require daily brushing to help remove loose hair and prevent hairballs, while short haired cats may only need to be brushed weekly or every other week depending on the cats grooming behavior.
If you cant groom your cat at home, regular visits to a professional groomer or your veterinary clinic can help keep your feline friend looking sleek and shiny.The same petroleum-based medication used to treat hairballs in cats can also be given regularly as a preventive to help hair pass through the digestive tract without forming hairballs.
There are also many hairball prevention treats, chews, and diets on the market which use similar formulations to help hairballs move along your cats digestive tract. Your veterinarian is a great resource to recommend a product that can keep your cat hairball free.
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All That Cleaning And Removing Fur You See Your Cat Constantly Do Leads To Them Swallowing A Lot Of Hair Which Can Collect Into Balls In Their Stomachs Here Is What Cat Hairballs Are And How You Can Help A Cat With Hairballs
Cats are very good at keeping themselves clean. They naturally know how to self-groom, and rarely need bathing. However, during the self-grooming process, they can swallow loose hair and this leads to a cat hairball. Most cats get hairballs from time to time and its usually nothing to worry about. But if you are wondering what is causing them, what are the symptoms you should look out for and how to help a cat with hairballs, here is everything you need to know.
How To Help A Cat With Hairballs
Many cat owners are concerned when a cat has hairballs because it seems like they are choking or struggling. Whats the best way for owners to help a cat throw up a hairball?
Although its difficult to watch your cat struggling and gagging, the best thing you can do to help them with hairballs is to give them plenty of space. Its perfectly normal for your cat to gag several times to be able to vomit the hairball.
The key is not to get too distressed and just keep an eye on your cat to ensure they bring up the hairball and then stop gagging.
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