I am admittedly a bit of a feline fanatic. I currently own three cats, and spent many years fostering for shelters. It would not be uncommon for me to have my four cats (at that time) and up to a dozen kittens running around my house. Therefore, I have dealt with my fair share of hairballs. I may love cats, but do not enjoy the feeling of vomit and fur between my toes when I step out of bed in the morning. This is something that cats do normally, right? Well maybe not.
Cats have barbed tongues, and have evolved the ability to ingest and digest fur on a regular basis – most of the time it is passed in their stool. However, fur can accumulate in the stomach which leads to hairballs. But when does this become “abnormal”? We now think that more than 1-2 hairballs per month would be considered abnormal.
Cats with frequent hairballs are either ingesting too much fur or their gastrointestinal system cannot deal with the normal amount of fur they are ingesting. Causes could be; long haired cats, over-grooming (stress/pain/fleas), irritable bowel disease, food intolerance, or mild dehydration from mostly kibble diets to name a few. If your cat seems like they are unsuccessfully trying to bring up a hairball for an extended period of time, it could actually be a sign of feline asthma.
There are a lot of hairball remedies on the market which rely on lubrication to help the fur pass through the gastrointestinal system. Most feline specialists say that these are not very effective and that cats do not have a “grease” deficiency. So what can you do? If your cat is long haired, then you can brush them frequently or have them shaved down. Daily canned food can also help with hairballs as it hydrates the intestines and promotes gastrointestinal motility.
If these simple interventions are not successful, your cat could have an underlying problem such as irritable bowel disease (IBD). Cats with IBD often require hypoallergenic diets, motility agents, or steroid medication to help with the underlying gastro-intestinal inflammation causing the hairballs. One of my own kitties is currently on a hypoallergenic diet and steroids to help his chronic vomiting of food and hairballs.
So if your cat has ongoing issues with hairballs, make an appointment with your Veterinarian to discuss the issue and decide if your kitty needs veterinary intervention for their hairballs.
