Help for Hairballs

Your cat will spend about one-third of her time grooming herself. That rough tongue is ideal for pulling loose hairs from her coat and those hairs are swallowed. Hair is difficult to digest but most of it will pass through her digestive tract without incident.

A small percentage of the hair will compact in your cat's digestive tract with undigested food. If the compacted hair/food mass isn't passed through; it will become an irritant inside your cat and will be coughed up as a furry, cigar-shaped mass that tends be to placed wherever you tend to walk barefooted the most.

Signs of hairball problems include frequently found coughed up clumps of hair on the floor or furniture. A dry, hacking, unproductive cough and vomiting after meals is a big give-away to a chronic hairball problem. More serious complications include weight loss or dullness of coat indicating a possible obstruction.

If your cat shows the slightest symptoms of an obstruction or her hairballs are very frequent, take her in to see your vet so other physical problems can be ruled out.

You can help your cat out by bathing her during the times of the year when she's shedding the most to help her shed large quantities of hair in the bath instead of swallowing it. Also use a good detangler and groom your cat every day. She'll love the feeling of being brushed and it's a great way to spend some time with your cat.
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