Hairball Remedies
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By Dawn Forster
Is your cat a tad vain in that he or she is always primping and grooming, making sure they look their best no matter what the occasion or time of day?' If so, the fact that your cat wants to look great is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean as a cat owner we certainly love having the most beautiful cat on the block and don’t hesitate for a moment to take all the credit when everyone at the vet’s office or pet store comments on our lovely kitty. The problem arises when as a result of all that personal grooming, our kitty begins to have problems with hairballs.
As the animal grooms itself, small amounts of hair are ingested which normally would be passed through the digestive system and out through the feces. However, sometimes with longer haired cats or those who tend to shed excessively, the amount of hair becomes too much to pass naturally and accumulates in the cat’s stomach. A mass of hair that rubs against the stomach lining will lead to irritation and cause the cat to vomit.
The type of solution that you want is one, which will help to naturally lubricate and coat the stomach, aiding in the animals ability to pass the excess hair rather than allowing it to build up. There are a few easy tricks that you can try to prevent the problem from occurring.
Place a dot of non-petroleum jelly on the nose of your cat so that the animal can lick it off
OR
Approximately one time per week, add a teaspoon of fish oil to your cat’s food
OR
Add some canned pumpkin or bran to each of your cat’s meals (about a spoonful)
Any of these options should really help to solve the problem and will allow your cat to continue looking beautiful without the annoyance of hairballs.
DISCLAIMER
* Our readers offer information and opinions on Earth Clinic, not as a substitute for professional veterinary prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult with your veterinarian before taking any home remedies or supplements or following any treatment suggested by anyone on this site. Only your Veterinarian can provide you with advice on what is safe and effective for your pet's unique needs or diagnose your pet's particular medical history.
1 YEA
[YEA] 09/13/2007: Rebecca from Amburgey, Kentucky writes: "If you want to help a cat to cough up hair balls eaiser, let it lick butter. This has proved to work for me."
07/20/2009: Wendy Mackey from Moorpark, Ca replies: "If I use butter or pumpkin...how often & how much (qty) once a week & tsp???? or more often"
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2 YEA
10/14/2008: Elaine from Crested Butte, Colorado, USA writes: "I have a 12-yr.-old long-haired male cat who consistently exercises his appetite and eats many things, both normal and unusual, including Hungarian mushroom soup, any kind of cheese, and pretzels (but only seven sections!) - and throws hair balls the size of short, fat Cuban cigars. I've tried the commercial remedies and raw diet and even pumpkin. Surprise! He doesn't LIKE pumpkin, so that's been a non-viable option, and the commercial remedies and raw diet aren't making much of a dent.
Your website lists pumpkin as a remedy but doesn't specify whether it should be plain or enhanced. Do you think pumpkin PIE MIX could be an option? Or would it be too spicy??
(I've discussed this situation with the cat at length, but, despite my cautions, he continues to ingest hair. Also, he's a very MANLY cat with a great deal of pride. My long-haired girly-girl will come to me with hair in her mouth that she can't shake off, so I can remove it, but the "Major" cat apparently feels that it's his duty to make the hair disappear inside him.)
Nothing the vets have recommended has solved/cured the problem, and I believe that pumpkin could be the answer, but how can I make it palatable?"
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[YEA] 11/07/2007: Sheila from Memramcook, New Brunswick writes: "After purchasing the commercial product to attempt to cure kitty of excessive fur in her digestive tract, and having her like it maybe twice, I decided to search for a natural way of helping her. Pumpkin to the rescue! My mother was a bit skeptical at first (its her kitty), but I am happy to report all is well in litter land. It works, and she doesn't even balk at it being added to her food, so why bother with the malt that isn't so attractive to them and quite a bit more expensive than pumpkin. Yeah for Earth Clinic and some wonderful NATURAL cures!!"
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[YEA] 02/27/2007: Kim from Winnsboro, SC writes: "I've had cats all my life & have been dealing with their hairballs(yuck!) forever. Now I mix canned Pumpkin with a bit of canned Cat Food & feed both of my cats a spoonful every day, & no more hairballs! It works great & one of my cats has long fluffy fur! It also keeps them from getting worms."
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1 YEA
[YEA] 06/08/2009: Carol from Palm Springs, CA writes: "Our eight month old kitten started throwing up hairballs two months ago and we used the malt jam and dry hairball cat food. If we didn't find a hairball one day we would fine two the next day. We eat oatmeal most every morning so I started to give her one tablespoon every morning. You guess it. No more hairballs. I'm sure that the oatmeal has cured her hairball problem. Give me your feed back."
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PRUNES, PUMPKIN, OR UNSWEETENED PINEAPPLE JUICE
[YEA] 12/04/2008: Carla Jones from Homer, Mi writes: "I love this site. I have a few cats, chickens, dog and many rabbits so any home remedies are helpful when dealing with an ailment. Due to the large number of pets any money saved with home remedies is a plus.
I raise rabbits and worry about hairballs since rabbits can't throw up the hairballs like cats I read on the internet somewhere that prunes, pumpkin pie filling and also 100% pure unsweetened pineapple juice can help break up the hair and allow it to be digested.
I have used both prunes and pineapple juice with no problems. Every so often I either give my rabbit a prune, pineapple juice mixed in the water or even some pumpkin pie filling and have been fortunate enough not to have hairball problems."
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