Content
- vomit fur balls
- cat with weird cough
- Paste to eliminate hairballs in cats
- specific diet
- Decrease hair intake
If you live daily with one or more cats, you've probably already noticed their long cleaning sessions, with countless licks and even pretty contortionist positions worthy of a yoga master. This normal cat behavior has a problem: ingesting hair. These ingested hairs can accumulate in the animal's digestive system, forming the so-called fur balls.
Eliminating hairballs can be a normal cat mechanism for expelling ingested excess hair. However, if this behavior is regular, it can lead to serious problems.
Do you want to know how to avoid hairballs in cats? PeritoAnimal wrote this article to answer that question and to inform you about the main problems associated with furballs. Keep reading!
vomit fur balls
Almost all long-haired cat owners have seen their cat vomit fur balls. Indeed, the accumulation of hair in the digestive tract and consequently expulsion through vomiting is more common in long-haired animals.[1].
Cats spend many hours taking care of their fur. Animals that live in groups even take care of each other's fur, a behavior called logrooming. For this reason, they ingest large amounts of hair that is normally passed out in the stool. However, when the hairballs formed in the digestive tract are too large, they cannot pass through the duodenum and the cat's only solution is to vomit.
There are two reasons for the accumulation of so-called hairballs in the digestive tract:
- Excessive hair intake: When the amount of hair ingested is so large that it is not possible to pass hair from the stomach to the intestine. Different reasons can lead the cat to ingest more hair than usual, for example: flea bite dermatitis, excessive itching on the skin or excessive care with the hair (so-called overgrooming) caused by pain or anxiety.
- Changes in gastrointestinal motility: Chronic gastrointestinal problems or changes in bowel motility caused by pain or stress. Some examples are food intolerances or irritable bowel syndrome.
Most guardians who find the cat vomiting hairballs assume this behavior is normal. However, and especially in short-haired cats, it can be a sign that something is wrong with your little one and requires a visit to the veterinarian.
cat with weird cough
Most tutors describe the cat choking or having a strange cough and eventually spitting out a roller where fur and other digestive content remains can be clearly seen (as you can see in the picture).
When the cat is not able to eliminate the hair ingested through the feces or through vomiting, some serious consequences can occur:
- Bowel obstruction: Usually the veterinarian can palpate a mass in the abdominal region through physical examination.
- Obstruction of the esophagus: When trying to expel the hairball through vomit, it gets stuck in the esophagus and obstructs it.
It is very important that during your regular visits to the veterinarian (every 6 months) you mention how often your cat vomits hairballs so that the veterinarian can assess whether any preventive measures need to be taken.
Paste to eliminate hairballs in cats
A good option to improve this problem is the use of fur ball folders. Products that contain paraffin help in lubrication, which facilitates the passage of hair from the stomach to the duodenum. Thus, the hair is shed in the stool instead of forming the hairballs in the stomach that the cat then has to vomit to expel.
Another option is to add a few drops of liquid paraffin to the cat's usual food. However, there are some studies that point to the possibility of this practice reducing the absorption of some nutrients[2].
Most cats like to chew and ingest so-called "cat weed" which is also very useful for the elimination of hairballs.[3].
specific diet
For cats that regularly vomit fur balls, there are specific rations that help control this problem. These rations are composed of high levels of insoluble fiber that help to improve gastrointestinal motility.
It is also reported that raw carnivorous diets can decrease the frequency with which cats vomit fur balls. However, there is still not enough scientific evidence to indicate which will be the best nutritional option and there is a great debate among animal nutrition specialists on this subject. While some experts advocate the use of raw meat and bone-based diets, others are totally against and advocate the use of commercial pet food.
Decrease hair intake
The best strategy for eliminate fur balls in cats is to reduce intake. For this you must brush your cat regularly, especially if it's a longhaired cat. In addition to decreasing hair intake, you also prevent the cat from shedding so much hair. It is important to remember that you should use brushes suitable for long-haired cats or short-haired cats, depending on your feline's coat type.
Some severe cases of cats may need a lion-style grooming to help their gastrointestinal system recover.
