My cat keeps throwing up hairballs despite daily brushing. What to do?

Question

Lilly has constantly been throwing up hairballs I took her to the vet making sure there was nothing serious underlying blood work came out fine she is shedding a lot of hair I brush her at least daily if not more she still continues to bring up hairballs what else can I do to help with this situation thank you. Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 10 lbs

Ana M, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lilly. A longhaired cat should only produce 3-4 hairballs per year. Any more than that is considered abnormal. If her initial blood panel came back normal, I typically recommend a secondary panel that checks for pancreatitis, a disease known as pancreatic exocrine insufficiency as well as cobalamin and folate levels. This can reveal the cause of the vomiting or give some treatment options for her. Inflammatory bowel disease is common cause of chronic vomiting. This will typically result in a low cobalamin levels. It can not be diagnosed without intestinal biopsies, but those are very invasive. An abdominal ultrasound can give a lot of information and rule out other causes of vomiting. If I suspect this to be the case, I will treat the patient with a prescription hydrolyzed diet to help decrease inflammation and sometimes medication as well. I hope this information helps!

My cat keeps throwing up hairballs despite daily brushing. What to do?

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