My cat has hairballs. What are effective remedies besides paw cream?

Related Answers from Veterinarians

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  Answered By Chad Brown, DVM

  Veterinarian

  Published on July 1st, 2018

  Hello and thank you very much for using our consultation service. Before I give you some recommendations on ways to prevent or treat problems associated with feline hairballs, I encourage you to make an appointment with your local veterinarian to make sure that your cat indeed does have hairballs. There are many gastrointestinal diseases that are feline patients can get that will show the exact same symptoms as that of hairballs. With that said there are two fairly reliable ways in which you can prevent hairball formation: 1. By feeding either a veterinary prescription diet or an over the counter diet formulated specifically to prevent hairballs. An example of the food would be hills science diet adult hairball cat food. But there are so many available besides this one. 2. By administering a daily or paste that is specifically formulated to prevent hairballs. there are many available but one example is called Vetoquinol laxatone lubricant. Do a little research and see which of these options would be better with your specific situation. I hope I have been able to answer your question. Have a great day

  

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  Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

  Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

  Published on May 1st, 2018

  You didn't mention what type of food that Seneca is currently eating, but the best treatment I have found for hairballs is to change from a dry food to a canned food diet. The hair then seems to pass normally through the GI tract with the canned food instead of collecting in the stomach and being vomited back out. Canned food also has other health benefits for cats, so I always recommend a canned food diet for cats instead of a dry food. If you decide to change diets, make sure to do so slowly. I am attaching a website below that may have some helpful information for you about changing to a canned food diet. http://catinfo.org/ Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

  

  1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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  Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

  Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

  Published on December 8th, 2017

  There are a number of things we can try to help with hairballs. We can brush our cats more to get the loose fur off them, so they swallow less fur when they groom themselves. We can try higher fiber foods. We can try canned foods (which worked well with my cats). We can try hairball treats. We can try hairball remedies like Laxatone. I wish I could give you a simple answer, but every cat is different, so you may have to experiment with what works for Lily. Some combination of these ideas will work for many cats, but some cats continue to vomit hairballs. Those cats may need testing by their veterinarian to evaluate their GI tract. I have attached a handout below with more information on hairballs. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3558 Good luck! I hope that was helpful and you are able to figure out a method to resolve Lily's hairballs. Thanks for using PetCoach.

  

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