Dealing with Cats and Hairballs
Anyone who has ever owned a cat knows that they are generally fastidious creatures who spend a lot of time on bathing and cleaning their lovely coats. Unfortunately, this work has an undesirable side effect and that is the accumulation of any loose fur in the animal’s digestive tract, which then leads to the production of what are known as “hairballs” .
While the normal “side effects” of hairballs are the recognizable hacking cough and some mild vomiting, a cat that cannot eliminate a hairball from their system can be in for serious medical trouble. Clearly, the best approach to hairballs is in trying to prevent them from occurring altogether, and this is actually easier than might be thought.
The first thing to understand is that the cat cannot selectively choose how much hair comes up with each stroke of its tongue during a regular bath, but the owner can help to control this issue. Through a regular amount of brushing and grooming the owner is going to sharply reduce the amount of hair that will be swallowed during bath time. Of course, this is going only to work if the owner chooses the right tool for the job.
The proper brush for a short-haired cat in the midst of heavy shedding will be what is known as the “flea-comb” which is a fine-toothed comb capable of taking a lot of hair with each stroke. The long-haired cat, on the other hand, should be combed with a wider-toothed version in order to prevent unnecessary pulling and tugging.
If it is too late to use the preventative measures and a cat is clearly having some hairball trouble, there are a few approaches available. The first is to supply the cat with an additional amount of fiber such as wheat grass which a cat will happily ingest in order to help itself eliminate the hairball by either vomiting or forcing it through the digestive tract.
If cat grass is unavailable, there are also special pastes that are formulated to ease a hairball through the system. These pastes are usually applied in liberal amounts to the feet or elbow areas of the cat, and this forces them to lick the paste away and receive its lubricating benefits.
In addition to adding fiber or some sort of natural lubricant to the diet to help ease the hair through the digestive tract, it is a good idea to supply the cat with a great deal of fresh water. Cats will usually consume water when available, and placing out an extra dish or two can also help in the battle against hairballs.
