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Hairball problem?



 
 
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  #11  
Old July 5th 03, 04:59 AM
k
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Laxatone, or PetroMalt, are available at
your vet's. Inexpensive, and a more standard
hairball treatment than the Purina routine.
Always keep some on hand.

If it is hairballs, more often than not,
they are ok, once they get the hairball up.
I'd definitely have any cat that didn't
return to normal by morning to the vet.


"Kris" wrote in message ...
Thanks Laura. I do brush her but probably not as often as I should.

I will definitely get her in somewhere tomorrow if she's not better. She's
under my bed right now recovering from her latest bout of vomiting. I hope
the fireworks tonight don't make her sicker.


"Laura R." wrote in message
.net...
circa Fri, 04 Jul 2003 22:33:26 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Kris ) said,

My 4-year old kitty has thrown up 3 times today. This morning it was

last
night's food. A couple of hours later it was a clear, thick liquid.

Just a
few minutes ago it was 2 lumps of brown stuff that looked like matted

hair.
Since this is July 4th, my vet isn't in but hopefully will be tomorrow.

I
give her the Purina hairball treats once a week according to the

directions
but I know that's not the cure-all for hairballs. Is there anything

else I
can give her until I can get her into the vet?

She hasn't drank any water all day from what I can tell and she hasn't

eaten
any food. She hides for a couple of hours after she's thrown up then is

her
usual affectionate self until she throws up again. So, I'm thinking

this is
not an emergency vet situation. However, if my vet doesn't have his

usual
Saturday hours tomorrow, then I'll take her to the emergency vet.

Thanks for any help or advice.

What you describe is pretty typical for my cats when they're bringing
up a hairball. As far as prevention of hairballs, the best thing to
do is brush the cat regularly. Daily is good. The more hair that ends
up in the brush, the less hair ends up in the cat's tummy.

Laura

  #12  
Old July 5th 03, 05:34 PM
Caliban
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi Cathy,

As it happens, my cat's first tube of hairball remedy was the molasses (I
think) flavored Petromalt. His second tube is Hartz's salmon flavored one.
My cat is not keen on either, but it's not a big problem. At least the drops
he shakes off his paw clean up easily from the carpet.

After this second tube runs out, I am thinking of trying the butter or maybe
giving him helpings of canned tuna fish in oil (people version) a few times
a week.

He was on dried food (Iams mostly) for almost all his life, so perhaps the
fur he consumed didn't pass because of insufficient oil in his diet. Diet
variety perhaps helps ensure oil, too? I will have to check the labels of
the various cat foods and treats designed to prevent hair balls and see if
they work mostly by adding oil to the diet.

"Cathy Friedmann" wrote
"Caliban" wrote

snip
The Internet has reports that Vaseline petroleum jelly works just as

well,
typically suggesting one put a dollop on the cat's nose.


The hairball remedies Petromalt and Laxatone (basically the same thing as
Petromalt) - are both just petroleum jelly (Vaseline), with flavor added.
If you have the molasses flavored kind that you cat doesn't like, try &

see
if you can find the fish-flavored variety, in case that's a bigger hit w/
him.


I see one site also
states pats of butter work, too. See
http://home.stny.rr.com/carmon/Vomit.htm . The mechanism appears to be
simply lubricating the fur the kitty has swallowed so it passes more

readily
through its "plumbing."




  #13  
Old July 5th 03, 05:34 PM
Caliban
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi Cathy,

As it happens, my cat's first tube of hairball remedy was the molasses (I
think) flavored Petromalt. His second tube is Hartz's salmon flavored one.
My cat is not keen on either, but it's not a big problem. At least the drops
he shakes off his paw clean up easily from the carpet.

After this second tube runs out, I am thinking of trying the butter or maybe
giving him helpings of canned tuna fish in oil (people version) a few times
a week.

He was on dried food (Iams mostly) for almost all his life, so perhaps the
fur he consumed didn't pass because of insufficient oil in his diet. Diet
variety perhaps helps ensure oil, too? I will have to check the labels of
the various cat foods and treats designed to prevent hair balls and see if
they work mostly by adding oil to the diet.

"Cathy Friedmann" wrote
"Caliban" wrote

snip
The Internet has reports that Vaseline petroleum jelly works just as

well,
typically suggesting one put a dollop on the cat's nose.


The hairball remedies Petromalt and Laxatone (basically the same thing as
Petromalt) - are both just petroleum jelly (Vaseline), with flavor added.
If you have the molasses flavored kind that you cat doesn't like, try &

see
if you can find the fish-flavored variety, in case that's a bigger hit w/
him.


I see one site also
states pats of butter work, too. See
http://home.stny.rr.com/carmon/Vomit.htm . The mechanism appears to be
simply lubricating the fur the kitty has swallowed so it passes more

readily
through its "plumbing."




  #14  
Old July 5th 03, 08:37 PM
Cathy Friedmann
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Kris" wrote in message
...
Hey all. Thanks for your responses. She started feeling better last

night
after getting the hair balls up. She's eating and drinking and seems
perfectly OK now. I will try the Petromalt or Laxatone as suggested.

I'll
also start brushing her every day, too.


Good. :-)

One of my cats was feeling just sort of "off' at one point, & so she had a
vet appt. *Just* before the appt. - as I was about to put her into the
carrier - she threw up a _huge_ hairball. And immediately felt better. ;-)

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon



"wombn" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 22:43:50 GMT, Laura R.
wrote:

What you describe is pretty typical for my cats when they're bringing
up a hairball. As far as prevention of hairballs, the best thing to
do is brush the cat regularly. Daily is good. The more hair that ends
up in the brush, the less hair ends up in the cat's tummy.

I read somewhere recently (have no idea where I read this) that
hairballs do serve a bit of purpose for cats: fiber. So I imagine
that some amount of it is necessary, no?

I wonder how much mouse hair feral cats end up eating....

My childhood cat used to bring her kills into the house through the
heating vents... she was shorthaired and only did the hairball thing
now-and-then.

I wish I understood this stuff better.





  #15  
Old July 5th 03, 08:37 PM
Cathy Friedmann
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Kris" wrote in message
...
Hey all. Thanks for your responses. She started feeling better last

night
after getting the hair balls up. She's eating and drinking and seems
perfectly OK now. I will try the Petromalt or Laxatone as suggested.

I'll
also start brushing her every day, too.


Good. :-)

One of my cats was feeling just sort of "off' at one point, & so she had a
vet appt. *Just* before the appt. - as I was about to put her into the
carrier - she threw up a _huge_ hairball. And immediately felt better. ;-)

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon



"wombn" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 22:43:50 GMT, Laura R.
wrote:

What you describe is pretty typical for my cats when they're bringing
up a hairball. As far as prevention of hairballs, the best thing to
do is brush the cat regularly. Daily is good. The more hair that ends
up in the brush, the less hair ends up in the cat's tummy.

I read somewhere recently (have no idea where I read this) that
hairballs do serve a bit of purpose for cats: fiber. So I imagine
that some amount of it is necessary, no?

I wonder how much mouse hair feral cats end up eating....

My childhood cat used to bring her kills into the house through the
heating vents... she was shorthaired and only did the hairball thing
now-and-then.

I wish I understood this stuff better.





  #16  
Old July 5th 03, 08:43 PM
Kris
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hey all. Thanks for your responses. She started feeling better last night
after getting the hair balls up. She's eating and drinking and seems
perfectly OK now. I will try the Petromalt or Laxatone as suggested. I'll
also start brushing her every day, too.



"wombn" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 22:43:50 GMT, Laura R.
wrote:

What you describe is pretty typical for my cats when they're bringing
up a hairball. As far as prevention of hairballs, the best thing to
do is brush the cat regularly. Daily is good. The more hair that ends
up in the brush, the less hair ends up in the cat's tummy.

I read somewhere recently (have no idea where I read this) that
hairballs do serve a bit of purpose for cats: fiber. So I imagine
that some amount of it is necessary, no?

I wonder how much mouse hair feral cats end up eating....

My childhood cat used to bring her kills into the house through the
heating vents... she was shorthaired and only did the hairball thing
now-and-then.

I wish I understood this stuff better.



  #17  
Old July 5th 03, 08:43 PM
Kris
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hey all. Thanks for your responses. She started feeling better last night
after getting the hair balls up. She's eating and drinking and seems
perfectly OK now. I will try the Petromalt or Laxatone as suggested. I'll
also start brushing her every day, too.



"wombn" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 22:43:50 GMT, Laura R.
wrote:

What you describe is pretty typical for my cats when they're bringing
up a hairball. As far as prevention of hairballs, the best thing to
do is brush the cat regularly. Daily is good. The more hair that ends
up in the brush, the less hair ends up in the cat's tummy.

I read somewhere recently (have no idea where I read this) that
hairballs do serve a bit of purpose for cats: fiber. So I imagine
that some amount of it is necessary, no?

I wonder how much mouse hair feral cats end up eating....

My childhood cat used to bring her kills into the house through the
heating vents... she was shorthaired and only did the hairball thing
now-and-then.

I wish I understood this stuff better.



  #18  
Old July 5th 03, 10:44 PM
Nicole
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hairball formula foods control hairballs by adding fiber to the diet -- the
fiber is supposed to flush the hair out

i use Laxaire on my cat -- works fairly well in conjunction with hairball
formulated food
"Laura R." wrote in message
.net...
circa Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:34:53 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Caliban ) said,
Hi Cathy,

As it happens, my cat's first tube of hairball remedy was the molasses

(I
think) flavored Petromalt. His second tube is Hartz's salmon flavored

one.
My cat is not keen on either, but it's not a big problem. At least the

drops
he shakes off his paw clean up easily from the carpet.


Try plain ol' vaseline. You could even try mixing it into his food.

After this second tube runs out, I am thinking of trying the butter or

maybe
giving him helpings of canned tuna fish in oil (people version) a few

times
a week.


Feeding tuna or its oil regularly to your cat is generally not a good
idea except as an occasional treat or to stimulate inappetant cats to
eat.

http://sd.essortment.com/nutritioncats_rnsg.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feline...T/message/7506
http://www.pampered-paws.net/faqcat.htm#faq_04
http://www.vegsource.com/animal/cats...ges/18406.html

The below article debates the toxicity of tuna, and I offer no
statement as to whether or not I agree with it, but note the
information at the end about the oil from canned tuna depleting
vitamin E in cats.

http://www.gorbzilla.com/files%20for...about_tuna.PDF

He was on dried food (Iams mostly) for almost all his life, so perhaps

the
fur he consumed didn't pass because of insufficient oil in his diet.

Diet
variety perhaps helps ensure oil, too? I will have to check the labels

of
the various cat foods and treats designed to prevent hair balls and see

if
they work mostly by adding oil to the diet.


They don't. Some use petrolatum (petroleum jelly) and others use
vegetable fiber. Just because a substance is slippery doesn't mean
it's suitable to treat hairballs.

http://www.purina.com/purinaessentials/faqs.asp#q6

http://tinyurl.com/g3sr

http://tinyurl.com/g3sq

http://www.penmarric.ns.ca/catcare/u.../Hairballs.htm

The single best thing you can do to help prevent hairballs is groom
the cat regularly. The less hair the cat swallows, the less hair
there is to cause irritation in his/her digestive tract.
Supplementing with vegetable-fiber foods, with petrolatum or with
fiber supplements is good, but simply adding fat (butter, oil) to a
cat's diet does just that- adds fat. Cat diets are already pretty
high-fat in comparison to what would be best for humans.

In fact, since you mentioned that your cat ate mostly Iams, check out
the little interactive demo he

http://tinyurl.com/g3t5

Note that what Iams uses for hairball control is cellulose and beet
pulp fiber. Fatty acids (fish oils) are used to add shine to the
coat.

Last, note the warning about oil-based hairball remedies he

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...le/id-700.html

Laura



  #19  
Old July 5th 03, 10:44 PM
Nicole
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hairball formula foods control hairballs by adding fiber to the diet -- the
fiber is supposed to flush the hair out

i use Laxaire on my cat -- works fairly well in conjunction with hairball
formulated food
"Laura R." wrote in message
.net...
circa Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:34:53 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Caliban ) said,
Hi Cathy,

As it happens, my cat's first tube of hairball remedy was the molasses

(I
think) flavored Petromalt. His second tube is Hartz's salmon flavored

one.
My cat is not keen on either, but it's not a big problem. At least the

drops
he shakes off his paw clean up easily from the carpet.


Try plain ol' vaseline. You could even try mixing it into his food.

After this second tube runs out, I am thinking of trying the butter or

maybe
giving him helpings of canned tuna fish in oil (people version) a few

times
a week.


Feeding tuna or its oil regularly to your cat is generally not a good
idea except as an occasional treat or to stimulate inappetant cats to
eat.

http://sd.essortment.com/nutritioncats_rnsg.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feline...T/message/7506
http://www.pampered-paws.net/faqcat.htm#faq_04
http://www.vegsource.com/animal/cats...ges/18406.html

The below article debates the toxicity of tuna, and I offer no
statement as to whether or not I agree with it, but note the
information at the end about the oil from canned tuna depleting
vitamin E in cats.

http://www.gorbzilla.com/files%20for...about_tuna.PDF

He was on dried food (Iams mostly) for almost all his life, so perhaps

the
fur he consumed didn't pass because of insufficient oil in his diet.

Diet
variety perhaps helps ensure oil, too? I will have to check the labels

of
the various cat foods and treats designed to prevent hair balls and see

if
they work mostly by adding oil to the diet.


They don't. Some use petrolatum (petroleum jelly) and others use
vegetable fiber. Just because a substance is slippery doesn't mean
it's suitable to treat hairballs.

http://www.purina.com/purinaessentials/faqs.asp#q6

http://tinyurl.com/g3sr

http://tinyurl.com/g3sq

http://www.penmarric.ns.ca/catcare/u.../Hairballs.htm

The single best thing you can do to help prevent hairballs is groom
the cat regularly. The less hair the cat swallows, the less hair
there is to cause irritation in his/her digestive tract.
Supplementing with vegetable-fiber foods, with petrolatum or with
fiber supplements is good, but simply adding fat (butter, oil) to a
cat's diet does just that- adds fat. Cat diets are already pretty
high-fat in comparison to what would be best for humans.

In fact, since you mentioned that your cat ate mostly Iams, check out
the little interactive demo he

http://tinyurl.com/g3t5

Note that what Iams uses for hairball control is cellulose and beet
pulp fiber. Fatty acids (fish oils) are used to add shine to the
coat.

Last, note the warning about oil-based hairball remedies he

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...le/id-700.html

Laura



  #20  
Old July 6th 03, 12:43 AM
Caliban
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Laura R." wrote
circa Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:34:53 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Caliban ) said,
Hi Cathy,

As it happens, my cat's first tube of hairball remedy was the molasses

(I
think) flavored Petromalt. His second tube is Hartz's salmon flavored

one.
My cat is not keen on either, but it's not a big problem. At least the

drops
he shakes off his paw clean up easily from the carpet.


Try plain ol' vaseline. You could even try mixing it into his food.


I am holding off on vaseline for now, because these "hairball remedies" have
additional nutrients. E.g. the Hartz hairball remedy has Vitamin B1.

And, yes, I want to get my cat down to less and less each week but think it
might come down to some regular amount, say a half-inch ribbon each week or
every other week, to help his digestion.

snip
I will have to check the labels of
the various cat foods and treats designed to prevent hair balls and see

if
they work mostly by adding oil to the diet.

They don't. Some use petrolatum (petroleum jelly)


Petrolatum is oil.

and others use
vegetable fiber. Just because a substance is slippery doesn't mean
it's suitable to treat hairballs.


I don't know that most oils that are consumable (vegetable, olive,
margarine, butter) wouldn't all have the same effect for short-term
treatment of hairballs.

I will study more on the fiber, however. One of the sites you listed said
its cat food had 4% fiber for the treatment of hairballs. I'll check other
dry foods and see if they're much different. Remember, the original poster
said s/he gave her cat hairball treats. Now maybe the recent vomiting wasn't
hairballs, but if it was, this seems to me to confound what the best remedy
(short or long-term) is.

The single best thing you can do to help prevent hairballs is groom
the cat regularly. The less hair the cat swallows, the less hair
there is to cause irritation in his/her digestive tract.
Supplementing with vegetable-fiber foods, with petrolatum or with
fiber supplements is good, but simply adding fat (butter, oil) to a
cat's diet does just that- adds fat.


Why is it you think butter is worse fat-wise than petrolatum?

Cat diets are already pretty
high-fat in comparison to what would be best for humans.

In fact, since you mentioned that your cat ate mostly Iams, check out
the little interactive demo he

http://tinyurl.com/g3t5

Note that what Iams uses for hairball control is cellulose and beet
pulp fiber. Fatty acids (fish oils) are used to add shine to the
coat.


Years ago when I got my cat (as a six-week-old kitten), his veterinarian
emphatically stated Iams and Hill's Science was far superior to any other
cat foods. I noticed her office sold the stuff. I also know many people
swear by Iams, but not, it seems, based on any particular scientific
results. It seems it just became popular. That is, people like to appear to
"know best." In fact, I'm not sure the studies attesting to Iams superiority
are all that credible. Marketers (read: greedy executives lied) may have got
the better of the public for some time.

Now I see Iams debated regularly here. It's lost its edge, apparently. I fed
my cat strictly dry Iams for years and am now convinced this was a huge
contributor to his recent troubles.

So whom to believe? Several of the sites you provided are cat food
manufacturer-sponsored. And I don't know what the other sites are using for
their sources.

At any rate, as I said, I will look into the high fiber alternatives for
dealing with hairballs and continue brushing down my cat once a day,
something I had not done before. (But nor did I ever have a hairball
situation with a cat like this before, given my several cats in my life
since I was a kid, none of whom were brushed regularly and all of whom lived
healthily for years. So there's still some puzzlement here.)

Thanks for your comments.


 




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