Advanced warning, this thread is a little gross. Do any of your cats have hairball problems? My cat, Prim, is the first cat I've ever owned who coughs up hairballs regularly. I brush her every night to help cut down on the hairballs, and it has helped a little, but she still coughs them up at least weekly. Does anyone have anything they've tried that has been effective for hairballs? I don't know if it is normal, but it seems to take her a while, and a lot of weird noise making, to cough up each hairball. I find it a little disturbing, but mostly I'm worried that it can't be good for her to hack for ten minutes. Is there anything that I can give her that would at least make it a touch easier? I'm going to start brushing her both morning and night and see if that helps the situation at all, but if anyone else has any ideas please let me know. I would be grateful for any information you have.
One of my girls has dealt with this problem as well. To try to cut down on the frequency I feed her Iams Adult indoor cat and hairball control food. (it works out well for me that she's an indoor cat who has hairball trouble...and that they make the food with both things in it.) Last year I got remarried and my new hubby came with another cat, who eats a different kind of food. Since we didn't have a good way to separate who eats what my girl started eating her new sister's food. I noticed this and started mixing their food together, so my girl would still get the nutrition, etc. from the food she'd always eaten. Sadly, we've had an increase in hairballs. (the other food isn't hairball control.) I'd love to be able to go back to feeding her just the Iams but I don't think my husband will go in for eliminating the other food.
Something else I've noticed lately is that one of them is coughing up not-chewed pieces of kibble. I'm not sure exactly what that's about but I suspect someone's trying to eat without crunching the pieces up properly first!
I have got 2 cats. One of them has got the same problem as the one you are describing. Both of my cats are indoor cats. The vet tells me that this problem occurs mostly in cats living indoor. My cats are indoor cats. The problem can be prevented by changing the cat's nutrition. My cats are having specialized food which helps against hairballs. As long as my cats are on the specialized food, there is not much of a problem. As soon as they eat another kind, the problem stars again. I know it is not a pretty sight to see. The poor thing was coughing so fiercely that at one point I thought she was going to choke! Therefore I abide by the food suggested by my vet. The vet also prescribed a paste that the cat can lick of her paws but that was less successful: the patient did not like it at all!
