Cat Problems – How to Prevent Hairballs

If you have owned a cat, especially one of the long hired varieties you will be familiar with the problems of hairballs. All cats suffer from them to a lesser or greater degree but are a particular concern to the owners of long haired cats.

The basic problem is that as the cat cleans itself it licks its fur and as a result swallows large quantities of its own hair. This slowly works its way down into its digestive system. Hopefully it will work its way through the system and be evacuated in the normal way. However, some will remain in the stomach and eventually this will collect with other undigested hair and form into a ball of matted cat hair. Sometimes this ball can grow quite large and become a threat to the cats' health and welfare.

One of the first signs that a cat is suffering from hair balls is that it will go off of its food. Normally before the hairball becomes a serious problem the cat will regurgitate the hairball and cough it up. When it is doing this is can make a very harsh rasping, almost choking noise which can be quite alarming the first time your hear it but once the cat has spat the hairball out it will be fine.

It becomes more serious when the hairball gets lodged in the cats' stomach and just continues to grow. The signs of this apart from loss of appetite are that the cat will become constipated and may begin generally neglecting themselves and their grooming. At this stage there is only one option and the pet has to be taken to the vets to have the hairball surgically removed. This is not a very pleasant experience for the cat or your wallet, operations do not come cheap.

Regular grooming using a cat grooming rake will remove a lot of the dead and loose hair and this goes a long way to preventing the build-up of hairballs. This is especially important when your cat is moulting, When I first got my cat he hated being groomed but now he loves it and rolls over in anticipation when I get the brush out. It is amazing the amount of hair that I get off of him. It is far better to have the hair on the brush than his tummy.

If your cat is particularly prone to hairballs there are some cat food products which are designed to help the digestion of the hair through the system thus preventing the build-up of cat hair inside the stomach. I have not used any these so I do not know how effective they are.

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