Let's say "NO" to Vaseline

[GloriaJH]

There are so many other natural remedies for things like hairballs - why can't we just come together on this?

Vaseline is a petroleum product. It's good for a lot of things, BUT, not for ingesting.

I googled Vaseline, "petroleum products ingesting"

here's just some of the findings:

Poisoning by Petroleum Products in Cats | PetMD
http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/...carbon_toxicos
If your cat ingested the petroleum products recently, a stomach lavage (wash) will also be performed. Causing the cat to vomit is usually not wise under ...


Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook - Google Books Result
by Debra Eldredge, Delbert G. Carlson, Liisa D ... - 2007 - Pets - 626 pages
Never use a product made for dogs on a cat. PETROLEUM PRODUCTS Gasoline ... Ingesting these compounds will cause gastrointestinal upset and may burn the ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=047009530X...

Petroleum Product Poisoning: Introduction - The Merck Veterinary ...
Both dogs and cats may ingest petroleum products during grooming if their fur becomes contaminated. Dogs may ingest these products directly when they are ...
www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/212600.htm - Cached - Similar

So, how about it, Members - let's not offer Vaseline as a remedy for hairballs (or anything else) any longer - please.

[Yosemite]

Originally Posted by GloriaJH

There are so many other natural remedies for things like hairballs - why can't we just come together on this?

Vaseline is a petroleum product. It's good for a lot of things, BUT, not for ingesting.

I googled Vaseline, "petroleum products ingesting"

here's just some of the findings:

Poisoning by Petroleum Products in Cats | PetMD
If your cat ingested the petroleum products recently, a stomach lavage (wash) will also be performed. Causing the cat to vomit is usually not wise under ...
http://www.petmd.com/cat/.../c_ct_pe...carbon_toxicos - Cached - Similar

Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook - Google Books Result
by Debra Eldredge, Delbert G. Carlson, Liisa D ... - 2007 - Pets - 626 pages
Never use a product made for dogs on a cat. PETROLEUM PRODUCTS Gasoline ... Ingesting these compounds will cause gastrointestinal upset and may burn the ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=047009530X...

Petroleum Product Poisoning: Introduction - The Merck Veterinary ...
Both dogs and cats may ingest petroleum products during grooming if their fur becomes contaminated. Dogs may ingest these products directly when they are ...
www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/212600.htm - Cached - Similar

So, how about it, Members - let's not offer Vaseline as a remedy for hairballs (or anything else) any longer - please.

Did someone recommend Vaseline for hairballs? I must have missed it and with my mod hat on I should not have missed it. Can you point it out for me so I can edit it please?

[GloriaJH]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Did someone recommend Vaseline for hairballs? I must have missed it and with my mod hat on I should not have missed it. Can you point it out for me so I can edit it please?

I'll try to locate - most of what I've been seeing are members commenting in his/her posts that they use vaseline ... I'll see if I can find the one(s) that got me going this morning.
gloria

[Skimble]

I don't use the Vaseline (petroleum jelly) based products either.

Here is a search of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) in the Cat Health section.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sea...archid=2397623

[GloriaJH]

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Did someone recommend Vaseline for hairballs? I must have missed it and with my mod hat on I should not have missed it. Can you point it out for me so I can edit it please?

I sent you a PM with just one of my Search findings - by using Search, it was a lot faster than trying to find the post that was the "last straw", resulting in the topic of this thread.

[carolinalima]

I have seen several comments from members using vaseline...
In my house Butter is the remedy of choice.

[mrblanche]

Sorry, I'm going to have to speak up here in disagreement.

Liquid petrolatum (vaseline) is an ingredient in almost all commercially available hairball remedies. Go to all the vet sites and see if any of them agree with banning it.

The first link in the OP is a dead link. The second and third ones are referring to such petroleum products as motor oil, kerosene, diesel fuel, and gasoline. Do not feed those to your cat. They are bad for your cat. Is this news to anyone?

The problem with butter is that it is a fat completely digestible by cats; it doesn't make it to the parts that often need to be lubricated. You specifically need an indigestible oil.

Having said all that, such remedies need to be used in moderation. We once had a cat that we had to hide the hairball remedy or vaseline from, because he WOULD find it and he WOULD eat it all.

[Snake_Lady]

From: The Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook 2008 by Debra M Eldredge, Delbert G Carlson, Liisa D Carlson and James M Giffin

Put into my own words: for hairball prevention one can use several methods: brush your cat more often, use a hairball preventative (one of the many pastes that are petroleum based), white petroleum jelly or mineral oil.

It also notes to use caution as both mineral oil and petroleum jelly may decrease the absorption of fat-soluable vitamins if given in large doses or for a prolonged period. It also states that the home remedy of white petroleum jelly is safe and effective.

[GloriaJH]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Sorry, I'm going to have to speak up here in disagreement.

Liquid petrolatum (vaseline) is an ingredient in almost all commercially available hairball remedies. Go to all the vet sites and see if any of them agree with banning it.

The first link in the OP is a dead link. The second and third ones are referring to such petroleum products as motor oil, kerosene, diesel fuel, and gasoline. Do not feed those to your cat. They are bad for your cat. Is this news to anyone?

The problem with butter is that it is a fat completely digestible by cats; it doesn't make it to the parts that often need to be lubricated. You specifically need an indigestible oil.

Having said all that, such remedies need to be used in moderation. We once had a cat that we had to hide the hairball remedy or vaseline from, because he WOULD find it and he WOULD eat it all.

Thanks for checking the link, I thought it worked when I went to it.

I wouldn't use any of the over-the-counter remedies, either - nor, butter (don't think cow's milk products are that beneficial to cats) .

So, I'm thinking that something like Virgin Olive Oil, or Almond Oil would work - being digestible only would mean that it is still helpful to slide the hair balls down the pipes? My cats love Almond Oil.

I also find that grass is helpful - either getting it up, or "out". Surely, even tho' something is digestible wouldn't mean that it didn't work?

You raise good points to think about - guess I have more research to do.
Never-the-less --- I certainly don't think Vaseline is a safe product to ingest.

[GloriaJH]

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Sorry, I'm going to have to speak up here in disagreement.

Liquid petrolatum (vaseline) is an ingredient in almost all commercially available hairball remedies. Go to all the vet sites and see if any of them agree with banning it.

The first link in the OP is a dead link.

This is the link that works: http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/...carbon_toxicos
I copied the address directly from the browser address field. The article doesn't identify "Vaseline" directly, it just talks about petroleum products in general.
g

[SamhainBorn]

I've never used vaseline on cats knowingly. That being said, I HAVE had a cat get sick from hairball paste (that I didn't realize had petrolatum) because she also snuck the tube and ate too much of it. Loose stools everywhere! Very nasty.

My new remedy that really helps is a little vegetable oil (about 1 tsp to 1 tblsp) beaten with a raw egg. (if you're worried about salmonella, search and read the "raw feeding" subforums) I've used extra virgin olive oil, but the scent seems to be too strong for cats to like it, so you may have to adjust what you use. Just a little info on what works for me.

[Yosemite]

It seems as though we have a pro and con thing going here so I'll just say that if I personally would not ingest vaseline then I'm certainly not going to give it to my cat. I'll stick with butter just as Carolina does.