Hairball blockage again!! Will LaxAire be enough?

Our 6-ish y/o kitty seems to have a hairball blocking up with works. Last time this happened, she was at the vet's for a week (very expensive!) and had to have fur literally pulled out of her behind after a series of enemas, then followed at home with LaxAire.

This time, she is presenting with vomitting (started yesterday), first with hair in it, now just partially digested food. It has occured maybe 4 times. Also, I noticed today that she hasn't used her box today or yesterday. I know she was using it before that.

I picked up a new tube of LaxAire today from the vet b/c it is much more viscous than the OTC brands. Do you think it will be enough to push it through? I'm bringing her in tomorrow anyway just in case (always better safe than sorry!) But I hate to see her with all this fur in there!

I brush her and our other kitty often but she is a compulsive groomer.

oh my.. poor kitty. I'm glad you're taking her into the vet. It's hard to say if the Laxaire will work or not. Sounds like she's gotten pretty blocked again. Maybe ask the vet about prophylactic treatment to prevent this in the future.

I try to keep up with the preventative LaxAire (an inch daily when trouble appears - coughing, etc... and a inch every few days in between) but the amount this cat grooms is just - wow!

She doesn't seem to be in pain, although a couple days ago she did meow at the litter box (just like last time). But when I palpated her tummy a bit there were no adverse reactions from her. *sigh* The poor baby was a stray her entire life so I just can't imagine what she probably went through (I'm sure this isn't only the second time) alone.

Can I give her yet another inch of the LaxAire tonight in the hopes it may lubricate more overnight?

i dont know if it will work ... but I ask what does kitty eat as there are foods to help prevent this and to see if the excessive grooming is simply a allergy or intolerence to a food being eaten:_)

They eat Nutro and they seem to love the food, but it's weight management so I think I will be soon switching to hairball remedy after this current bag is eaten!

My guess is that her obsessive grooming may be a coping mechanism. She came to us off the streets of the most dangerous city in America this past July and was so incredibly depressed at the shelter she would not even stand up. She's a very sensitive little critter, so I think that the grooming has stuck with her eventhough she is at ease in our home now. Plus, she also grooms our other kitty out of affection, so that doesn't help matters!

Do you know if there are any treats out there specifically made for hairballs?

Although she does not appear to be in pain, she more than likely is. Do you groom her daily? If she fights the brush try a Zoom Groom on her. You can also give her fiber with her meals either cooked green beans mashed with a bit of butter (fresh not canned). Canned pumpkin (uncooked) cooked yams mashed with butter, or a bit of loose-leaf organic catnip. The problem with hairballs is once they are stuck in the tummy in one place, they start to irritate the tissue lining the stomach. Plus, they pull in like a magnet any other undigestible substance in the stomach making a major obstruction. You can also, if you can find any, give her long blades of green grass or a bit of hay to see if that helps her throw the hair up. But I would call you vet without delay, especially seeing she has been through the hairball ordeal before.

Originally Posted by hissy

Although she does not appear to be in pain, she more than likely is. Do you groom her daily? If she fights the brush try a Zoom Groom on her. You can also give her fiber with her meals either cooked green beans mashed with a bit of butter (fresh not canned). Canned pumpkin (uncooked) cooked yams mashed with butter, or a bit of loose-leaf organic catnip. The problem with hairballs is once they are stuck in the tummy in one place, they start to irritate the tissue lining the stomach. Plus, they pull in like a magnet any other undigestible substance in the stomach making a major obstruction. You can also, if you can find any, give her long blades of green grass or a bit of hay to see if that helps her throw the hair up. But I would call you vet without delay, especially seeing she has been through the hairball ordeal before.

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Hissy is giving some great advice...

which Nutro wt mgmt .. max or natural choice if the later you may need to look into a for a formula with NO corn or corn gluten at all

they're on Nutro Natural Choice wt. mgmt.

What food works best for hairball issues?

I just played with her for a good 20 or 30 mins trying to get her all riled up so that she might get her digestion going a bit better.

well lets see

is the cat on a probiotic??

foods with oatmeal often help with hairballs

wet food will help

my hairball girl eat s a mix of Solid gold and Natural choice

Do you think giving her a wet food tonight may help? I still have some left over from the last incident... it's "Science Diet a/d"

yes

the dry food doesnt have the mositure to keep it all going the right way by itself

OK UPDATE... gave her the Science Diet Hairball Remedy can, she ate most of it, and I'm leaving it out for her for little while hoping she'll finish it off.

Right after eating it, she used the litter box. Peed a lot, but also turned around and pooped a little bit. She had to strain pretty hard it seemed, but she managed to get three little pieces out, and they were wet, so I'm happy about that for now. I guess running around maybe helped?

You could also try adding a tablespoon of pumpkin to some wet food. Or see if she'll eat canned pumpkin plain. It's really high in fiber and also has nutrients so it certainly can't hurt!

Well took her to the vet this morning, they are keeping her for at least a few hours to give her an enema and let that drain. I'm really praying that does the trick!