Hairball Remedy?

Baby's going about the usual way with hairballs... she has about one a week, ish. Yesterday and today she was trying to cough one up and not quite succeeding, so I put a bit of petroleum jelly on her paw for her to lick off. She hasn't been gagging any since, so I figure it's probably not bothering her anymore.

So here's the question: Is it safe to give her petroleum jelly regularly, or should I do something else? And if so, how often, and how much?

I already brush her; she just spends so much time grooming herself! She has very soft fur as a result, but the hairballs can't be comfortable.

Petroleum jelly, in consistent amounts, can screw up their system.

I use this petroleum jelly-free hairball gel:
http://www.vetbasis.com/prod_cat_hairball1.asp

It's got some extra nutrients added, too. I got it at Petco, but it looks like you can order off the website.

ETA: Oh, and I give Albus about a 1.5 inch ribbon once a week. Maybe a little more; because I had to use an oral syringe to feed him when we first got him, I find it easier to put it in the syringe and shoot it down his throat, rather than smearing it on his paw. Anyway, it's a little hard to measure that way, so I just estimate.

And the other thing about that product- keep it in the refrigerator; otherwise it gets a little separated and runny.

omg chloe HATES the hairball stuff. ive tried several brands including the one above. i started putting it on her paw when she was about 6 or 7 mos old and i caught her in the tub, washing it off under my leaky faucet, scraping it off on my mini-blinds, she flung it off in the hallway (thats one stain i never got rid of lol) wiping it off under the bottoms of the couch and chair...

what im trying to say is: if your cat doesnt like it, your SOL and stuck with hairballs

Do hairball treats work? I'm kind of limited in what I can try because I don't have a pet store I can get to--just grocery stores and supermarkets. I'm not seeing any hairball goo; the only stuff they have specifically for hairballs are the treats and some hairball food that really doesn't look like it'd be too healthy.

I did read about how if you give too much petroleum jelly it can turn into a nutritional deficiency... That's why I was asking about dosage; I need something long-term and I didn't want to use anything that could be trouble if I used it regularly.

FOr many many yrs I used butter

Hmm... she sure wouldn't mind that!

How much did you use? Did it cause weight gain?

like a 1/8 to 1/16th teaspoon

does that work? someone else recommended using it but my kitties wont eat butter unless i am and i HATE butter *gags*

Well the cats I used it with did not have hairball issues till their late teens then I moved to goop