Hairball issues. What to give him?

I've tried the hairball "treats" that they sell in the store. He'll eat them, but they don't seem to help much. I just bought some petromalt. Does that work better? He won't eat it unless I smear it on his paws which he hates. Is there anything you would recommend that he might actually LIKE?

How long should Iilet him "hack" before I take him to the vet? Obviously, he only does the "hack" once or twice a day, but how long is too long, days wise?

Thanks!!

I give Coco lax aire and it goes on the paw also. She loves the taste of it.

Chestnut also has hairball problems.

I broght him to the vet for it since he won't eat hairball treats OR the hairball pastes he recomended putting 1/2cc of mineral oil on top of his wet food, its been working like a charm!

Hope this helps!


(PS he said not to administer it w/ a syringe because they tend to asperate it when force fed)

You can use plain ordinary Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. It's nontoxic. Sometimes if they won't lick it, you have to smear it on the top of their paw so that they lick it off.

Matilda used to get a ton of hairballs. It hasn't been an issue since I had her shaved. Also, she didn't have any hairballs when I was feeding her the Nutro Natural Indoor dry food.

I buy the Tempations hairball treats and give her 10 every other day like the directions tell you to do and that seems to be enough for now (with her being shaved). I tried the natural gel stuff from PetSmart (can't remember the name) and I couldn't get her to eat it. I tried mixing it in her wet food but if she didn't eat all her food I couldn't be sure that she had all the gel.

Actually, from another forum here, I learned that petroleum jelly and petroleum jelly-based hairball gels will cause stomach problems later- I think it coats the digestive system and prevents absorption.

Here's the hairball goop I use. I use to have to shoot it into Albus with an oral syringe, back when he was recovering from fatty liver, but now he loves it and I just put some on a plate and he just licks up every molecule!

The only thing I'd recommend is that you keep it in the refrigerator- it tends to separate when it's warm and you'll end up with a bunch of liquid before you get to the goop.

I heard adding fiber such as canned pure pumpkin can help with hairballs. I went into my vet office the other day, looking for some hairball remedy tubes, and the receptionist told me that it's mainly just petroleum jelly. I looked at the ingredients list and sure enough, the first thing was petroleum jelly. I can't remember what the second and last ingredient was.

I was also once told that butter can do the trick, too.

My cats rarely get hairballs, if any. I feed them Nutro Indoor formula.

It might help reduce hairballs too by brushing them every day.

Originally Posted by lsanders

Actually, from another forum here, I learned that petroleum jelly and petroleum jelly-based hairball gels will cause stomach problems later- I think it coats the digestive system and prevents absorption...

Click to expand...

Here's the story, as per Merck's Veterinary Manual...
"Lubricant Laxatives:
These act by coating the surface of the feces with a water-immiscible film and by increasing the water content of the feces to provide a lubricant action. Lubricant laxatives usually contain mineral oil or white petroleum. Chronic use may reduce intestinal absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and cause a granulomatous enteritis..."

I think the key words there are "chronic use"....

One safe alternative:

Here's the hairball goop I use.

Click to expand...

another
Cat Lube Hairball & Digestive Aid helps...lubricate without petroleum-based ingredients. Contains Slippery Elm Bark, Marshmallow and Papaya.

I use Slippery Elm Bark Powder ...works great!