how much hair is normal in a hairball?

our little guy puked last night. just a little puddle of liquid. woke up to him throwing up again this morning, and found another puddle next to him, which was FULL of hair. a flat mat about 1 1/2 inches long and at least an inch wide (it sort of pooled out on the baby jammies he threw up on) and 4 compressed smaller balls, each about the size of a chick pea and packed solid. there was some liquid but really it was mostly hair.

i think it was more hair from one puke than i have seen from any of my kitties, and was wondering if this was normal or if he had an excessive amount of hair in there.

(after his last hurl he went and ate some dry food. has eaten more dry food since, and had his wet and part of the other cats wet, so i think he cleaned it all out)

That does sound like a lot - though he was able to get it up. Due to there being those smaller harder pieces in there you should consult your vet as there could be bits that are just not passing at all.

Discuss hairball treatments with your vet, and ask if they think there could still be some not passing - which is your main concern.

Increase brushing (what type of coat does your cat have?), look at your food - maybe it's not the right type for him or there just isn't enough omega fatty acids to help keep his coat in check.

he's a shorthair, and has a sleek heavy coat. he has been shedding a bit more recently, it is very very dry in our house since we cranked our heat up. (dry enough that the humans have been having problems with flaky peeling itchy skin) he also has been known to groom both of our other cats, one of whom is a long haired cat and the other has a medium coat. i do comb him with a flea comb once a week, but he also grooms himself more than the average cat because he is our water cat. he spends a lot of time playing in water wherever he can find it (toilets are all kept closed here LOL) and will soak himself down to the bone trying to catch the cat at the bottom of the stainless steel water bowl, which he will try to do for a good 20 minutes! he hops in the bathtub whenever possible, and likes to stick his paws in when we take showers. so he grooms himself every time he gets wet, which is often. i replace the water in the big water bowl constantly because he gets it all nasty.

i actually have been trying to increase his intake of omega threes, i have been giving all of the kitties fish oil for the past week. i try to feed them the best food we can afford, and since all the cats are male have avoided fish-heavy foods. they get natural balance ultra dry free-fed and get mainly wellness and natural balance wet twice a day.

i'll definantly give the vet a call. he also doesn't seem to mind licking butter off my fingers

Discuss hairballs with your vet...

I would look into a food with a good amount of oats or oatmeal or oat bran this seems to be the best grain to aid in hairball s going the back way

I have two hairball givers one give small finger sized ones the other gives one s the size of my hand

I have a DSH with a thicker undercoat. He sheds more than the rest of the cats in the household do. For him, with his coat type, I have found that a furminator does work for getting the undercoat out.

Regular flea combing is good for keeping an eye on things, but it won't get much fur out to be of use for a grooming tool.

There are cheaper furminator knock offs that work, and if you look around your can find various sales. I don't know if the knock offs have a money back guarantee, through.