signs of a hairball??

I am curious, what type of signs do you normally see when your cats are trying to pass a hairball?

Jake has never coughed up a hairball in his life, he is 1. He has medium length fur.
Once every two to four months I've seen him gag but nothing comes out.
Today he gagged in the morning and then once again in the afternoon.
I think it might be time for him to cough up a hairball but I'm not sure.
Does anything normally happen a few days before the cat coughs up the hairball?? Like increased salivation or any other signs?

I don't notice anything besides coughing /hacking... Lucky puts out some mean hairballs! Like WOW! She only did it 2x, but I was impressed!

Signs of a hairball....let's see....

In my experience, eating less for some time (a few days or a week or so) is always the sure sign of a hairball in an otherwise perfectly healthy cat. Eventually the cat brings up the hairball and, right away, eating is back to normal.

Some cats cough from a hairball, but not all do.

There are cats (I've had more than one like that myself) that never, ever have a hairball, not even one, in their entire life. (The sure sign of a very healthy digestive system.)

Besides a cough, vomiting can also be the sign of a hairball causing problems. Here is a good article from a veterinarian that mentions vomiting caused by hairballs
http://www.suevet.com/cat_vomiting.html

And let me just say very quickly that diligent, daily brushing is the absolute best thing we can do to prevent hairballs. There is nothing like it.

A hairball remedy is the next best thing. (My girls hate those things with a passion, so I brush and brush and brush......and I'm very pleased with the results.)

The "hairball cough" is unmistakeable. heeeeehhh, heeehhhhh... heeehhhh.... and they crane their necks forward. And yes - they cough, they act like there is somethign stuck in their throats and like they are going to vomit....

I agree diligent brushing and combing... combing better for longer haired cats like Jake --- keeps hairballs at bay. A good diet, lots of water and hair ball goop when needed. I have only had to clean up a couple of hairball vomits in the last 8 months and I have seven cats in my place currently.

Get some Petromalt or Laxatone and keep it handy. Don't swipe it on his paw if he won't lick it off your finger... that doesn't work too well... get him in the pilling position, pry his mouth open and swipe it into his cheek or onto his tongue. If he is showing the signs.. do it several days in a row... to help his GI Tract pass the fur.

A cat that doesn't vomit hair balls does not necessarily never have them, the cat may just be passing them the other way.

A cat can cough to try to bring up a hair ball, and vomit, and still not bring anything up, but it could still be hair ball trouble. The mat of fur could be making it's way through the digestive system and get stuck, at the beginning of the intestines, for instance, causing an obstruction.

I have experienced this with two cats, one of the cats twice. And I brush the one whose had this problem twice, daily. I dose regularly with hairball remedy too (I rotate between cat lax and tomlyn brand laxatone)

Neither cat ended up needing surgery thank goodness, but sometimes that can happen. Each time my vet decided to try massive doses of hair ball remedy (four or five times a day) plus either syringe feeding or sub q fluids (I am skilled at both) to prevent dehydration as the thing worked it's way out. This was after x rays, etc. to diagnose.

Often a "stuck" hairball causes the cat to fill up with gas which is extremely painful to kitty, and can cause projectile vomiting.

Some cats just have more trouble than others. Jennie has never had a bit of trouble with hairballs, and she washes a lot, and licks herself bald in one spot. She obviously just passes the fur out......

Hairball trouble, in my experience, starts after age one.

A cat going off her food should see a vet after a couple of days whether hairball is suspected or not.

Originally Posted by otto

A cat that doesn't vomit hair balls does not necessarily never have them, the cat may just be passing them the other way.

A cat can cough to try to bring up a hair ball, and vomit, and still not bring anything up, but it could still be hair ball trouble. The mat of fur could be making it's way through the digestive system and get stuck, at the beginning of the intestines, for instance, causing an obstruction.

I have experienced this with two cats, one of the cats twice. And I brush the one whose had this problem twice, daily. I dose regularly with hairball remedy too (I rotate between cat lax and tomlyn brand laxatone)

Neither cat ended up needing surgery thank goodness, but sometimes that can happen. Each time my vet decided to try massive doses of hair ball remedy (four or five times a day) plus either syringe feeding or sub q fluids (I am skilled at both) to prevent dehydration as the thing worked it's way out. This was after x rays, etc. to diagnose.

Often a "stuck" hairball causes the cat to fill up with gas which is extremely painful to kitty, and can cause projectile vomiting.

Some cats just have more trouble than others. Jennie has never had a bit of trouble with hairballs, and she washes a lot, and licks herself bald in one spot. She obviously just passes the fur out......

Hairball trouble, in my experience, starts after age one.

A cat going off her food should see a vet after a couple of days whether hairball is suspected or not.

Click to expand...

Two of mine hack a few times , vomit once and then leave a lovely present...
One just coughs once and present is left ....

Flash has given us some great hairballs, well you know what i mean......she does this horrible cough then comes the hairball, we brush and comb her regular but she grooms herself and Sooty (lazy cat) so they are always quite large bless her

Thanks everyone, I haven't heard anything from him today but then again today is the day when I am out of the house for 9 hours so I haven't been around him much.
No present either, lol..
Yesterday I had noticed him kind of swallow his saliva a few times, and it wasn't after eating or grooming himself, which made me think he might be nauseous.
I try to brush him, I have the furminator but he really doesn't shed and disposing of so much hair is always a pain lol..
I brush him maybe once a month..