hairball nightmare

I apologize in advance if I am posting a problem that has been covered here recently. Things are becoming very frustrating and it honestly scares me because my cats are my "children" and this recurring problem just won't go away.

A little over three weeks ago my 7 year old male shorthair tabby Baby Kitty began to throw up. It started out clear then after about 12 hours turned into yellow bile. Because the weekend was upon us and he hadn't been able to hold down water or food for over 24 hours I had to take him to an emergency clinic an hour away. They ran x-rays and saw some stool in his colon but nothing alarming in bulk (no megacolon), no other clear sign of blockage or organ irregularities. I had not seen him pass stool in several days. At the least the vet said the waste that was still in him was probably losing it's moisture and becoming harder to pass through.

He had blood work done. Everything came out fine aside from a few elevated results that were due to dehydration. His white blood cell count was a little elevated but the vet told me this happens when the body is struggling with an illness.

They put him on an IV to hydrate him, gave him an anti-nausea shot and held him overnight. He is a nervous wreck in clinics and will not eat or drink for anything. Being an emergency clinic they felt they had stabilized Baby well enough to release him on that Sunday morning. If he was still sick by Monday then they said I should take him to my local vet.

Baby had not vomited the entire 24 hours that he was at the clinic, thanks to the nausea medicine. He even ate a little bit of Gerber turkey baby food while I waited for him to be released (with a little persuasion from me he licked the turkey several times). About 10 minutes after he came home he threw up green bile. Extremely disappointing and bothersome.

After that frightening episode the vomit went back to being yellow again and has never been green again since (we were told this could be the result of the turkey baby food mixing with the yellow bile). He threw up throughout that Sunday. So on that Monday I took him to my local vet. She gave him two enemas to flush him out. A little came out but not the full amount that was shown on the x-rays. He came home that day like a brand new cat. No vomiting, he held down his food and water. The next day the vet gave him one more enema, a little bit more came out but the x-ray showed there was yet more in there that was moving very slowly.

Long story short, by that Friday Baby developed a sick tummy yet again and still had not passed any stool on his own. So the vet gave him a shot of anti-nausea medicine, one more enema and this time she gave him mineral oil, tackling the problem from both angles so to speak. Because the stool that he had passed did have hair all in it. After that dose of mineral oil and the final enema Baby Kitty got better. No more vomiting, he ate and drank normally and began to pass regular moist texture and amounts of stool all on his own with no signs of straining or hesitance or pain.

I thought we were out of the woods.

But Baby Kitty has flat out refused to eat his Laxatone. He cannot stand the gooey texture. He won't eat any food that has it mixed in because he can smell it. If I smear the gel in a thin layer on his mouth or paw he will literally refuse to lick it off and will leave it on his body and mouth until he can miraculously wipe it off onto the furniture. So the hairball gels in tubes is not going to work. Baby is strictly dry food only. He refuses to eat anything except his Iams dry food (I just switched him over from original formula to the digestive formula .. I should have tried the hairball formula but I was told that he needed fiber to treat the constipation when in essence he was constipated because of the hairballs .

Yesterday evening Baby Kitty vomited up a large hairball. Then he spent the rest of the night periodically vomiting up clear liquid. Here we go again ..

Up until the past several weeks when he used to throw up he recovered immediately. But now once he begins to vomit he cannot get his tummy to calm down and it literally requires a vet's intervention.

I took him to the vet today. She felt his abdomen, nothing swollen, nothing felt impacted. He did not scream or show any discomfort when she handled his belly (he never did show discomfort several weeks ago either when he was constipated nor has he had any episodes of straining but he would go to the litter box several times without actually trying to defecate). She says that he could still have more hair lodged in his tummy or further down. Or he could just have developed a more difficult time readjusting once the tummy upset begins.

All throughout this ordeal I have removed food for 6 hours, 12 hours, one time several weeks ago I removed food for 24 hours .. all to no avail. Still got sick the moment food was reintroduced.

Sooo today she gave him a shot for the nausea to try and calm his tummy down again. No food until tomorrow morning. If he does not throw up during this time period she will give him some mineral oil tomorrow afternoon.

Well guess what? Tonight, about 8 hours after the nausea medicine was administered, Baby Kitty threw up several tablespoonfuls of yellow bile. So here we go again. For some reason the clear throw up made me feel that at least his tummy wasn't too badly upset, if that makes any sense.

I am very frustrated and a bit scared. I have never had Baby Kitty or any other cat struggle so badly to overcome the upset tummy cycle. I pretty much know it is hairballs, as he was fine for a few weeks and BAM! Throws up a huge hairball and he just cannot get back on track.

I guess the reason why I am posting this loong story (I truly am sorry for the length of this) is .. does anyone else have a similar crisis story? If I can get his tummy calmed down so he can hold down mineral oil I think things will be alright. But I just don't understand why this has been so difficult? Could this be an actual blockage going on somewhere in his digestive tract or has anyone ever had a cat who's tummy has become overly sensitive to the whole hairball throw-up ordeal?

During this entire scenario Baby Kitty has rarely ever lost his appetite. He is ready to eat mere minutes after he vomits (even though I do not let him eat) and he always shows an interest in food throughout all of this (I would be even more afraid if he were to lose his appetite as this would signify a serious problem .. he is a bit obsessed with his kibble).

I will have to take him back to the vet in 10 hours. Even though I realize I took him to the vet in reasonable time before dehydration and fatigue could set in .. and I know that if caught early hairballs can be removed and won't kill a cat .. it still terrifies me because I have no control over any of this once the vomiting becomes acute. You better believe once the vet does get his nausea under control and does get him over this current crisis I will be giving him mineral oil as recommended (as he cannot avoid my firm hold and a swift oral syringe .. my vet says she does recommend mineral oil treatment even though some people are afraid of the potential aspiration consequences).

Has anyone else ever run into such a stubborn hairball vomiting cycle that just will not let up once it begins?

When he finally did overcome his last episode several weeks ago it took a dose of anti-nausea medication and mineral oil and an enema all in the same afternoon. But how can they give him mineral oil if he is continuing to throw up despite the medicine?

Ahh! I am losing my mind, this vicious cycle of sickness is heartbreaking and leaves me feeling so scared that eventually I will receive news that he needs surgery.

It is such a helpless feeling watching someone you love so much endure an illness that tends to resist treatment.

Please send out good wishes and prayers for my Baby Kitty. And please do the same for his companion Sammy. She is 18 years old and coming down from a viral infection with conjunctivitis of the eye. Both of my babies have been through a lot lately And I am slap worn out from all the stress and worrying

otto will probably share Tolly's story in the morning. He recently had a bad bout from hairballs.


If you can't willingly get the hairball remedy into a cat one way to do it is similar to how you give medication. Squeeze the gel onto your pointer finger, walk up to, grab, and scuff your cat. Lift his front up slightly so that his mouth opens a bit - use your thumb and middle finger to open his mouth, then smear it directly onto his tongue.
It's a bit of a hassle but it works.

What flavors and brands of hairball remedy have you tried? You may need to experiment with a few brands to find one he likes enough to take.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

What flavors and brands of hairball remedy have you tried? You may need to experiment with a few brands to find one he likes enough to take.

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The most recent brand is Laxatone but I have also tried Hartz and a few other malt/salmon flavored ones. I may have to try your method to get him to eat it. He will probably hate me for a few hours after each incident but I'd rather he be mad than sick

Update on today's vet visit: Baby Kitty began to vomit at midnight, it was yellow bile. He then threw up green bile at 2:30am, 5:40am and 9:30am. The vet has him at the clinic running an x-ray on him and probably giving him another anti-nausea shot.

I asked her if she sees many cats that run into this acute vomit phase due to hairballs. She said usually once they get a cat regulated good after the initial bout then it is smooth sailing but she is guessing since I have had very poor luck getting hairball treatment into him this is possibly why he is sick once again just a few weeks after his first sickness.

My nerves are shot out and it's my birthday .. it won't be a happy one until I can get Baby back home and well again. Having a sick cat can turn one's world upside down. Please keep Baby Kitty in your thoughts ..

I'm sorry your birthday is a bit ruined. Are they keeping him overnight or do you go back to pick him up later this afternoon? I hope he can be stabilized soon.

The vet decided to keep Baby Kitty overnight yesterday. She ran an x-ray and found nothing alarming but wanted to try and get his tummy calmed down.

I called this morning. He had not vomited since being at the clinic. She says sometimes nerves override nausea when a cat is that scared (and Baby is a very scared kitty). So this afternoon she gave him some mineral oil, taking advantage of the calm before the storm (the storm being the moment I get him home and he decides it's time to let 'er rip, so to speak). He held down the mineral oil so I brought him home a few hours ago.

I fed him a little bit of turkey baby food and a small amount of Science Diet hairball formula canned food. It has been about an hour now and so far so good.

Baby has been wearing out the floor pacing all over the place. He has so much anxiety that when he gets home he let's it loose and cannot wind down for anything. I just hope his hyperactivity doesn't stir up his tummy.

Here's hoping the mineral oil solved the problem \t

Several years ago, we went through this vomiting cycle with Callie. She'd eat, then several hours later, toss it back up. She'd sometimes throw up a couple of times a day every few days. It was either hairy, yellow, or food colored. (Gross, I know.) It took us a couple of YEARS to figure out it was the fishy canned food we would feed her every few days. We'd rotate several different flavors of canned food every couple of days. Now, she gets nothing with fish in it, only turkey, chicken, or beef. Also, we used to feed her Nutro. I switched her to something else for about a year, then went back to Nutro. Either her system had changed or they had changed the formula, but whatever it was, it caused her to have gas in her tummy which led to lack of appetite and vomiting.

She's a medium haired kitty and we brush her everyday. It helps tremendously with the hairball problem. We also make sure she gets canned food servings twice daily to not only help with keeping her hydrated, but also to keep things moving.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

Also, we used to feed her Nutro. I switched her to something else for about a year, then went back to Nutro. Either her system had changed or they had changed the formula, but whatever it was, it caused her to have gas in her tummy which led to lack of appetite and vomiting.

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Shortly after buying Nutro, Mars changed the formula a bit.

My Tolly has a terrible terrible time with hairballs. Hair mats, really.

In spite of my vigilant efforts of grooming and regular dosing of hairball remedy, he still has trouble. The older he gets, the worse it gets.

His fur is so fine, it just seems to coat his insides; his digestive tract and intestines. He gets terrible diarrhea and it usually takes a few days for the clots of hair to start passing through once the diarrhea starts.

Sometimes he gets awful gas build up from the hair, and is in great pain. The first time that happened I was out of my mind in terror. He was screaming with pain. I thought he'd broken something, but it was gas. We had to go to Cornell that time as it was a Sunday night. That was the longest 2 hour drive of my life.

This past time he was so ill he did not eat for 84 (eighty four) hours. I have the ability to administer sub q and was in close contact with my vet, so I got him through it. He gets this bad about two times a year, usually in spring and late summer.

I rotate three different types of hairball remedy, mainly because I am not thrilled with the ingredients in most. I use the petmeds.com brand of laxatone which is Tomlyn brand, (white petroleum based), Cat Lax (cod liver oil based) and petromalt (mineral oil based)

I don't wait for him to eat it, or wipe it on him, I put him in the holding position (kneel on floor, feet crossed behind you, cat in between your knees facing out) pry open his mouth and swipe a big blob in and back, then gently close his mouth until he swallows it.

He has to have the hairball remedy every other day during shedding season, (April through October) and I drop it (gradually) to every third or fourth day in the winter.

But he still has trouble.

PS the petromalt and cat lax have a bit stiffer texture than the laxatone. I find I have to keep the laxatone in the fridge in hot weather, because it get downright runny when it's hot out.

I will keep Baby Kitty and Sammy in my prayers. I know it's so hard to see your babies sick, just remember how much love you give them

If you have another cat who will eat the hairball paste, feed it to them in front of your one that refuses it.

My DLH refused outright to eat the stuff at all - I changed to Sentry Petromalt (smells very malty) and gave treat sized pieces to my other cat - in front of her. Now she wants it all the time. You can also buy treats with the paste in, which mine will eat.

I groom her a little every day and it seems to have reduced the problem too.

Thank you all so very much for your comments, information, thoughts and prayers. This ordeal, with both of my cats, has drained me of my sanity and peace of mind.

I have had Baby Kitty home for about 48 hours now, no vomiting. The mineral oil the vet gave him has at least temporarily helped him. She told me to give him 3cc's of mineral oil in the morning, another dose at night over the weekend then give her an update on Monday. So far Baby Kitty is taking the oil very well. It's almost disturbing just how well he is going along with it, as he always hates having anything squirted into his mouth. So far he shows no signs of gagging on it or struggling with it. I would greatly prefer using hairball paste because I have read enough about the dangers of mineral oil to practically want to avoid it altogether in it's pure liquid form. But from how easy he is taking to it, I am selfish enough to feel a sense of relief that I don't have to struggle with him over it. But I will at least start to mix it in his canned food once I get a heads up as to how often I am to administer it after this initial round of treatment.

On all of the x-rays gas did show up in the intestinal tract. I'm not sure if gas is always sitting in there but I did note this was one aspect that all of the x-rays had in common. I do not understand exactly why he has all of a sudden become so sensitive to the vomiting cycle but I am going to try my best to groom him and dose him so the hair won't have a chance to build up.

Baby Kitty has been eating Iams dry food (Original Formula then recently switched over to Digestive Formula but am now considering a gradual switch to Hairball Formula). Due to financial reasons and convenience (I live in a small town but we do have a Walmart) I buy Iams because it does seem to be the best available brand on the store shelf compared to all the other cheaper (Purina, Meow Mix, etc) brands and my cats always throw it up if I feed them the cheaper brands. But if I have to look into buying a higher quality (and more expensive) food through my vet I will. After all, I could never go blow money on fast food again if I knew I was buying my cats crappy food just because I don't like the idea of paying a higher price. My main priority is to maintain my cats health, above all else for their wellbeing but also for my wallet (vet care on this hairball crisis alone has already cost me over $1300.00).

What stumps me is ... once Baby Kitty gets on this cycle of continuous nonstop vomiting being unable to hold down any water or food for several days what exactly is causing it? Is it a hairball blockage (which would explain why the mineral oil so far has been the only thing to get him back to normal) or has his digestive tract become so sensitive (damaged) by the hairball irritation/inflammation that once he gets stirred up to where he expels bile that the digestive tract just cannot calm itself down and heal itself without having him taken to the vet, scared into remission and dosed with mineral oil ? This is the mystery I find myself, and the vet finds herself, struggling with. If it happens again I will be taking him to get an ultrasound.

At least so far this sickness appears to be triggered by hairball build-up and does not point to anything more dire in outcome (in the form that tumors and cancer are). As he was fine for a few weeks between the first crisis and this current one. And this current one began the moment he tossed up a huge hairball. So once I deduced that it's hairball related, now all I have to do is figure out how to stop his acute vomiting long enough to hold down treatment. But if it is something more serious, such as gastro-something-or-another that flairs up because of the hairball irritation then I am looking at an ongoing health crisis that won't go away until a vet can diagnose it and know how to treat it.

Ahh! So much rambling on a Saturday afternoon. My cats are giving me grey hairs.

Once again, I greatly appreciate everyone's input, stories and advice. My cats rarely develop health problems so I lack the experience that, as a collective, everyone here has. This is a wonderful place to get support and guidance. Thank you so very much and I will keep you updated.

Originally Posted by sadisticookie

But I will at least start to mix it in his canned food once I get a heads up as to how often I am to administer it after this initial round of treatment.

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You can't do that. If it were that simple none of us would have any issues. Mineral oil and any petroleum based hairball remedy can't be given with food. To do so would drastically affect how much nutrients are going to be absorbed from that food and how well the oil/remedy even works. It's best given a couple hours before your cat is to eat.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

You can't do that. If it were that simple none of us would have any issues.

Mineral oil and any petroleum based hairball remedy can't be given with food. To do so would drastically affect how much nutrients are going to be absorbed from that food and how well the oil/remedy even works. It's best given a couple hours before your cat is to eat.

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Yes, she can. But only a very small amount of food, no more than a teaspoon, and then, like you said, wait at least an hour to two, before a real meal.

Actually it's better to do this than to squirt it into her mouth. It's very dangerous to syringe mineral oil, as if it is aspirated it remains in the lungs, it will not be absorbed.

3 ccs twice a day is an awful lot of mineral oil for a cat, though.

Originally Posted by otto

Yes, she can.

But only a very small amount of food, no more than a teaspoon, and then, like you said, wait at least an hour to two, before a real meal.

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From the post it sounded as if the person intends to mix it with the full wet meal.

My cats -- one of them yacks it up every day -- there goes one of them now. If your cat doesn't have a bacterial infection in the stomach or intestines and after all those x-rays -- how about an ultrasound?

Jumpy tummies need a med that addresses this such as Reglan for Esophageal Reflux Disease. There is an oral solution and 5 and 10 mg tablets, however it should be a drug recommended by your doctor. My cats take the Reglan, however right now I am seeing the cats pass out from too much tranquilizer/relaxant in it. If there doesn't appear to be anything wrong other than a stressed-out kitty or a nervous stomach, then maybe a medicine he can take every day could help. Or a nice herb or homeopathic remedy.


For actual nausea, the doctor might be willing to give you a med in quantity so you don't have to keep rushing back. Doesn't this frequent vomiting make your cat dehydrated? When mine are that bad, they tend to get dehydrated quickly and need IV fluids.


Also, I just saw on this HOME page of this website, they have a good long article about vomiting cats. I will also read all this.

Good luck with finding out what is ailing your Baby -- my cats are either sick with fevers and appetite loss or only have jumpy tummies, hairballs, or ate a foreign object.

Jazzmin

Just my two cents, I use Cat-Lax, and some cats like it, some cats don't. Boca will eat the whole entire tube if I'd let him. Chickster must be force fed it from time to time. Good luck with your baby

Originally Posted by Snickerdoodle

Just my two cents, I use Cat-Lax, and some cats like it, some cats don't. Boca will eat the whole entire tube if I'd let him. Chickster must be force fed it from time to time. Good luck with your baby

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Just be careful with Cat Lax. It is made from cod liver oil and is very high in vitamin A, which can cause a toxicity in cats if given too often. That's why I rotate. I use Cat Lax too, but only every third time I dose them.

You know, 3cc's twice a day does seem like a lot for a cat. His backside fur is "wet" in appearance from where he has been grooming himself and got the oil seepage worked into the fur. Apparently the mineral oil has done a real number on him. I am thinking the vet just wanted to get Baby Kitty flushed out real good as an initial treatment just in case he was clogged up.

Not to get too graphic but a few days ago I saw more waste slide out of him than I ever saw him release before. Normal in width and consistency, just much more in length than usual .. he normally let's out 4-5 inches at once but I'd guess this was about 8 inches. In one long segment and two smaller ones. I had to laugh because in part it is so sad the poor thing has to endure such a flushing-out. But at least it hasn't been, as my vet called it, a "blow out".

I am to call the vet tomorrow to get an update on what she recommends from here on out.

I have still been giving the mineral oil straight from a syringe but if I am instructed to keep using it on a weekly basis I will start mixing it with a tablespoon or two of turkey baby food. If he does not eat it willingly (he hates anything that tastes slick/oily) then I will try to use the syringe to feed it to him. The last thing I need is lung problems. The potential for that scares me.

I do worry about it preventing him from absorbing nutrients. I try to give it to him in a timely manner before regular meals. But does mineral oil prevent the body from absorbing water too? I haven't read anything or heard anything about this. Sounds like a dumb question but one never knows for sure until they ask.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond over the weekend. I hope all of your kitties are doing well and don't have oily bottoms (ha! Yea .. bad joke .. sorry, Baby Kitty .. oh me).

Ootay's petticoats and entire underside went oily until I adjusted her initial dose. She was a tiny cat, and had to start very low.

Baby food can cause constipation in cats too, so it may be counterproductive to put the mineral oil in that. Won't he eat a small amount of canned food? Mineral oil doesn't really have any taste, though I guess 3 ccs would overpower any amount of food, especially when you are trying to keep it to a teaspoon or so.

Don't worry about describing his output. I bet he felt so much better after getting rid of that snake!