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Brushing, hairballs, bathing?

post #1 of 9
12/23/10 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 
Merry Christmas! I have a basically healthy, somewhat overweight, indoors-only, 15 year-old short-haired tabby who still keeps himself really clean. He loves to be brushed but always ends up coughing up hairballs when he cleans himself afterwards.

It doesn't seem to matter how long I brush him or how much hair I get off him, there's always enough residual shedding to make the poor old guy cough up.

If I don't brush him, no hairballs. I don't like to never brush him, though. (I don't want to buy a furminator, sorry - I have good brushes.)

If I bathed him after brushing and brushed him again while drying him off, would that help? I haven't given him a bath since he was little, but he is pretty docile so I could do it. I appreciate any suggestions!
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post #2 of 9
12/24/10 at 1:07am
Well... It doesn't matter what brush you have, brushes are just not good enough to remove undercoats, which is really your shedding problem. If you are against the furminator, your next step would be a metal comb. You need something that penetrates the coat - a brush won't do it. I have this one, and it works really well removing shedding hair.
A higher fiber food will often help, as will more wet food also... Mixing some canned pumpkin into his wet food will add some fiber into his diet.
Since you said you will take "any" suggestion, I will say this: the furminator is fantastic, there is really nothing better IMHO to remove shedding.
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post #3 of 9
12/24/10 at 7:31am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your help! I am not "against" the furminator but this is going to be my last cat for awhile so I don't want to buy one - yes, money is THAT tight these days. Unfortunately I cannot change his food - he is on a (pricey) medical diet. I have a fine cat comb but will look for one similar to yours with the two-level teeth.
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post #4 of 9
12/24/10 at 9:54am
I realize the furminator is really expensive, but amazon has the cat one for $17, only $6 more than that normal metal comb Carolina told you about. You're not going to want to hear this since you keep saying your comb is fine, but if it were, you wouldn't have a shedding problem. I would avoid giving him regular baths as part of grooming; a cat that went 15 years without being washed probably isn't going to take too kindly to regular baths. It might stress him out more than you'd want to at his age. Can you talk to your vet and see if your RX food comes in a formula with added hairball control? It's a common problem, and RX foods are starting to include that because throwing up hairballs inhibits cats from gettng the benefits of their RX food.
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post #5 of 9
12/24/10 at 10:05am
Thread Starter 
Thanks rad65! - I will ask my vet about a hairball-control version of his food - or a supplementary food I can give him - and perhaps I will bite the bullet and buy a furminator. I am very skeptical about those kinds of products but there are certainly a lot of people on this forum who swear that it is an excellent tool.
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post #6 of 9
12/24/10 at 10:22am
The furminator works wonderfully on short hairs. It varies on long hair cats, some coats work well with it and some don't (I have one that does so so for it).

The nice thing about it is that the blade (as the comb part is called) on this brand stays sharp for a while. It's also dishwasher safe. So if this will be your only cat for a while you can sterilize the furminator and give it to someone else if you don't want to see it just sit around.
There's also a money back guarantee on it.
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post #7 of 9
12/27/10 at 4:35pm
feed him all canned food and stop brushing him - well, you did say he didn't throw hairballs unless you brush him - eh?
Quote:
If I don't brush him, no hairballs. I don't like to never brush him, though.
I bet that prescription stuff you have him on has canned food.
Quote:
Unfortunately I cannot change his food - he is on a (pricey) medical diet.
I have 3 on Royal Canin Urinary SO - and out of the 3 one was like a clock with the hairballs - that was BEFORE he was on an all-canned diet.

Now, they only get the dry as a treat, usually before we go to bed. Now that they are on this moist food - I see a hairball rarely, in fact, in the last 2 months, I guess I've only seen one - now, that's great. Did you read that we have 3 of our 8 on the "pricy stuff" ?

Oh, and at 15, he probably has at least another 5 years on him, if not more - so buying a furminator would be useful for a while yet.

I'm in a hurry, so I hope I haven't jumped to too many conclusions, and helped just a a tiny bit.
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post #8 of 9
12/27/10 at 6:48pm
Actually, my guys prefer the Zoom Groom to the Furminator.
http://www.entirelypets.com/catzoomg...a-001b2166c2c0

The soft rubber tips get the the undercoat and then you brush or comb up what comes loose. I have a medium coated cat and a short hair with a really plush coat. All of the boys love this thing, even my one who RUNS when he sees a comb come out. It must feel like a massage.
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post #9 of 9
1/10/11 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
I have the Zoom Groom too and it's great. I mist my guy's coat with water first so the hair clings together nicely, and he likes it.

My Furminator came in the mail today and it's terrific. I took a ton of hair off him and he enjoyed the whole lengthy session. He's a big totally non-aggressive guy who loves stretching while you grab onto his tail, so he is super easy to groom.

There were very few stray hairs - a few quick strokes of the lint roller. Now his coat feels amazing.

And yes, his prescription food is canned food. He gets just a few kibbles every day of the same brand.

Thanks again everyone for responding. I feel I can restart our grooming ritual now.
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