Vaseline - for how long does it coat the intestinal tract?

Hi, I have a dilemma with Bugsy: He needs a hairball treatment; all my cats are long hair, and now with the sudden temperature increase here in Dallas they are all having issues.
Bugsy, as you know, is coming out of over 4-5 months of diarrhea. Right now his poop is "iffy". It is formed most of the days, but quite soft. He takes daily probiotics and some natural supplements that helps him a lot, which brings me to the question: Vaseline: How for how long does it coat the intestinal tract? In other words, if I give him vaseline, for how long his IT will be incapable of absorbing the probiotics and the natural supplements?
His system is VERY sensitive right now, and anything can throw it off balance... Things like Coconut Oil or Butter will give him diarrhea, so they are a no go. Not having probiotics for long is not good either, so I want to make an informed decision here as I am in between a rock and a hard place...
Does anybody know?

I do not know.... but have been giving my cats the vaseline since we posted about this a couple of weeks ago. I give them every other day 1 tsp. by mouth. Perkins actually licks it right off my finger.

I did not know it coats the intestinal tract so that nutrients can not be absorbed??? Do I have that correct?? Should we not be giving them the vaseline then? So, I guess I am wondering the same thing you are posting about... I, too, give supplements like L-Lysine, probiotics, and the Honest Kitchen Perfect Form..... Thanks

Originally Posted by Feralvr

I do not know.... but have been giving my cats the vaseline since we posted about this a couple of weeks ago. I give them every other day 1 tsp. by mouth. Perkins actually licks it right off my finger.

I did not know it coats the intestinal tract so that nutrients can not be absorbed??? Do I have that correct?? Should we not be giving them the vaseline then? So, I guess I am wondering the same thing you are posting about... I, too, give supplements like L-Lysine, probiotics, and the Honest Kitchen Perfect Form..... Thanks

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Oh, don't take me wrong, it is really great stuff... Bugsy is really an extreme case though. What you are giving, for a regular cat, is totally fine. It doesn't coat permanently, I want to know for how long. If Bugsy goes off Probiotics though, he WILL have diarrhea - and after 4-5months of diarrhea, It is something I am not doing.
I will give Vaseline, I just want to make sure I space it out correctly. Once every 3 days? 4 days? For Bugsy, it might even be once a week.
He is a very different case.
By the way - just about every hairball medicine has Petrolatum in it, which is vaseline - the only difference is they add stuff into it for taste and such. Giving Vaseline you are just giving in its pure form.

I don't know. I do know I give it two hours after they've eaten, and that works out to three hours before their next meal. I gave Lazlo an extra big blob yesterday because he's been having hair problems again, and his soft poop with lots of hair in it was in the box this morning. I don't know if there's any left in there coating his insides or not.

Lauren - it does coat the intestines and does/can affect the absorption of nutrients. I give them (Lazlo and Flowerbelle) vaseline every 3-4 days on "maintenance," but right now that they're all shedding, I'm giving it every other day to Lazlo, Shelly, Tuxie, and Flowerbelle. (The others don't seem to have problems excreting hair. Tuxie doesn't normally have a problem, but has been a little constipated, so he got added to the list).

For Chumley, who has problems with soft poop, I've held off giving it. He's been on 1/4 teaspoon of slippery elm with 1/4 teaspoon of aloe vera juice 2x a day (I mix both into his food) and that is supposed to help with hairballs... and, knock wood (or your head ), he hasn't had a problem with hairballs yet. I do this in half the amount for Flowerbelle, though she never finishes her meals, so who knows how much of it she actually eats. She just has chronic issues with hair, so she's on vaseline.

Carolina, this doesn't answer your question either, but it is VERY informative about hairballs and treatments, with a discussion of petrolatum: http://www.catsofaustralia.com/hairballs-cats.htm

Thanks for the info. on this Carolina and Laurie. I am giving the vaseline three days a week during the Spring shedding. Then I will just go to once a week. I don't really have hairball problems with anyone and the reason I started was because Presley had a couple of days of puking two weeks ago. Foam, too, with some hair in it. So far since the vaseline, non of that anymore. I just started everyone on it as a preventative during the shedding of their coats.

I give my kitties lard. I buy it at a Mexican speciality store, because their lard is pure meat lard- no veggies there. My kitties love the taste and it helps with the hairballs (so does grooming daily by the way)

Well, the main ingredient in most hairball remedies is petrolatum (which is what vaseline is), so I think giving vaseline should follow the same general guidelines, and that should be safe for kitties.

I do find it funny that Tuxie HATES petromalt - but just eats the vaseline.

And I found the trick to get Lazlo to eat it. I pour some gravy from a food pouch onto it, and mush it around.

Originally Posted by hissy

I give my kitties lard. I buy it at a Mexican speciality store, because their lard is pure meat lard- no veggies there. My kitties love the taste and it helps with the hairballs (so does grooming daily by the way)

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But don't they digest the lard? It's why I don't understand how butter helps either. The vaseline isn't digested, and the molecules are too large to be absorbed.

The path of the hairballs end up in the stomach. The lard, butter, petamalt whatever they eat greases the wheel and breaks down the tighter hair balls that can't pass through the pyloric sphincter and then get passed out of the cat's body, thus the vomiting. The BEST way to stop hairballs is to daily groom your kitty using a flea comb if they are short hair and a shredder rake for long hairs.

Originally Posted by hissy

The path of the hairballs end up in the stomach. The lard, butter, petamalt whatever they eat greases the wheel and breaks down the tighter hair balls that can't pass through the pyloric sphincter and then get passed out of the cat's body, thus the vomiting. The BEST way to stop hairballs is to daily groom your kitty using a flea comb if they are short hair and a shredder rake for long hairs.

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Hissy, sometimes grooming is not enough. Sure, helps greatly- but not enough when the temperature has a drastic increase like we are constantly having in here. We had a 50 degree temperature change this year (in a few days), and many big changes after that. Trust me, yes, wish it was enough- right now it is hard to keep up with it. This year is a first for me; sucks. About the information above: not all hairballs are on the stomach. At least not that I have been informed of, and have read about. There are different reasons for the hairball treatment- one is what you said, breaking down the tight mass. But there is also another reason, which is to coat the digestive tract's wall, including the intestinal tract, creating a slippery surface so all that hair, and the hair that was stuck there in the past can go through it easily. A hairball stuck in the intestinal walls can cause blockage, and it can be even worst than if it is in the stomach as it can not be vomited, and might, in a serious case, have to be removed surgically. Vaseline works well on this case, since it coats the walls, and so does fiber (works well moving the hair through the intestines). Fiber apparently will not help when the hair is still in the stomach.

Sounds like a slippery problem! (Yes, I'm sorry, I love puns. XD) I hope that you find your answer soon. And this is what this site is so good for, huh? Lots of experienced cat owners putting their heads together. I have never heard of vaseline being good for hairball problems before. Mackerel never had those problems, though.

Originally Posted by LDG

And I found the trick to get Lazlo to eat it. I pour some gravy from a food pouch onto it, and mush it around.

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Vaseline sure is getting alot of attention . I was also wondering if I could mix the vaseline dosage into some wet food???? Would this still be as effective?? Then I don't have to shove it in their mouths, I don't like having to do that three days a week. They don't seem to mind, but they are not happy about it. Perkins is the only one who will just lick the stuff up

I'm sure you could try mixing it in with wet food - just make it at "treat" time, not meal time, because of the potential issue with nutrition malabsorption.

So... how long will it be before we see "Vaseline for cats" in pet stores?

Originally Posted by LDG

I'm sure you could try mixing it in with wet food - just make it at "treat" time, not meal time, because of the potential issue with nutrition malabsorption.

So... how long will it be before we see "Vaseline for cats" in pet stores?

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I think that will be an easier way to give them the Vaseline, in a wet food small treat!!

Ok who called it!! VaseLauren's hairball remedy, coming soon to a pet store near you

I never understood "Petromalt." It basically IS vaseline for cats - but our cats all HATE the malt! Why not make it chicken or tuna flavored or something? They clearly don't mind the texture!

You know for the number of cats I often wonder if mine eat em back up. I pick up one a month from the mainly OUTSIDE cat(yeah good timing) The dog is not free roaming.

Interesting. But where ever that hair is going it can stay as I have enough cleaning up to do daily lmao

I fed them mostly dry canned as treat and now going to all wet.

I do hold them alot so if anything hair on my clothing they hate brush but love flea comb but that sometimes starts a fight cause its the same fatso who barrels down on the others. No carpet left in house(re:The dog is not free roaming-BECAUSE he managed to pee on all the carpet in so many spots I gave up one day but the off limit rooms-2 small bedrooms) and it just got to a point we thought we will install tile then things changed.


Sorry was no help to your ? but got me thinking

Originally Posted by Carolina

Hi, I have a dilemma with Bugsy: He needs a hairball treatment; all my cats are long hair, and now with the sudden temperature increase here in Dallas they are all having issues.
Bugsy, as you know, is coming out of over 4-5 months of diarrhea. Right now his poop is "iffy". It is formed most of the days, but quite soft. He takes daily probiotics and some natural supplements that helps him a lot, which brings me to the question: Vaseline: How for how long does it coat the intestinal tract? In other words, if I give him vaseline, for how long his IT will be incapable of absorbing the probiotics and the natural supplements?
His system is VERY sensitive right now, and anything can throw it off balance... Things like Coconut Oil or Butter will give him diarrhea, so they are a no go. Not having probiotics for long is not good either, so I want to make an informed decision here as I am in between a rock and a hard place...
Does anybody know?

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Hi! I don't know if this will help you or give you any insight on your question but a woman I know uses the "petroleum" based hairball treatment from GNC. I have not had the need for it myself but the woman raves about it. She puts the treatment right on the paws of her Chloe, and Chloe licks it right off. I am not affiliated with GNC in any way but here is a link to the product on their site. You can also probably pick it up at the pet superstores like Petco or Petsmart.
http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4448037

Originally Posted by LDG

But don't they digest the lard? It's why I don't understand how butter helps either.

The vaseline isn't digested, and the molecules are too large to be absorbed.

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Butter is not effective for hairballs, it passes through too quickly, and as you say, it is digested.

To answer the original question, always give hairball remedy of ANY kind on an EMPTY stomach at least two full hours before any food or medicine. Empty as in at least 6 to 8 hours since the last meal, especially if you feed kibble.

I used to say wait an hour after, before feeding or medicating, but after reading other posts in this forum, I have changed my advice to two hours.

Carolina I have a similar challenge with Tolly because of all his meds. I used to just dose them all first thing in the morning on dose days, but now he takes the Denosyl every morning first thing. And that has to remain no food for an hour. And then of course he gets his phenobarbital twice a day, so that messes things up even more. It's a real juggling act.

Originally Posted by LDG

I never understood "Petromalt." It basically IS vaseline for cats - but our cats all HATE the malt! Why not make it chicken or tuna flavored or something?

They clearly don't mind the texture!

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Laurie, many laxatone brands have other flavored hair ball remedies. Beef and tuna are common.

I don't like the ingredients in any of them so I rotate three kinds, Tomlyn laxatone, petromalt and cat lax. Cat lax is made with cod liver oil and very high in vitamin A so cannot be given very often, but one every 10 days or so is okay.