Butter for Hairballs

I've seen a lot of people recommend using butter for hair ball control. I've always had my doubts about it's effectiveness. Since butter is a fat, it gets digested, so how can it help with hairballs?

But.....in an effort to reduce the amount of petrolatum product Mazy and Queen Eva have to ingest, I thought I'd give it a try.

Right now they are on Cat Lax every four days. I'm going to start by just replacing one of the Cat Lax doses with a lump of butter. But I wonder how much I will have to use.

Jennie gets pumpkin, one tablespoon a day, every day, for constipation, and this apparently controls any hair ball issues she may have, too. Plus she allows any amount of brushing, combing, or furminating.. Mazy and Queen Eva won't eat the pumpkin. Neither of them allow more than a very little bit of grooming by me. So they need help.

I know who you are, mol, think furkids, then think red, mol.  No names.  Glad to have a friend on here, mol.     The big B 

I will be following this thread.  I am anxious to see if butter works.  I have had the worst problems this summer I ever had with hairballs and my two cats.

i believe olive oil would be more effective. add to food. help with cat's skin and coat also.

daddyincr said:

i believe olive oil would be more effective. add to food. help with cat's skin and coat also.

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Thanks for your reply! Why would olive oil be better?

I just spent 30 minutes reading everything I could find about olive oil and cats.  The general consensus is that small amounts (1 tsp) do no harm, but more can cause runs and stomach upset.  There have been some threads on here about this, but you will have to look them up as I have no idea how to embed them in a post.

I think that the higher quality and purer olive oils would be better, just look for one that has a very low acidity rating. (less than 0.5%)

Im going to watch this also Flash is having a bad time with hairballs Im about ready to buy katalax but if butter works just as well I would use that

Forgive, this is rushed, have to leave for the vet in a few, distemper boosters, lol.

There is a reason, one should not, give kitties oil or olive oil, has something to do, with how its processed, and don't have time right now, to look it up. If one feels the need to give oil, it should be a high quality salmon oil, and it has to be cold pressed.  From memory, might be wrong, seems, giving the wrong oil, or too much of it, upsets the balance of nutrients, or something, when I get back, I will look it up.     

otto said:

I've seen a lot of people recommend using butter for hair ball control. I've always had my doubts about it's effectiveness. Since butter is a fat, it gets digested, so how can it help with hairballs?
But.....in an effort to reduce the amount of petrolatum product Mazy and Queen Eva have to ingest, I thought I'd give it a try.
Right now they are on Cat Lax every four days. I'm going to start by just replacing one of the Cat Lax doses with a lump of butter. But I wonder how much I will have to use.
Jennie gets pumpkin, one tablespoon a day, every day, for constipation, and this apparently controls any hair ball issues she may have, too. Plus she allows any amount of brushing, combing, or furminating.. Mazy and Queen Eva won't eat the pumpkin. Neither of them allow more than a very little bit of grooming by me. So they need help.

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I'm very interested in seeing how this goes Otto.  Will be watching any updates with interest.  I have Hoot on Laxatone about every 3 days.  I did have her on the GNC water based contol but it did not seem to help at all so we went back to Laxatone.  I'm looking for alternatives to the petroleum products myself.  Will appreciate any feedback you post.

For those that want to try an alternative to vaseline, laxatone, even butter, you can try egg yolk lecithin and/or slippery elm powder.

Lecithin is an emulsifier that aids in the digestion of fat and the uptake of the healthy omegas. Apparently (and I can't find the reference for this, but you can see it in the hairballs LOL), approximately 50% of a hairball is fat that gets bound up with the hair. Obviously the point of hairball treatment is to avoid them altogether, and to get the cat to pass the hair before it becomes a hairball.

You don't want to use soy lecithin, but egg yolks have a lot of lecithin. I buy the Nature's Plus egg yolk lecithin (600mg). Others using it give the cats 1/2 capsule sprinkled on their food twice a week. I'm now giving my cats 1/6 teaspoon daily. (I use two "dashes" with these measuring spoons: ).

There are still a few hairballs here now and then. But with the furminator, the Omega 3 supplement (Pure Alaska Omega Salmon Oil OR NOW Neptune Krill oil, 500mg a day), and the egg yolk lecithin seems to be working quite well overall. And I just recently switched to using the egg yolk lecithin daily - so we'll see how that goes. :cross:

Oh - if someone wants to use slippery elm bark powder, which is a gel-like fiber (that both coats and soothes), the dose is 1/4 teaspoon mixed with 1/4 teaspoon water or aloe vera juice (when I use it, I use George's). For hairball maintenance, I'd use it once every day mixed with their food.

FlintMcCullough said:

Forgive, this is rushed, have to leave for the vet in a few, distemper boosters, lol.

There is a reason, one should not, give kitties oil or olive oil, has something to do, with how its processed, and don't have time right now, to look it up. If one feels the need to give oil, it should be a high quality salmon oil, and it has to be cold pressed.  From memory, might be wrong, seems, giving the wrong oil, or too much of it, upsets the balance of nutrients, or something, when I get back, I will look it up.     :high5:

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I look forward to your reply!

LDG said:

For those that want to try an alternative to vaseline, laxatone, even butter, you can try egg yolk lecithin and/or slippery elm powder.
Lecithin is an emulsifier that aids in the digestion of fat and the uptake of the healthy omegas. Apparently (and I can't find the reference for this, but you can see it in the hairballs LOL), approximately 50% of a hairball is fat that gets bound up with the hair. Obviously the point of hairball treatment is to avoid them altogether, and to get the cat to pass the hair before it becomes a hairball.
You don't want to use soy lecithin, but egg yolks have a lot of lecithin. I buy the Nature's Plus egg yolk lecithin (600mg). Others using it give the cats 1/2 capsule sprinkled on their food twice a week. I'm now giving my cats 1/6 teaspoon daily. (I use two "dashes" with these measuring spoons: ).
There are still a few hairballs here now and then. But with the furminator, the Omega 3 supplement (Pure Alaska Omega Salmon Oil OR NOW Neptune Krill oil, 500mg a day), and the egg yolk lecithin seems to be working quite well overall. And I just recently switched to using the egg yolk lecithin daily - so we'll see how that goes. :cross:
Oh - if someone wants to use slippery elm bark powder, which is a gel-like fiber (that both coats and soothes), the dose is 1/4 teaspoon mixed with 1/4 teaspoon water or aloe vera juice (when I use it, I use George's). For hairball maintenance, I'd use it once every day mixed with their food.

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Thanks Laurie. Thing is, and I never would have believed this, Mazy has become very intolerant of anything added to her food. But I will keep all these things in mind. I've read that slippery elm especially has a strong odor.

The slippery elm does. :nod: Either they like it or don't - there is no hiding it. :lol3: The egg yolk lecithin, on the other hand, seems to work in the small amount for even my kitties that are quite picky about stuff added to their food. It's like... a very small amount of cooked egg yolk. :lol3:

LDG said:

 The egg yolk lecithin, on the other hand, seems to work in the small amount for even my kitties that are quite picky about stuff added to their food. It's like... a very small amount of cooked egg yolk.

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Well, it does seem to be like cooked egg yolk, but only one of mine will eat it.  Figures, huh?  At least it's the one who's been throwing up the most hairballs lately (Callie)

So, Laurie, now that you're feeding it every day, how much are you givng?  Still 1/2 capsule per kitty?

always use high quality virgin olive oil. been given to humans and animals for centuries. as a previous poster said- 1/2 teaspoon with food

will not be harmful.

daddyincr said:

always use high quality virgin olive oil. been given to humans and animals for centuries. as a previous poster said- 1/2 teaspoon with food
will not be harmful.

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Why do you say it is better than butter, is my question.

The reason you don't use butter or oils, is because they are digested, before they can coat the intestines, and may cause digestive upset. I could not find the actual article I read, never saved it, and this is the best I could find, for now, no, not the anser you are looking for, I just don't remember, where I read it, lol. If I ever come across it again, this time, I will save it, lol.  

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2122&aid=1177  

FlintMcCullough said:

The reason you don't use butter or oils, is because they are digested, before they can coat the intestines, and may cause digestive upset. I could not find the actual article I read, never saved it, and this is the best I could find, for now, no, not the anser you are looking for, I just don't remember, where I read it, lol. If I ever come across it again, this time, I will save it, lol.  :lol3:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2122&aid=1177  

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Thank you!

Actually I haven't read your link yet, but wanted to tell you that what you said above, about the fats being digested, is what I've always thought about butter or oil for hairballs, too.

I'll read the link in a little while, my connection seems spotty and I'm trying to do other stuff right now.

I will not repeat the butter experiment, and I will not use oil either.

I've had a product recommended to me that contains both psyllium and slippery elm, anyone ever used this?

Gosh psyllium husk is really powerful stuff for humans.  It has a strong laxative effect.  I'm new to the forum and just started reading the threads in this forum about hairballs. I adopted an adult female cat (vet says around 5 yrs old), Cinnamon.  She came with hairball problems.  I just purchased vaseline and tried that yesterday for the first time.  After this thread, I'll try the olive oil.  I only used cold pressed, virgin olive oil.  Only the good stuff.  I tried butter. A friend said to try that, but she would not even take one bite of her wet food when I put it in there. I probably put too much.  A tablespoon.  I smeared a dollup of the vaseline on the tops of both her paws and, of course, she licked it off.  Maybe she'll develop a taste for it this way just to give us a boost on the hairball control while I find the best solution.

I'm going to buy a can of pumpkin to see if she will eat that.  At first I thought she'd eat anything, but now that I've spoiled her with delicious, nutritious food, she just passes on what she doesn't like.  Her first meal was Whole Food's own roast beef because I found her outside starving, and then some Progresso chicken soup with wild rice.  She ate it.  But she was very hungry.  The sad thing is that she is obviously a very domesticated pet and someone either abandoned her when they moved from my subdivision or dropped her off in this subdivision.  She loves it indoors and the vet said she is very healthy other than these hair balls.

Well, I'll follow you guys and see how you are doing and post any progress/results soon.

Beverly

Hi Beverly and welcome. Congratulations on your rescue of Cinnamon!

Remember that ANY hair ball remedy that is meant to grease the hair through the system, regardless of whether it is butter, oil, vaseline (petroleum jelly), or commercial remedy, should not be given with food. It should be given on an empty stomach, at least 2 hours before any food.

Except pumpkin. Pumpkin can be given with food. You need one tablespoon a day for effectiveness. I split it between two meal servings, in canned food with a little warm water added. Some cats do better with the tablespoon broken up into three servings.

Buy pure canned pumpkin only, not pie filling. I use the Farmer's Market organic brand, because their cans are not lined with BPA. I put one tablespoon servings in ice cube trays, leave them in the freezer until just frozen, then store them frozen in a freezer bag. Each night I take out one cube and place it in a small glass food storage container and put it in the fridge for the next day.

Hopefully as Cinnamon's coat and digestion improve with good nutrition, her hairball problems won't be so bad.

Well thank you.     I made sure that i put the vaseline two hours after her breakfast meal (I only was successful in getting a little on one paw.  She ran all over the place and would not let me put the rest on.).  So, I put about 1/2 teaspoon of good olive oil in her wet food.  I placed it at the bottom so she can lap it up without realizing it.  I'm an organic girl so I will try to find some good canned pumpkin.  Thanks, I might have gotten the pie filling.  I might even make it myself.  I have some frozen butternut squash I roasted and purreed (typo intended) and do you think this would be good.  It doesn't have any seasoning on it.  Just plain roasted for sauces/soups I make.  Also, I do the same thing with my demi glaces I make.  I freeze in extra large silicon trays then throw them all in a zip lock.  It is pumpkin season coming......

Thank again Otto,

Beverly