Hooligan Update - Another puke episode :( ...Advice Please :(

I feel like I am back to square one. 

Ever since I have started giving Hooligan 1/2 tsp of raw in his grain-free canned meals (this started January 23rd) he's been puking up hairballs again. I give him a 1/2 capsule of probiotics and 1/2 capsule of Egg Yolk Lecithin with his meal 1x a day and I still seem to have problems. The thing is, before I started introducing the raw....there were no hairballs. None at all....

I am transitioning him on a chicken/organ/bone mix right now. When I tried rabbit/organ/bone, we had the same problem. Am I crazy to think that it might be the raw? I just don't know what else to do or how else to explain it. 

Has anyone here had problems like this before? Is the raw making his digestive system actually start working and producing acid that the hairballs come out? Should I give him some slippery elm with every meal? Should I change the protein?



I literally don't know what to do anymore. I don't want him to top eating his canned food because he is associating it with his puking episodes...like he did with the raw before. It just seems that everytime he gets into some raw...raw = hairballs. I can't understand why. 

Please tell me someone out there has had the same experience. I can't even go to a vet here (Montreal) because most/all of them are against raw and will tell me to go back to kibble without even checking Hooligan out first. 

Sigh. I don't know what to do...

Melissa

So, what happens if you don't add that 1/2 teaspoon of raw to his canned?  No throwing up hairballs?  Truly, this makes no sense that feeding that tiny amount of raw would cause his to vomit a hairball, at least that I'm aware of. 

Are you giving him digestive enzymes as well as the probiotic?  What raw are you feeding?  (not what protein, but what brand?)  If he doesn't toss up a hairball when you feed canned only, and DOES when you add the tiniest bit of raw, then I would try posting this question in the raw forum to see if anyone else has heard of this issue. 

Just an FYI, of course plenty of cats cannot tolerate certain proteins, but it IS strange that he might not tolerate both chicken AND rabbit, if that is the case.  Most times it's the red meats in raw that give them problems, like beef and lamb.  I know chicken is considered white, and think rabbit is also (even though it looks pink .  I could be wrong on the rabbit though, but it's supposedly one of the most popular meats for transitioning cats to raw from what I've heard)

My theory, and this is my theory (just observing the cats that have this issue) is that yes, his digestive system is finally working and finally able to toss all that hair out.
Really - it's been four days..... You don't think he accumulated ALL that hair in four days, do you? Thing is, his digestive system was just so incompetent that all that hair just got stuck in there. Now that it is working he is tossing it out. It is a GOOD thing. Let it happen. It would be better if he would pass it in his stools - it will happen but it hasn't been long enough for the lecithin to work.... and for what you are saying his digestive system was in pretty bad shape, and he had a massive amount of hair to get rid of.

If he was vomiting FOOD, and not hair, I would be concerned....... The fact is, that hair is inside of him, and has been there for a long time. If this was a problem wit the raw, that happened in these last 4 days, your cat would be completely bald. You want this hair out..... Evidently kibbles wasn't good for him

To further answer your question, slippery elm bark 2x a week would help him - 1/4 tsp mixed in hot water (let it gel up and cool before giving it to him) - I feed home made raw, so I mix it in the meat juice that is left from defrosting the meat.

Sounds like he has a coat that sheds massively to keep having hairballs.  You given him a really through combing every day?

mrsgreenjeens said:

So, what happens if you don't add that 1/2 teaspoon of raw to his canned?  No throwing up hairballs?  Truly, this makes no sense that feeding that tiny amount of raw would cause his to vomit a hairball, at least that I'm aware of. 

Are you giving him digestive enzymes as well as the probiotic?  What raw are you feeding?  (not what protein, but what brand?)  If he doesn't toss up a hairball when you feed canned only, and DOES when you add the tiniest bit of raw, then I would try posting this question in the raw forum to see if anyone else has heard of this issue. 

Just an FYI, of course plenty of cats cannot tolerate certain proteins, but it IS strange that he might not tolerate both chicken AND rabbit, if that is the case.  Most times it's the red meats in raw that give them problems, like beef and lamb.  I know chicken is considered white, and think rabbit is also (even though it looks pink

.  I could be wrong on the rabbit though, but it's supposedly one of the most popular meats for transitioning cats to raw from what I've heard)

Click to expand...

I know it sounds/looks quite odd, but this is literally what has been happening - that is why I am at a loss. Before I added the ground raw mix, there were no hairballs. Once I started adding the raw, it was a hairball frenzy. 

I have been giving him digestive enzymes, along with Egg Yolk Lecithin. As I work at a holistic pet boutique, the owner makes her own raw. It not really a "brand" per say, but it is from Bailey Blu Pet Boutique in Montreal (http://www.baileyblu.com/raw/). 

When I give him grain-free canned chicken and rabbit, he is fine. The only protein he's had a problem with immediately, in both canned and raw, is the beef. That's what I've heard as well! Which is why I tried the rabbit to begin with! 

LDG mentioned that he could be intolerant to BONE. Therefore, on Monday, I am going to try giving him chunks of raw chicken...see if that changes anything. 

Thanks for the advice

Carolina said:

My theory, and this is my theory (just observing the cats that have this issue) is that yes, his digestive system is finally working and finally able to toss all that hair out.
Really - it's been four days..... You don't think he accumulated ALL that hair in four days, do you? Thing is, his digestive system was just so incompetent that all that hair just got stuck in there. Now that it is working he is tossing it out. It is a GOOD thing. Let it happen. It would be better if he would pass it in his stools - it will happen but it hasn't been long enough for the lecithin to work.... and for what you are saying his digestive system was in pretty bad shape, and he had a massive amount of hair to get rid of.

If he was vomiting FOOD, and not hair, I would be concerned....... The fact is, that hair is inside of him, and has been there for a long time. If this was a problem wit the raw, that happened in these last 4 days, your cat would be completely bald. You want this hair out..... Evidently kibbles wasn't good for him

To further answer your question, slippery elm bark 2x a week would help him - 1/4 tsp mixed in hot water (let it gel up and cool before giving it to him) - I feed home made raw, so I mix it in the meat juice that is left from defrosting the meat.

Click to expand...

LDG mentioned an intolerance to BONE, which struck me as quite interesting. But, that is a good way of looking at it. I just would've expected some hairballs while he was eating his grain-free canned food, which is 95% meat. He seems to be fine on that? I assume because it is cooked therefore the acids in his stomach are working AS HARD to break it down - as they would with raw?

I mean, he hasn't eaten kibble in about 4-6 months, but he was eating kibble for 6 years before that. I know it's only been four days, but how long would you say it'd be a "normal" time length for his hairballs to be coming up? I can't image this being normal if it goes longer than a week? The good thing is though, that he isn't puking up food like he did last time. It's just the hairballs and maaaybe some bile along with it here and there. 

As LDG mentioned to me earlier, I am going to veto the ground raw I've been giving him now and try with chunks of chicken (no bone) just yet. See if that does anything. Mixing the meat juice, that is a fantastic idea. 

Thank you so much for your help

He also grooms my female cat, Ruby. I comb the both of them...I guess not enough? I just don't understand how it could be this much so soon though...

Intolerance to bone is rare..... very rare..... It happened to my girl, but I would bet it is not it.... I would bet this is accumulated hairballs.

Real bone is what helped my IBD kitties the most.

When I first transitioned them to raw, one of the first things I noticed were how greasy their coats became. Some kind of purging, maybe? Because mine groom each other so much and especially during that time, hairballs galore! Not knowing what else to do, I poured the Temptations hairball treats to them. They did help, and I use them less and less. Trying egg yolk now to try to keep hairballs at bay.

Hi Carolina. 

I was wondering, how long did it take for the Egg Yolk Lecithin to begin working on your kitties? It's been about 2 weeks now and he is still having hairballs. I think I might up the Slipper Elm bark to 3x a week. I was just wondering how long until you saw results with the Egg Yolk Lecithin?

Thanks

Melissa