Looking for natural hairball remedy

I was told that Petromalt is not the preferred hairball remedy for people on this site.  One suggested to use Pure Egg Yolk Lecithin.  If this is a good alternative to Petromalt, how often do I give it to my cats?  Is it once a day, once a week/month, etc?  Is there another alternative to Petromalt?  I have a 14 year old cat that seems to have a problem throwing up periodically.  Doesn't matter what food I've given her.  I've taken her to the vet and they gave her a clean bill of health.  I've changed her dry food at least 5 or 6 different times, and now I've taken her off dry food all together.  Neither one of my cats will lick the Petromalt off my fingers, so I've been mixing it in with their wet food.  However, my 14 year old eats Simply Nourish Chicken Stew and it's hard to mix Petromalt with that, so I need another alternative.

Taz Mom

Yes, a lot of us use EYL as a hairball remedy. And some of us add slippery elm bark as well. For EYL, how much is needed is individual to the cat. I was feeding one capsule every 3 days, but that was not enough. I've upped it to every day, and that seems to be working. Since it's the height of shedding season around here, I am going to keep it at every day for now.

There are only two brands of EYL that I know of, Swanson and Nature's Plus. Both are fine.

vball91 said:

Yes, a lot of us use EYL as a hairball remedy. And some of us add slippery elm bark as well. For EYL, how much is needed is individual to the cat. I was feeding one capsule every 3 days, but that was not enough. I've upped it to every day, and that seems to be working. Since it's the height of shedding season around here, I am going to keep it at every day for now.

There are only two brands of EYL that I know of, Swanson and Nature's Plus. Both are fine.

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Will it hurt them if I feed I do give it to them everyday, even though it may not be necessary?  My 14 year old is about 9lbs, has longer fur and sheds something fierce and my one year old is probably close to 12lbs, has shorter fur and doesn't shed quite as much.  Since my 14 year old has more problems with hairballs and throwing up, would it hurt to give EYL to her twice a day with her meals?

Taz Mom

I think it's fine to split a capsule twice a day. That's the highest dose that I have seen used. I don't know if we know what the the safe upper limit is, but I'm comfortable with a full capsule daily.

I'm pretty sure LDG is giving a couple of hers more than one capsule per day right now.  I think she give a couple of her cats 1 2/3 per day or something like that.  she does split them up between morning and evening meals.

BTW, you don't HAVE to give it with food.  One of mine LOVES to eat it plain.  She thinks of it as a treat!  She loves, loves, loves it. (The Natures Plus, not the Swansons )  I just open the capsule and dig it out and put it on her plate for her and she licks it right up.  She only weighs 6 .5 lbs, but gets her own capsule every day!