hair balls

No matter how much i brush her she upchucks once in a while so ive tried all kinds of store bought jells ect. If my cat sees the tube she takes off like a rocket, then i have to force her to swallow.tuna flavor, fish no matter what

Have you tried something like egg yolk leitchin? It is a capsule so you open it and sprinkle on/in food.
1/2 egg yolk mixed with food is also good.
Here is another thread discussing this.

Here is an interesting article written by a vet on hairballs. http://consciouscat.net/2010/04/28/some-startling-new-thoughts-on-cats-and-hairballs/

Thank you both

you didn't mention if she is throwing up hairballs or just throwing up. Miss Kitty has always thrown up but not hairballs. well, she doesn't do this on a regular basis but it does happen on and off. i think i have learnt that if i delay getting up at my normal time, say at the weekends, then Miss Kitty is so anxious and eager for food she wolfs it down and then....up it comes. so my solution has been to feed her a little, take away the bowl and then about an hour or so later feed her a little more, throughout the day...if it's the weekend.

does this help?

well its mainly hair balls  happens 1 time week or 2 times

I got the digestive comfort fod from royal canin which reminds me of flattened cheerios and it seemed to help. even though its dry food, its in a shape that they cannot eat quickly therefore cannot gobble it down. I have problem with one of my cats always finding soemthing new to chew on and him throwing that up.

Ill try that

If she's throwing up hairballs, the digestive comfort food from Royal Canin isn't likely to help much. :dk: That would help control regurgitation from eating too fast, but not hairballs.

If you read the article linked to by vball91, you'll see that the formation of hairballs means the hair isn't leaving the stomach properly. This is an indication that something isn't working the way it should. The recommendation is to feed your obligate carnivore a more species-appropriate diet. That means something that has no grains and low carbohydrates. That means wet food, not dry.

This site is written by a vet and explains the importance of feeding wet food: http://www.catinfo.org

As to the hairballs, there are two components:

1) Gastric motility, and

2) Stomach emptying.

It turns out that indigestible solids (hair) are the last things to leave the stomach. It takes very powerful contractions to move it through. These are what we know has "hunger pangs." Kitties that free-feed on kibble often nibble frequently, meaning they never have hunger pangs, so there's nothing pushing the hair out of the stomach. For some kitties, just switching to timed feedings makes a big difference. (It resolved the hairball problem in one of mine). Here are tips on how to make that switch: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food


Now, what creates the hairball is fat the kitty eats - it binds up with the hair to form the hairball. So you can help break up that hairball by helping make sure the fat is digested properly. You can also help prevent the hairball by improving gastric motility. Both of these can be accomplished by feeding your cat egg yolks once or twice a week.

If that isn't enough, a supplement called EGG YOLK LECITHIN (not "lecithin," as that is from soy) can be used. This specifically emulsifies the fat that is binding the hair. For some kitties, using digestive enzymes will also help.

Here is information on the egg yolks and egg yolk lecithin: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/266178/...using-egg-yolk-lecithin-to-dissolve-hairballs

Here is information on digestive enzymes: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/265741/digestive-enzymes

Rather than switch to a food that most likely won't help prevent hairballs, I'd suggest feeding your cat an egg yolk or two a week, see if that helps. It can be raw or cooked. If she still has hairballs, you can add egg yolk lecithin to her diet. Switching to timed meals may help a lot, and switching to a grain-free food may also help. Switching to wet food may or may not help the hairballs, but it's much better for her long term health. If she's not drinking 1 cup of water a day, she is not getting the same amount of water cats eating canned food do. Chronic dehydration places a lot of stress on their organs, particularly the kidneys.

well im taking her into a vet next week  just routine  so ill speak the the vet

well I'm taking her in for routine check up next week

OK, but most vets are under the impression that hairballs are "normal." Vets, for the most part, receive very little in the way of nutrition training.

My cat was "fine" according to blood work and vet exams, even though he was vomiting several times a week, and barfing up hairballs every week or two. ...right up until they FINALLY found a mass in his stomach, and he was given four weeks to live. Fortunately, the cancer went into remission with chemotherapy.

But my point is that as hairballs are an EARLY sign of problems brewing, there may be nothing for a vet to discover, and unless you have a vet that is specifically interested in feline nutrition, and species-appropriate feeding, I very much doubt a vet visit will provide much information or be very illuminating. They'll likely try to sell you a prescription hairball formula, and it will be high fiber. Either that, or they'll suggest a hairball gel.

Personally, I'd rather treat my cats' hairballs by preventing them with egg yolks or egg yolk lecithin, which are very healthy for them, than vaseline or mineral oil (the main ingredients in most hairball gels). If you want to learn anything about that, it was discussed and researched in this thread: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/202671/lets-say-no-to-vaseline

YOU are wonderful! I've learned so much!! thank you!

My cat is very fluffy and used to throw up a lot of fur; at times the fur would impact inside and he would become sick and dehydrated eventually having to have intravenous fluids. I started to look at diet and realized that because cats do not drink much water and kibble is made such that it requires lots of water there was a problem. I changed his diet to wet food and then started making him homemade meals. I studied on how to balance the diet and how to feed him a raw food diet (which I was at first nervous of doing). It has been over 5 years now and he doesn't throw up and has been as active as a kitten. I will never go back to dry foods for him.

Well shes fine was so pissed off to be there i didnt like the vet kept forgetting why i had oreo there,then after oreos really rilled up she says she hears a slight heart murmer,my son who is a vet tech. Said she was so upset thats what he said heart mummer was probolly missed last check up

Change vets.
My lotto brought up hairballs occasionally but that's all that came up. Little sausages. He lived till 18-1/2 years with no tummy problems except the occasional hairball.

Don't be too alarmed with the heart murmur. I was told my little girl had a heart murmur  but it was because she was scared out of her mind and it was after they had operated on her once with a breast cancer tumor. When she went for her unilateral mastectomy they mentioned it too, but when she went back for her recheck they didnt hear it. Definitely keep an eye on it  but you don't have to be scared.

Don't be too alarmed with the heart murmur. I was told my little girl had a heart murmur  but it was because she was scared out of her mind and it was after they had operated on her once with a breast cancer tumor. When she went for her unilateral mastectomy they mentioned it too, but when she went back for her recheck they didnt hear it. Definitely keep an eye on it  but you don't have to be scared.

I don't know if it's relevant but my mum had a heart murmur from when she was a little girl. Didn't stop her doing anything but it may be different with kitties.

@LDG - your post is very helpful! though my kitty has never puked hair ball but he does vomit maybe say once in two three weeks and that too when i feed him a little late and he is all hungry and meowing and then gobbles up his entire food in seconds (without chewing lol). i shouldn't be worried about that right? and whenever this happens i give him little amounts of food after every few hours for the rest of the day.

anyway, so back to the main question i wanted to ask, should i give my kitty raw egg yolk? so that he doesn't ever puke hairballs?? cause he loves grooming! and licks and licks his coat. so i am kinda worried what that might to do him. he drinks enough water though!