Vet's Best Hairball Relief - Interesting observation

blueyedgirl5946 said:

Okay, I got my bottle of this Vets Best Hairball Relief in today's mail. They are tablets. I have some questions please.

I have one cat. She is shedding huge amounts of hair. I am brushing her and combing her several times a day. But always get large amounts of hair. I have not seen her vomit any hairballs. I don't want to see her do that.

Questions:

How much of this should be given as a preventive hairball remedy.

Because of the pysllium, should it be given in water or in wet food

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Just wondering what the thinking is behind giving her the Hairball Relief if she hasn`t had any hairballs.     It looks like you have a solution for a problem that doesn`t exist.   

zoneout said:

Just wondering what the thinking is behind giving her the Hairball Relief if she hasn`t had any hairballs.   :dk:   It looks like you have a solution for a problem that doesn`t exist.   

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zoneout I did ask previously if folks here give this as a preventive hairball remedy. I haven't seen hairballs on a consistent basis. However she does vomit one about once a week or so. So once more, I am asking this question.

How do you treat your cat for hairballs if they are not vomiting one up every day, but once in a while.
My cat is shedding profusely. I am brushing two or three times a day, but it doesn't seem to be taking care of all the hair.

My Rainbow Bridge cat seldom vomited hairballs. He did not shed bad, but I brushed him every day. During the time he got cancer and was being treated for that, I found this huge "thing" on the floor of the cage where he was sleeping at night. It was so huge, I took it for the vet to look at. The vet said it was the largest hairball he had ever seen. I think of that in trying to decide how and if to treat my cat now

@blueyedgirl5946 I realize you weren't asking me, but vomiting hairballs once a week is enough to make me look into hairball prevention.  Mine vomited about twice a week.  They'd vomit more than that during hairball season.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

@zoneout I did ask previously if folks here give this as a preventive hairball remedy. I haven't seen hairballs on a consistent basis. However she does vomit one about once a week or so. So once more, I am asking this question.

How do you treat your cat for hairballs if they are not vomiting one up every day, but once in a while.
My cat is shedding profusely. I am brushing two or three times a day, but it doesn't seem to be taking care of all the hair.

My Rainbow Bridge cat seldom vomited hairballs. He did not shed bad, but I brushed him every day. During the time he got cancer and was being treated for that, I found this huge "thing" on the floor of the cage where he was sleeping at night. It was so huge, I took it for the vet to look at. The vet said it was the largest hairball he had ever seen. I think of that in trying to decide how and if to treat my cat now

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I agree with @peaches08.    However, I have to differ with your characterization that a hairball every week or so is not considered to be a consistent basis.   Hairballs that are ejected that often are a problem and should be addressed either with a remedy or by shaving the cat.   Your original post said `I have not seen her vomit any hairballs.`.... therefore lending to the confusion.   IMO, hairballs in excess of 2 or 3 times a year are indicative of an improperly functioning GI tract.   I have my opinions as to why we see this epidemic of hairball vomiting but I don`t feel like starting another holy war here on TCS.   Feathers get ruffled too easily it seems. 

blueyedgirl5946 A group studying small bowel disease in cats found that a common symptom was cats vomiting in excess of 1 hairball every 2 months (for a short-haired cat). http://www.veterinarypracticenews.c...c-vomiting-in-cats-isnt-normal-after-all.aspx

I use the tablets to prevent hairballs. They are healthy for a GI system anyway, though there's more fiber than I like. So I do not follow the instructions on the bottle, which are for 2 tablets a day. I gave 1/2 tablet at night once a day to the cats who had less of a hairball problem; for a cat throwing up a hairball once a week, I would probably start at 1/2 a table once a day. If that doesn't stop it, I would increase to 1/2 a tablet twice a day. If that doesn't stop it, I would give 1/2 a tablet in the morning, and a full tablet at night. Finally, one table twice a day if necessary.

You may find that you can increase and decrease the amount given seasonally, and you may not need to give any during some of the winter months, maybe even in fall.

Thanks peaches08 and ldg . I have to give my girl lysine in her food twice daily. For that reason, I am a little bit at a loss how and when to give her the 1/2 tablet. I am thinking maybe in the middle of the day, mixed in a tiny bit of water. I am interested in knowing how most people give it, mixed in water or in food.

I did determine last night that she likes it enough to eat it. I cut 1/2 tab into 2 pieces. I might watch her for a week or so and see if she throws any hairballs since I have been brushing her now more than one time daily.

blueyedgirl5946 said:

Thanks @peaches08 and @LDG. I have to give my girl lysine in her food twice daily. For that reason, I am a little bit at a loss how and when to give her the 1/2 tablet. I am thinking maybe in the middle of the day, mixed in a tiny bit of water. I am interested in knowing how most people give it, mixed in water or in food.

I did determine last night that she likes it enough to eat it. I cut 1/2 tab into 2 pieces. I might watch her for a week or so and see if she throws any hairballs since I have been brushing her now more than one time daily.

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I cut them the same way you did, 1/2 tab into 2 pieces making 1/4 tablet chunks or smaller.  Then I put it on their raw and let them eat it.  I think you're doing right by letting her have it at a different time if she'll eat it, so the lysine can do it's thing by itself.

AbbyNTim said:

 My male cat, Tim, has had the hairball problems. We've taken steps to improve his digestion and his hairballs have greatly decreased. In addition, psyllium, at 1/16 tsp a day, was really clearing the hair, but I didn't want to risk bulking his stools too much so decided to try this. We also just got him off cisapride, so I am somewhat anxiously watching his BMs to make sure he can go on his own and does not get constipated. His stools have gotten smaller on this blend and I'm still seeing a lot of hair in them. I had been giving my female, Abby, psyllium and now this blend on occasion as a preventive. She barfed a big hairball last night, not sure why, so will be giving this to her daily for a while. She's been under some stress due to fireworks and Tim's vet visit yesterday, and we've been experimenting with a variety of canned foods. I am hoping all of this is the reason for her hairball and not something else. In any event, she'll get it daily and I'll keep a close watch over her.

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Found another hairball upon returning home from work today. Based on the size/diameter, I think it's from Abby. What gives? This cat has never had a hairball problem, and now two in less than 72 hours. I started her on my blend Sunday, but it's either not working or it hasn't kicked in yet. If she throws up another one, I may switch her to a small amount of straight psyllium once or twice a week, as I have seen that clear hair out of her. I also wonder if she's still feeling stressed - she hid under the bed again this morning as I was getting ready to leave for work - and/or one or more of the foods we've been experimenting with doesn't agree with her. I will cut back on the food variety until she stops hiding. If the hairballs still continue, off to the vet we go, as this is very unusual for her. Ugh.

AbbyNTim said:

 
Found another hairball upon returning home from work today. Based on the size/diameter, I think it's from Abby. What gives? This cat has never had a hairball problem, and now two in less than 72 hours. I started her on my blend Sunday, but it's either not working or it hasn't kicked in yet. If she throws up another one, I may switch her to a small amount of straight psyllium once or twice a week, as I have seen that clear hair out of her. I also wonder if she's still feeling stressed - she hid under the bed again this morning as I was getting ready to leave for work - and/or one or more of the foods we've been experimenting with doesn't agree with her. I will cut back on the food variety until she stops hiding. If the hairballs still continue, off to the vet we go, as this is very unusual for her. Ugh.

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The dose you're giving (your formula), is it equivalent to 1/2 tab?  More?  How often do you give it? 

I just crumbled the VB into a powder and sprinkled it into Mittens' food in the AM.  only 1/2 tab.

peaches08 said:

 
The dose you're giving (your formula), is it equivalent to 1/2 tab?  More?  How often do you give it? 

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For Abby, because she usually does not have a hairball problem, I am giving her the equivalent of 1/2 to 3/4 tab. She gets it once a day, in the evening. I was hoping to go back to my maintenance dose, once or twice a week.

AbbyNTim said:

 
For Abby, because she usually does not have a hairball problem, I am giving her the equivalent of 1/2 to 3/4 tab. She gets it once a day, in the evening. I was hoping to go back to my maintenance dose, once or twice a week.

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And how much for Tim?  And is it working for him?

Equivalent of one tab per day, also in the evening. So far it's working for him. He's the cat that always had the hairball problems. Admittedly, improving his digestion by cleaning up his diet and adding a probiotic helped a lot, but because hairballs have always been his issue, I wanted to do something else to prevent them other than Laxatone, what we had been using.

Abby never had a problem previously. So this is surprising to me. Will just have to experiment with the dose or maybe go back to a small amount of straight psyllium, as that seemed to work without too much of an increase in her stool size.

I'm telling you, this is just a horrendous hairball season. I know sooooooooooooooooooo many cats having issues that normally do not. We're seeing it from Canada to TX, east coast to Colorado. Out west - not an issue. Oh - the UK too. I think wherever there was a particularly harsh winter. There just must be something about it that affected shedding. :dk:

My older cats don't have the greatest GI systems, but they don't have small bowel disease or IBD or anything. And when Carolina discovered the egg yolk lecithin last year, that with the egg yolk completely stopped the hairballs in ALL of my cats. Until this spring. And it's just been crazy. Even the ferals are chomping grass and throwing up hairballs.

I have two cats of nine that haven't thrown up a hairball this year. Even Pawley did! But it's Chumley and Billy - both cats that weren't owned, so feral before they found us, and were on canned/dry for only two years (Billy) and not even a full year for Chumley - and then we moved to all canned, and then raw. So they may have by-passed and GI damage and thus don't have motility problems the others have.

I'm pretty far west, coastal southern California, and we had no winter to speak of, so probably not an explanation for Abby's hairballs. I have to assume it's GI upset, as this is happening immediately following 4th of July, a vet visit, and food experimentation. I hope it's temporary and passes as she calms down and I stop going crazy with the new foods.

Oh good points, all. Yeah, I understand the concern better now. :heart2:

The powder blend seems to be working really well for Tim. I had the chance to closely examine his stool this morning and almost every piece was packed with hair. So hair is moving through him as it should. I think (hope) Abby's hairball issues are due to temporary GI upset. I heard her tummy gurgle the other day and she's still stressed, so I am going to give it a little time before changing anything else. Meanwhile, the new food I had been introducing is now on the suspect list and we'll see how she does without it.

For those of you who are trying a blend without psyllium, there is a pre-made remedy that does not contain psyllium but has marshmallow, slippery elm, and other ingredients in a coconut oil base. Anyone heard of it?  http://www.petwellbeing.com/products/hairb-ez. Looks interesting, but is pricey.

Pricy is right!  But for some folks that may not be an issue.  I'd just make my own and leave out the psyllium if need be.  It sounds like your formula is on the right track!!

I did the cold steep of the marshmallow root powder. It is not nearly as thick as the slippery elm, so I'm giving two teaspoons of both, mixed together - as the marshmallow root thins out the SEB. They're eating it with the topper powdered on it, as they did the SEB syrup stuff. So far, nothing to report - except that they're eating it. It's only been one day, but so far, no bile pukes or hairballs. :cross:

Big hairball hacked up this morning.

Given the TCM trained vet said that hairballs are almost always due to a spleen Qi deficiency, and that's what Chum was treated for, I ordered the Prosperous Farmer Pills used to treat Chum four years ago (who hasn't had ANY problems since). The pills are kind of large. I cut them in half. I coated in butter - and like Chum used to do, Tuxedo just gobbled them up. They aren't an overnight kind of cure, but .... it's not going to hurt him.

http://www.kanherb.com/cons_pi_kh_product.asp?productNameId=1388

https://www.acu-market.com/showproduct.aspx?tcid=19&ProductID=7113