Cat throwing up hairballs almost weekly..

My 10 month old male kitty has been throwing up hairballs weekly/bi-weekly, maybe like 2-4 times a month, for the last couple months. I figured it was because of the winter fur, but is this normal? He is a Birman and they don't even have an undercoat.

I remember reading somewhere that healthy cats shouldn't ever throw up hairballs, as they will naturally digest it if everything is functioning as it should.. Is that true?

I've been trying to brush him daily to help alleviate the problem, but he's still throwing up hairballs. Any advice?

Since he is a kitten I have to ask: has he been dewormed?
Also what kind of diet is he being fed?
The brushing every day is really good, do you find much fur comes off when you do?

Yes he was dewormed when we got him from the breeder. He is being fed a grain fee wet food (animonda carny).

Its so hard to think of him as a kitten still when hes so big now, heh..

I'm not sure how much is a "lot" of fur.. but a good amount comes off.

In the wild, cats get more fiber than our indoor cats. They get fiber from the fur from their prey as well as grass which they munch on from time to time. This fiber makes the digestive system run smoother so that the swallowed hair comes out in the cat's poop rather than in vomit. What you can do to give your indoor cat a smoother digestion is give them laxatone, which contains petroleum jelly. I feed this to my Charlie and it helps a lot.

Ok so it sounds like your on the right track with him. Has he had a vet check since he's been home from the breeder? I ask because there are all different kinds of dewormers and the vet would have been able to decide if what the breeder gave him was the right kind and if he had enough doses of it.
May I ask what breed he is? And longhaired or short-haired?
Also congrats on your purebred! It's always exciting to experience a purebred cat when most are just domestics.
When he throws up is it only fur? Or is there other contents with it?
Is the food he's eating what he was on before the hairballs started? Or was he switched to it and then the vomiting started?
Were there any changes to his environment at the time the vomiting started?
Also what type of brush are you using?

I'm not trying to pry just trying to get all the info so I can think it through and give you proper advice!

He was at the vet several times after I got him due to an infection. But he's been fine since then. Last time he went was to get neutered.

He's a Birman - longhaired but they have no undercoat.

He throws up only the fur in a dark reddish brown "sauce". He's been on the same diet since before it started so I don't think it's related to his food.

No environmental changes either.

I use a small wire type brush like this one: http://www.purrfectpets.org.uk/images/products/cats/Cat Brush.jpg

I appreciate the help!

I would suggest that you add plain canned  pumpkin puree to his diet, just mix it in with his wet food. Start off with a little bit and work up to about 1/2 teaspoon. As he gets older, you can work up to about a teaspoon.  I have 4 cats and they all get it and it has helped all of them. I only have one who tosses hairballs and I've seen a significant reduction in hairballs since we cut back on her food consumption.  Even at 10 months, you might be overfeeding him a bit much, maybe cut back on the amount of food served or spread it out into more frequent meals.  You could also look at adding something like evening primrose oil to his food to help with coat/fur/skin health.

I use egg yolk lechithin to help control hairballs. It works really well, better than anything else I've tried. 

http://www.vitacost.com/natures-plus-egg-yolk-lecithin-600-mg-90-vegetarian-capsules

Here's more info

http://www.foodfurlife.com/make-homemade-dried-egg-yolk-powder.html

stephanietx said:

 
I would suggest that you add plain canned  pumpkin puree to his diet, just mix it in with his wet food. Start off with a little bit and work up to about 1/2 teaspoon. As he gets older, you can work up to about a teaspoon.  I have 4 cats and they all get it and it has helped all of them. I only have one who tosses hairballs and I've seen a significant reduction in hairballs since we cut back on her food consumption.  Even at 10 months, you might be overfeeding him a bit much, maybe cut back on the amount of food served or spread it out into more frequent meals.  You could also look at adding something like evening primrose oil to his food to help with coat/fur/skin health.

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Actually I have been giving him pumpkin for the last almost week or so. About a tablespoon a day (maybe this is too much?) he usually doesn't eat it all though. But he still threw up a hairball yesterday. Does it take some time to work maybe?

I'm not sure if he is being overfed.. but can that cause hairballs? o.0

Does he seem anxious? Sometimes when cats are anxious they might overgroom which would lead to more hair balls. If you think this is the case, a Feliway spray or diffuser might help.

Abyeb said:

Does he seem anxious? Sometimes when cats are anxious they might overgroom which would lead to more hair balls. If you think this is the case, a Feliway spray or diffuser might help.

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No, he's a very calm laid-back kitty.

I'd reccommend trying Laxatone, you can buy it at any pet store. It really has done wonders for my kitty.

Snoozler said:

He was at the vet several times after I got him due to an infection. But he's been fine since then. Last time he went was to get neutered.

He's a Birman - longhaired but they have no undercoat.

He throws up only the fur in a dark reddish brown "sauce". He's been on the same diet since before it started so I don't think it's related to his food.

No environmental changes either.

I use a small wire type brush like this one: http://www.purrfectpets.org.uk/images/products/cats/Cat Brush.jpg

I appreciate the help!

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It's sounds like your doing everything right! That looks like a decent brush. One thing I could reccomend is a flea comb. It sounds silly but it's great at combing out the falling hair. It's fine toothed and the teeth are super close together. Maybe u could use your regular brush and then run through his fur with a flea comb afterwords to pull out anything missed by the the brush. They are not expensive and easily found in pet stores.
I'd also reccomend trying a fish oil supplement to add to his food. One that is meant for cats and make sure to follow the dosing/amounts on the product. This would help his skin and fur to be healthy for less fur falling out. And it acts as a natural lubricant to keep things running through his system smoothly. It would hopefully help the fur make it to the poop, rather than being vomited.

Have you tried giving him a bath? I know this sounds a little crazy, but some people do bathe their cats (especially with longhairs) and it does seem to control shedding, which would, in turn, reduce hair balls.

Are you free feeding or feeding meals.  Free feeding will sometimes cause this issue.  The last thing to leave the stomach is hair, with free feeding the hair will build up in the stomach rather than passing on through.

Denice said:

 
Are you free feeding or feeding meals.  Free feeding will sometimes cause this issue.  The last thing to leave the stomach is hair, with free feeding the hair will build up in the stomach rather than passing on through.

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He gets 3-4 meals a day on a fairly regular schedule. No free-feeding. Although sometimes he won't finish the whole meal and he'll kinda snack on it over the following hour or so..  Maybe I shouldn't leave any leftovers out?

I urge you to get a handle on the hairball issue ASAP. Hairballs are an extreme irritant to a cat's digestive tract.  Over time this irritation can lead to IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).

I speak from sad experience.  I adopted a beautiful male kitten who threw up hairballs frequently.  He was a shorthair and had a plush coat.  I brushed him often as he would let me, which in hindsight was not enough.  All through his adult life, he threw hairballs frequently which I now know were alarm bells.  Fast forward 14 years, he began losing weight and throwing up food.  Vet exam followed by Ultrasound and Endoscopy confirmed severe IBD.  I was shocked to learn that his small intestines actually had scarring and fibrosis!  The Vet said that it is only recently that the insidious nature of hairballs has been recognized.  Even in Vet school, hairballs were considered just a thing cats do.  Now there is much more emphasis on hairball prevention or a least infrequent occurrence.  Here are some proactive steps you can take.

1.  Feed cat high quality wet food only.  More liquid helps hair move through intestinal tract faster.

2. Do not "free feed" as hair is last thing to leave the digestive tract.

3.  Brush, Brush Brush!  Every day!  I found a wonderful brush on classycatdishes.com site.  It is the "Philocomb" from Japan.  The teeth are not metal or plastic, but are engineered polyamide polyacetal resin.  The teeth are flexible and won't scratch the cat's skin like other combs.  Even cats who do not like to be brushed like this.  It has a very comfortable handle, curved like a claw, but not sharp.  It removes enormous amounts of hair other combs leave behind.  I would recommend a #3 comb for your longhair cat.  I only wish I had discovered this comb years ago in my cat's kittenhood.  He may still be alive today if I had.

4.  You might also consider having him shaved during the summer (all except for head and tail).

5. Make sure your cat does not pick or chew at fabrics, blankets, carpets or other undigestible things.  This only worsens the problem.

Hopefully, these suggestions will help make "throwing hairballs" a very infrequent occurrence...and lead your kitty to a long healthy life!

Thanks! I will definitely look into getting a brush like that asap. Will also see if I can find Laxatone, but I live in Norway and it can be difficult to find a lot of brands here. Are there any good alternatives to Laxatone if I cannot get it here?

Also, I am considering getting some cat grass. Is that something that could help him out?

Just a side note, I don't know if it's relevant or not, but he seems to really enjoy chewing on anything plastic (he doesn't eat any of it, just bites it and leaves a million tiny little bite holes in it). Could this be related to anything?

Here are a couple other things to try.  Add 1 teaspoon mild olive oil to your cat's food once or twice a week.  This lubricates the cat's digestive system and helps pass hair.  You can occasionally use a small dab of petroleum jelly on cat's nose or paws.  Cat will lick it off.  This acts as a mild laxative.  Start with adding small amounts of plain canned pumpkin to cat's food working up to 1-2 tablespoons several times a week.  This adds fiber to the diet.  There are also hairballs chews/treats on the market you can give as is or crumble over food.  The egg yolk/lecithin remedy suggested by missmimz in previous response works well.  Also you can add egg yolk to cat's food.  Ensure cat drinks water.  An elevated water bowl, such as shown on "classycatdishes.com" site is helpful.  My cats love this as well as the elevated food bowls shown here. 

While you may not have Laxatone readily available, your Vet may have alternatives or you may be able to find it online or something similar.

Nothing beats hairball prevention like daily brushing sessions. The "Philocomb" mentioned previously works wonders. To remove as much loose hair, after brushing wipe cat down with damp cloth in direction of hair growth.  Make sure cat gets plenty of exercise which helps digestion and elimination.  Play and exercise prevents boredom because some cats when bored tend to "overgroom" themselves. 

As for the cat grass, cat will chew on it and induce vomiting, but not always hairballs.  It couldn't hurt though.

As for the chewing on plastic, this is more of a psychological issue, but bears caution.  I would keep anything plastic away, covered, out of reach.  While your cat may just bite it, he may be ingesting small bits of it which are an irritant. I currently have a cat who does same thing. I have to keep all plastic bags etc out of reach.  My cat who passed away due to severe IBD( who threw hairballs since kittenhood) had a bad habit of pawing/chewing on our acrylic blanket in the morning before breakfast.  This would often induce vomiting of bits of hair and blanket...which exacerbated the intestinal irritation leading to IBD.  Any foreign substances cats ingest can have dire consequences.