Unable to bring up hairball??

eupnea

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At first I mistook it for coughing, but Sam seems unable to bring up a hairball. I started him on Laxatone last week, and I"m not sure if he was on it at the shelter. I thought this was supposed to make regurgitating hairballs easier?

Should I be worried? He's not in any distress from what I can see. His breathing and pupils are normal, and he's eating and drinking.
 

hissy

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I would get him to the vet just to be safe. He could have something caught in his throat that is not a hairball
 

kate_e_did

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How old is he? How long have you had him? Does he ever cough anything up?
Many hairball remedies help by coating the ball so it will pass more easily from one end or the other. Is he still coughing as much as when you started the Laxatone?

My cats a short haired and when they get hairball trouble it usually is taken care of in a day or two. I feed them the friskies hairball treats and I believe this helps alot. We rarely see a hairball.


Of course everyone knows if your pet is acting sick having a vet check it is good advice.
 
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eupnea

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Originally Posted by Kate_e_did

How old is he? How long have you had him? Does he ever cough anything up?
Many hairball remedies help by coating the ball so it will pass more easily from one end or the other. Is he still coughing as much as when you started the Laxatone?

My cats a short haired and when they get hairball trouble it usually is taken care of in a day or two. I feed them the friskies hairball treats and I believe this helps alot. We rarely see a hairball.


Of course everyone knows if your pet is acting sick having a vet check it is good advice.
He's 2, and I adopted him a little more than a week ago. He hasn't coughed anything up yet, but had a nice healthy poop so maybe he passed it out the other end. Mmmm. If he starts up with the hacking again I'm going to take him into the vet. I doubt he has an obstruction, but it can't be a good thing.
 

coaster

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The purpose of hairball remedy is to make is easier to pass, not to vomit up. But lots of people don't give it properly, so it's ineffective. It needs to be given on an empty stomach, several hours before the next meal.

But are you sure it's a hairball? If it's something else, you're self-treating for the wrong thing.
 

semiferal

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Is he coughing? Cats don't actually cough up hairballs, they vomit them. Coughing can be caused by a variety of things, basically the same things that cause humans to cough. Persistent coughing should be checked out by the vet but it is not a sign of hairballs.
 
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eupnea

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Originally Posted by semiferal

Is he coughing? Cats don't actually cough up hairballs, they vomit them. Coughing can be caused by a variety of things, basically the same things that cause humans to cough. Persistent coughing should be checked out by the vet but it is not a sign of hairballs.
He's not coughing. Just... I don't know what to call it, making the hairball noise and motions. The same way my family's cats have always done, which makes me pretty sure that it is a hairball.

He hasn't done it at all today though, so maybe things worked themselves out.

I followed the directions on the Laxatone, and I give it to him every day when we get up in the morning. Because I free feed, I don't know it he's eaten or not, and it didnt mention anything about it on the box.
 

3cutekitties

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My Prada does this also. She has been seen by a vet and he gave her a cortozone (sp) shot for it, and it seemed to help her for about 2 months, then its doing it again. We give her laxatone once a day, and we do it if she starts her coughing. I dont know what it is, and of course she doesnt do it for the vet. He says the only thing would be keep giving her the shots, or just keep giving her the laxatone. Its weird because she has never coughed up anything as along as I have seen....its just coughing.
 

semiferal

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Laxatone won't help with coughing. "Coughing up hairballs" is a myth whose origin I'm not sure of. Coughing is, well, coughing - just like with us. It's a respiratory thing. Hairballs are in the stomach and come up by vomiting.
 

coaster

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Maybe that came about because a cat trying to vomit and a cat coughing LOOK very similar.
 
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