Butter for Hairballs

[peaceandlove]

Personally, I avoid giving my cat anything that might contain pumpkin seeds and other stimulants. Cats (and humans for that matter) can grow dependent on such things. Butter, avocado oil, coconut oil and the like seem like they would work as lubricants.

I recommend food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) for hair balls. It seems to "cut up" the hairball making it pass far easier. It also acts as a natural mineral supplement, detoxifier, and natural intestinal dewormer. It will add sheen to your cat's coat, even. My cat, a long hair domestic, had severe hairballs when I started giving her DE. She passed several stools that consisted mainly of hair 3 days after starting it. Her digestive issues went away after a few days, too. To get her to eat it, I mix 2 teaspoons of DE into 1 tablespoon of plain organic yogurt. She LOVES it. (Note that I stress plain organic yogurt. Conventional yogurt may cause digestive issues. Flavored yogurt may cause issues, too.)

Dosage:

For fully weaned kittens, 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon daily. For adult cats, 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons daily. Start with the smaller dosage and increase as needed.

I stress "food grade" DE. There are food grade and non-food grade versions. Make sure you get FOOD GRADE or you might end up putting too many toxins / poisons in your kitty.

This is where I get mine from: http://www.earthworkshealth.com

There are plenty of other sites and resources for buying it, too. Shop around and get the best deal.

(NOTE: I am totally unaffiliated with Earthworkshealth.com in any way except being a customer.)

I am curious as to if butter works. So if anyone has had any success with using butter, please let me know.

 

[otto]

Thanks for an interesting post. I now use egg yolk lecithin for hairball control, along with feeding a mostly raw diet.

I'm interested in hearing more about what other digestive issues your cat had, that the DE helped?

 

[jamiek53]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this site, but have found comfort in your stories. My cat Oscar has had trouble with hair balls since he was younger, but has gotten worse since we got our second cat. Oscar is the master groomer so he ingests alot of hair. He's been on laxatone but has not taken it as willingly as he has before. The last 2 nights he has thrown up his food. This is the first time he has done that and it is only when we lay down for bed at around 1030-11. I gave him some butter tonight seeing how it is late, but i was also offered some advice I am going to try. A vet had recommended giving a small out of Krill Oil. Krill is a fish/shrimp looking animal, its actually what gray whales eat. It is supposed to be really good for humans and for animals. Since my sister is a marine biologist i have krill oil readily available. After a few rounds of it I will let everyone know how it works!

 

[otto]

Krill is an excellent thing to give cats, not sure how much it will help with hair balls. I strongly urge you to stop using laxatone or any petroleum based products. Petroleum was never meant to be ingested by any living thing, and in my opinion it is highly toxic to cats, in the long term.

Feed a good canned diet to your cats to start, and along with the krill you might try the egg yolk lecithin. Make sure it is egg yolk lecithin, not soy. There are two brands to choose from.

 

[jamiek53]

Krill is an excellent thing to give cats, not sure how much it will help with hair balls. I strongly urge you to stop using laxatone or any petroleum based products. Petroleum was never meant to be ingested by any living thing, and in my opinion it is highly toxic to cats, in the long term.

Feed a good canned diet to your cats to start, and along with the krill you might try the egg yolk lecithin. Make sure it is egg yolk lecithin, not soy. There are two brands to choose from.

Thanks for the advice! For the egg yolk, do i have to buy it online or do they sell it in stores? And any idea how much i shoukd give?

 

[otto]

Egg Yolk Lecithin is a fat emulsifier, it breaks down fat. Hair balls are made of primarily of fat and fur. The fat binds the fur creating the "hair ball". The EYL breaks down the fat, so the fur, loosened, can now pass through the cat's body and out with the poop, like it is supposed to.

There are two brands of Egg Yolk Lecithin (EYL) available in the USA. I actually use both brands. I get them at Amazon. I use the Swansons for the two cats who don't have trouble with the tiny bit of rice powder in the capsule, Mazy cat is so sensitive to grains she can't even seem to tolerate that much, so she gets the Nature's Plus

Swanson's

And Nature's Plus

I recommend you start with half a capsule twice a week. If, in a few weeks, this does not see to be helping, I would increase it to half capsule three times a week, and so on, making increases gradually. YOu may find that in shedding season you need to give it more often than in non shedding.

For my cats what works is Jennie and Queen Eva, who have no digestive problems, have from a young age (Queen Eva since 8 weeks, Jennie since about 18 months) been on an all canned, and now 2/3 raw diet/1/3 canned diet. They each get half a capsule of the Swanson brand every other day. Year round. I give it with their first serving of food in the morning. They never have hair ball issues, and never have. It all comes out in their poop

Mazy cat has many digestive and motility issues. Without going into her history, she gets one whole capsule of the Nature's Plus, twice a day. One capsule in the morning, one in the evening.

 

[jamiek53]

Egg Yolk Lecithin is a fat emulsifier, it breaks down fat. Hair balls are made of primarily of fat and fur. The fat binds the fur creating the "hair ball". The EYL breaks down the fat, so the fur, loosened, can now pass through the cat's body and out with the poop, like it is supposed to.

There are two brands of Egg Yolk Lecithin (EYL) available in the USA. I actually use both brands. I get them at Amazon. I use the Swansons for the two cats who don't have trouble with the tiny bit of rice powder in the capsule, Mazy cat is so sensitive to grains she can't even seem to tolerate that much, so she gets the Nature's Plus

Swanson's

And Nature's Plus

I recommend you start with half a capsule twice a week. If, in a few weeks, this does not see to be helping, I would increase it to half capsule three times a week, and so on, making increases gradually. YOu may find that in shedding season you need to give it more often than in non shedding.

For my cats what works is Jennie and Queen Eva, who have no digestive problems, have from a young age (Queen Eva since 8 weeks, Jennie since about 18 months) been on an all canned, and now 2/3 raw diet/1/3 canned diet. They each get half a capsule of the Swanson brand every other day. Year round. I give it with their first serving of food in the morning. They never have hair ball issues, and never have. It all comes out in their poop

Mazy cat has many digestive and motility issues. Without going into her history, she gets one whole capsule of the Nature's Plus, twice a day. One capsule in the morning, one in the evening.

Wow thanks! I just ordered the Natures Plus. I think that would be better for my Oscar. He has short hair but my other cat Jasper has longer hair and Oscar licks Jasper like theres no tomorrow!

 

[riley1]

Interesting replies!  I bought some really fancy product to avoid petroleum products.  My vet said they need the petroleum to get the hair out.  Also, as my cat had to be put to sleep for cancer ,which started as IBD I read a lot of things about hair balls & they are not something to just fix & ignore.  I have never tried any of the other solutions offered & it sounds like they work for the other posters.  Have you ever discussed this problem with a vet?  I almost never tried something new without consulting them.  If you have a regular vet they may give you advice over the phone without taking the kitty in.

 

[otto]

Vets are important but vets need to wake up to the many things on the market that are harmful to cats, including petroleum and products containing it. Think about it for a minute, petroleum, petrolatum, is made from oil Crude oil. It is not something that was meant to be ingested by anything living.

Another safe, effective product I forgot to mention is Vets-Best Hairball relief. This can be used in conjunction with the Egg Yolk Lecithin. I only use it for my one cat with motility problems, the other two don't need it (though they wish they did) She takes 1/4 tablet daily (in her middle of the night meal) during the slow shedding seasons, but usually needs a half tablet during the shedding months.

The one draw back with the Vet's Best is the psyllium (one of the active ingredients) can create overly large stools if too much is given.

 

[riley1]

Vets are important but vets need to wake up to the many things on the market that are harmful to cats, including petroleum and products containing it. Think about it for a minute, petroleum, petrolatum, is made from oil Crude oil. It is not something that was meant to be ingested by anything living.

Another safe, effective product I forgot to mention is Vets-Best Hairball relief. This can be used in conjunction with the Egg Yolk Lecithin. I only use it for my one cat with motility problems, the other two don't need it (though they wish they did) She takes 1/4 tablet daily (in her middle of the night meal) during the slow shedding seasons, but usually needs a half tablet during the shedding months.

The one draw back with the Vet's Best is the psyllium (one of the active ingredients) can create overly large stools if too much is given.

Good to know.  I thought the petroleum was a bad thing as well but my vet said other things don't work.

 

[otto]

Good to know.  I thought the petroleum was a bad thing as well but my vet said other things don't work.

I don't like a closed minded vet. There are other, better, choices. The main issue is diet. A cat eating a dry diet is going to have a lot of trouble, simply because it's such an inappropriate diet. Cats need moisture from their food.

Many cats, starting out with wet or raw when young, never need any help at all. Not all though, and that is why I use the EYL for Queen Eva and Jennie, as a preventive measure. Cats who've been on dry a long time, then put on a better diet may always have problems, because a dry diet eventually effects the digestion, and motility.

I agree with what you said earlier you said earlier:

Also, as my cat had to be put to sleep for cancer ,which started as IBD I read a lot of things about hair balls & they are not something to just fix & ignore.

Cats puking up fur does indicate there is a problem. Shoving petroleum products down a cat's throat is just the worst thing you can do, in my opinion, based on experience. I too lost a cat to cancer, he was only 12 years old. He had a lot of problems (seizures, took phenobarbital all his life, perhaps that affected his motility), and even though he ate a canned diet, as he got older he struggled with fur build up. He didn't bring the fur up, and it didn't block him, it seemed to just coat his insides, causing terrible diarrhea and inappetance until he finally would pass it all, and the way I helped him, following vet's advice (both my own vet and another vet he saw a couple times for emergencies) was with massive doses of petroleum based hairball remedies. I am convinced that is what caused his cancer. He took so much of that stuff, even now I sometimes feel just riddled with guilt that I did that to him.

As for Mazy cat, she also has had "hairball problems" most of her life since coming to me, and she was, for her first six years with me, before I finally took a stand, on a horrible "prescription" dry food. The petroleum products did not help her much at all. I think they made things worse.

Good diet is the number one thing. Wet (or raw, or both) No dry. Then if additional help is needed (which is usually will be for a cat who has eaten dry for any length of time) the Egg Yolk Lecithin is a good place to start. If still more is needed, the Vet's-Best is an effective safe product.

I know it is safe because Jennie once got into it and ate about 6 or 7 tablets before I caught her. Horrified I called the Animal Poison Control hotline and was assured everything in it was harmless. She didn't even have an upset tummy or diarrhea from it the little thief. That cat has the digestion of a goat!:lol3:

 

[jamiek53]

It worked! Now I dont know if it was the krill oil or if I just got lucky but he finally passed the hair ball. I came home to find vomit and a hair ball the size of a quarter! Now I did order the egg yolk last night but it won't be here for a couple days. But im so relieved that he finally got it out!

 

[otto]

I'm glad he got it up! Now you can get him started on the EYL and hopefully he won't have to bring any more up, he can pass them through the poop.

Depending on what he eats, you might be seeing poop like this from now on

furry poop.jpg

• otto
• Feb 19, 2015

 

[jamiek53]

I would prefer he poop it out. Watching him cough and vomiting makes me so upset!

He eats like a monster! Wet food in the morning and at night and some dry during the day!

 

[riley1]

Hi Otto,

No, my cat was not vomiting hair balls.  When he was first sick with IBD he was throwing up & I thought it was because of hair balls.  I think you are right about food.  He was my first cat & I just fed him what the people who gave him to me said to do, which was dry food.  Almost from the beginning I figured out that he preferred wet food.  The fanciest thing I could find was TIKI cat & we only have fish varieties here.  Well, then he was hooked on fish & I could not get him to change.  When we would go outside he would beg for some junk food in the garbage which I gave him.  Later I read the list of ingredients & they were awful but once a cat is hooked on these foods it is hard to change.  Next cat I will know better but I feel bad that I did not do more research on this topic when I got my first baby.

 

[LionMouse]

Hello everyone, I stand by olive oil and butter is a good source if you are out of olive oil. I have had at least one cat in every home, except during Basic Training in the USAF and a few unhappy places where no animal of any kind was allowed. And I have always found it easier to put a butter patties on a plate and let the cat lick it as it wants. No stress for either my poor little furbaby or me. I am also a Military trained Vet Tech, both the Veterinarian and myself (even back then in the 80's) steered clear of petroleum products. The only oil he recommended was mineral oil, a few drops only in each ear, to kill, sooth and prevent ear mites.

 

[silkenpaw]

@blossomthyme Thank you for adopting an abandoned kitty. I hope you successfully deal with the hairballs!