Increase in hairballs/blockages in older cat

[fenrisulfr]

Hello! This morning I woke up to a VERY large hairball and bloody stool on my bathroom floor from my older (10yo) cat (she has been to the vet, do not worry. Her intestines are clear now). It seems like this has been a lot lately (it was like 3 months ago when this happened again, then 2 before that). Since the first scare I have:

Increased pumpkin in diet
Increased the amount of moist food (especially those with high fiber)
Increased hairball remedies and treats

We have 2 water fountains that she LOVES (bc her arch nemesis loves so whatever her archnemesis can do, she can do better) so I am not worried about water consumption, and she gets groomed daily bc she loves it (she is a short hair). I even have cat grass for the cats to munch on.

Dry food: orijen tundra
Wet food: anything I can get my hands on at the moment, tho have included anything with high fiber/hairball control

So far no surgery has been needed, it always ends up her puking up a very large hairball. Is there anything else someone can think of I can do?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Sounds like she might have experienced some constipation, given the blood in her stool that one time. Make sure she isn't getting too much fiber and check her stools to see how hard they are. You can try adding a couple of drops of olive oil to her food to help both with any potential constipation and with passing hair. She might also eat a dab of butter or margarine from her paw or your finger which can help with both conditions as well. If you try the olive oil, then use the butter as a maintenance type treat a couple times a week.

 

[fenrisulfr]

Hi. Sounds like she might have experienced some constipation, given the blood in her stool that one time. Make sure she isn't getting too much fiber and check her stools to see how hard they are. You can try adding a couple of drops of olive oil to her food to help both with any potential constipation and with passing hair. She might also eat a dab of butter or margarine from her paw or your finger which can help with both conditions as well. If you try the olive oil, then use the butter as a maintenance type treat a couple times a week.

Yes she has meds for constipation during these situations - she got it the first time this happened and I have a large supply. It just seems like it only happens around the same time she has these massive hairballs. She never really has hairballs any other time, and her poops are usually normal. I only increased her fiber after the 2nd episode.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It would seem the hair is collecting in her digestive tract and probably slowing down the intestines enough to cause some level of constipation. Anything you can give her to help pass the hair should help reduce the odds of constipation occurring. Don't know what you are giving her for constipation during these situations, but maybe she needs a maintenance dose of it before she reaches that point. Watching her BMs to see when they start to appear harder, or less frequent might be one way to determine when a maintenance dose would be appropriate.

 

[daftcat75]

If she doesn't have any chicken intolerances or allergies, I recommend adding egg yolk to her diet. You can give her raw fresh egg yolk. But to make it easy to give daily, I recommend buying or making an egg yolk powder. If you buy an egg yolk powder, make sure the only ingredient is egg yolk. Flow agents and preservatives are not recommended. And definitely not any salt or seasonings.

This one for example looks good:
Amazon.com

This is the rationale as well as the instructions on how to use egg yolk. I'd start with an 1/8 tsp per day in one of her wet meals and go from there until she hopefully needs less constipation medicine and hairball treatments. I think the therapeutic dose is going to be higher than that. But egg yolk can be a laxative. Start small so you don't swing things in the other direction too quickly.

How Best to Manage Hairballs

How frequent are her hairballs? If they are once a month or every couple of months, that's not terrible. But more frequent than that, and you may want to pursue a GI specialist to make certain there isn't developing IBD behind it.

 

[iPappy]

Along with what everyone else suggested, I'll add to Lime_Cat s excellent advice about activity. Will your cat chase toys or play? Anything you can do to keep her as active as possible will help her move things through.
You said she loves to be brushed which is great! What kind of brush are you using? I have a short haired cat who is an incredibly heavy shedder and will throw up hair balls if my grooming routine slacks. I've found a pin brush, as well as a slicker brush, gets the bulk of the hair out the best, and then I follow up with a wide tooth comb, then finish off with a flea comb. Even after using all those tools, the flea comb gets out a TON of hair, and using the other tools first helps loosen up the thickness so the flea comb doesn't pull on him. (I have a fine tooth comb as well, but the wide tooth comb for some reason really seems to grip the hair better than the fine tooth. IDK why.)

 

[fenrisulfr]

Along with what everyone else suggested, I'll add to Lime_Cat s excellent advice about activity. Will your cat chase toys or play? Anything you can do to keep her as active as possible will help her move things through.
You said she loves to be brushed which is great! What kind of brush are you using? I have a short haired cat who is an incredibly heavy shedder and will throw up hair balls if my grooming routine slacks. I've found a pin brush, as well as a slicker brush, gets the bulk of the hair out the best, and then I follow up with a wide tooth comb, then finish off with a flea comb. Even after using all those tools, the flea comb gets out a TON of hair, and using the other tools first helps loosen up the thickness so the flea comb doesn't pull on him. (I have a fine tooth comb as well, but the wide tooth comb for some reason really seems to grip the hair better than the fine tooth. IDK why.)

I have a furminator and a slicker brush. I alternate depending on what she wants for the day. And yes, she is active. She is currently playing with a laser toy.