Vet's Best Hairball Relief - Interesting observation

[peaches08]

 
There is a prescription hairball remedy called Capilex that your vet can get.    

To be honest it sounds like some serious health issues going on.... not just hairballs.    But I hope I am wrong.

Peace

Z

Or the cat still had hair in the system and was trying to get rid of it.  That's why I "cleaned" my cats out first THEN started them on the Vet's Best.  I wanted to give it a fair chance.

 

[ldg]

I didn't have any quarters, so a penny will have to do.

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• peaches08
• Jul 2, 2014

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• peaches08
• Jul 2, 2014

Yep, those are the new ones that none of my cats will eat. The ones I had were larger than or about the size of a quarter, and thin at the edges and slightly thicker in the middle - like a little flying saucer. :lol3:

 

[oceanbreathes]

I'm really disappointed to see they changed their formula and cats are now refusing them.    I just started to be more diligent in giving these to one of my cats with IBS issues and another with constipation.  I'm afraid to even try the new formula as I have plenty of supplements in "treat" form that everyone refuses to eat.  :/

 

[peaches08]

Yep, those are the new ones that none of my cats will eat.

The ones I had were larger than or about the size of a quarter, and thin at the edges and slightly thicker in the middle - like a little flying saucer.

Oh boy...please keep us updated if your cats show any changes in stools, hunger, etc.  Well, if you can convince them to eat them. 

 

[zoneout]

Well, we're not going to find out. I finished a bottle, and opened a new bottle from the new shipment. It is a new formula. I contacted Vet's Best. They switched from the wafers I had, to small, thicker tablets. They had to change the formula a bit for the new tablet vs wafer. My cats hate it.

I am using slippery elm bark syrup, which on top of everything else stopped the hairballs for Tuxedo. So, knock wood, this slippery elm bark syrup (with the egg yolks and lecithin) alone will do it. Otherwise I will have to attempt to recreate it myself, as another member did.

Doesn`t make sense to me why a change in shape would necessitate a change in formula.   And besides, I use their Urinary Tract Support product which still uses those flying-saucer shaped wafers.

Has anyone tried crushing/breaking up the new tablet into small bits?   Maybe it`s just coated with something that is a cat-repellent.    

 

[peaches08]

I break them up for my cats, but I started with this new tablet so...?

 

[zoneout]

 
I break them up for my cats, but I started with this new tablet so...?

 I`m confused.   So its only cats that were exposed to the flying saucers that are boycotting this new product?

 

[peaches08]

 

 I`m confused.   So its only cats that were exposed to the flying saucers that are boycotting this new product?

Yes.  I'm on my second bottle of it.  LDG has fed this much longer than I have.

 

[goholistic]

Yep, those are the new ones that none of my cats will eat.

The ones I had were larger than or about the size of a quarter, and thin at the edges and slightly thicker in the middle - like a little flying saucer.

I'm sorry your cats won't eat them now. 

  The first bottle I had were the larger saucer-shaped ones, too. I thought they were much easier to break (with my hand). My second bottle was when they were different and I cannot break them with my hand. I have to use the razor blade that I use to cut pills.

 

[zoneout]

You want results?

I would send the product back to vets best and ask for a refund (there may be a guarantee on the bottle that explains how).  Otherwise if you bought them on Amazon write a product review and give it 1 star the lowest rating.    To get your refund on Amazon open an A-Z claim stating that the product was not as described and cats wont sniff it.   To top it off then do a seller review (either it came from AZ directly or a 3rd party supplier) give them a 1 star rating saying they changed the formula without notifying you that it was now a totally different product.

I sell on Amazon - I know.   This kind of reaction will get their attention - pronto.   

There was a problem with Wellness canned a couple years back where all of a sudden Amazon was sending out cans with a really watery soup consistency.  The complaints started rising and Wellness corrected it with the next batch that went out.

 

[myrnafaye]

I have a full bottle of Vets Best; I would love to try it again, but Obi threw up when  it was given to him.  I dont know if it was the VB, or the fact that that evening, I gave him a duck food and that was a first, too - I did not think either was a problem but evidently one or both was.  AND as m ost of you know here, Obi rarely throws up his dinner.  Just hair.  So it was rather alarming that it was so instantaeous.

 

[zoneout]

So it was more of a regurgitation than a vomit episode? Keep a log somewhere of these episodes. It helped me when I needed to spot trends with certain foods.

 

[myrnafaye]

Hi, Zoneout.  Well, not to make you gag with the details of Obi's vomiting, but Obi has two patterns:  One, which is very infrequent, is that he eats too fast and up it comes.  I am sure this is not uncommon for cats, and I know it is common for dogs.  So, when that happens, I dont get concerned at all, and it is rare.  I would call that a regurgitation.  Then there is the vomiting of hairballs, which is frequent, and usually contains little or no food at all.  But on the incident of the VB and the duck formula, it was not like either.  It was more like something did not "agree" with him.  So either it was the change in the food, or the VB, or something else.  

 

[zoneout]

Right. The distinction is regurgitated food happens shortly after the food is swallowed and is still in the esophageal portion of the GI tract - so it is still mostly undigested. Vomit comes from further into the GI system- ie, stomach, intestines, etc. it will have digested food or other substances like bile, or stomach acid, etc

 

[zoneout]

Should have said the distinction is an important one when explaining the situation to a vet as it will allow them to focus on different possibilities for the problem.

 

[2ketzels]

just wondering if anyone has a kitty like mine, regurgitating-wise. miss kitty eats a little bit at a time...it's almost as if her stomach is too small. and she always eats slowly, usually taking the food out of the bowl and then eating that small portion.  sometimes she'll actually eat from the bowl but she only likes pate and prefers only trout--- tho' she used to tolerate other fish (I'm talking canned).. 

on the weekends i have the time to be home and can 'serve' her whenever she wants a bite. I seal her 'leftovers' in a little plastic baggie so it's handy for a re-feed.

the problem is that I have to work Mon-Fri so I give her food in the morning...she usually leaves a lot in the bowl and, if I'm lucky, she doesn't throw it up and I won't be late for work again.

for a while I put babies' probiotic sprinkles on the food. I did this for a few months but then, suddenly, she started throwing up each time so i stopped. now we're back to straight food.

she never throws up hairballs. any advice?  

 

[zoneout]

How funny. My cat Precious was exactly like that. There would be a bowl of kibble and she would actually pull out one morsel at a time and eat it off the floor.

 

[2ketzels]

oh I forgot to add that every night I feed her Blue Wilderness crunchies, any flavour including 'sensitive stomachs' and usually that's fine. once in a while she throws this up too and i see mucous with it. feeding her Blue is my attempt to make her diet healthier since the trout is Friskies.

 

[zoneout]

oh I forgot to add that every night I feed her Blue Wilderness crunchies, any flavour including 'sensitive stomachs' and usually that's fine. once in a while she throws this up too and i see mucous with it. feeding her Blue is my attempt to make her diet healthier since the trout is Friskies.

Here we go.....

@2ketzels, you are at the point where most of us come to on the road of caring for your cat. I am saying this in a very friendly way. There is alot of learning ahead of you. It is important to realize that almost all of these commercial pet food companies are beholden to one person. Their stockholder. They are marketing machines. It is no different than McDonalds telling you they serve 100% all-beef patties - then we later find out they use Pink Slime as an ingredient.

What I am saying is unfortunately we cannot blindly rely on the marketing claims of ANY company - and to a greater extent pet food companies. That`s the world we live in.

My advice would be to seek out a HOLISTIC vet near you. If there aren`t any then a regular vet will have to do. If they do nothing else, get a blood/urine test and make sure you get a copy of the results - they should be required to do this by law (depending on locality). You should feel comfortable asking the vet questions without getting the feeling that the taxi meter is running - if you know what I mean.

Certainly do your googling but come here and ask questions. Truthfully, I have received some important advice on TCS that my vets never mentioned.

Best of luck and good health to your kitty!
Z

 

[ldg]

Honestly, I would consider switching dry foods. As with any food, there are plenty of complaints. But a TCS member's vet said that of 12 cases of kidney failure she'd seen in cats over about six months, each cat was eating Blue. This was last year. Perhaps try Wellness Core if it's available where you shop, and see if that makes a difference?