Winning Ways to Cut Down your Kitty’s Hairballs
Chances are, if you own a cat, you have witnessed your cat coughing up a hairball. It’s as awful of an experience for your cat to go through, as it is to watch. You’ve seen it happen enough times that you know exactly when your cat’s hairballs are coming out. First, you hear the hacking noises. Next, you notice the yellow spots on your carpet. Not too long after, you notice the hairball. Even though, this is a natural process that all cats go through, there are some ways that you can help cut down the number of hairballs your cat experiences.
You should first understand how hairballs are formed. As you probably already know, cats love to groom themselves. Cats take a great deal in pride in how they look. Whenever your cat isn’t scratching up the furniture, or chasing his toy mouse, he’s scratching his fur and licking his paws. He’s getting himself clean. Don’t try to understand why. Just know that it’s what cats do.
A cat tongue is made with little barbs on them that pull any loose hair from their fur. You may have felt these barbs if your cat has ever licked you. When your cat grooms himself, he’s trying to pull away any loose hair that may be present in his coat. After the cat removes the loose hairs he then licks his paw and ingests the hair. If the hairs are small, then they will pass right through the cat’s digestive system. However, there are instances when the hairs aren’t small enough to pass through. These hairs are the beginnings of a hairball.
When your cat ingests hairs that can’t pass through his system, he can’t digest them. The hairs end up sitting in the cat’s stomach. Over a period of time, the cat swallows other hairs that can’t pass through and these hairs begin to form a ball. Once digestive fluids and mucous mix in with the hair a hairball forms. Since the hairball can’t pass through the cat’s digestive system, he must get rid of it somehow. So he throws it up. Hence the coughing and hacking sounds you hear when your cat is trying to get rid of a hairball.
Now that you know how a hairball is formed, it will better equip you for preventing your cat from getting hairballs in the first place. One of the best things you can do to prevent hairballs in your cat is to brush his hair frequently. By brushing the cat’s hair, you help cut down the amount of hair your cat pulls from his own coat and swallows. Plus, the hairs you brush out end up in the bristles of the brush and not in your cat’s stomach.
Cat’s that have longer hair get hairballs more frequently than cats with shorter hair. This is due to the fact that the cat’s digestive system can pass through shorter hairs easier than longer hairs. Another way you can help cut down the number of hairballs your cat receives is by making sure that his hair is trimmed periodically. Keeping your cat’s hair at a relatively short length will improve his ability to pass through any hairs that he does ingest.
Your cat’s diet is also a factor in reducing hairballs. Try feeding your cat a little more fiber. When your cat’s diet contains fiber, it increases the amount of water in the cat’s digestive tract. This additional water will help soften and moisten any hairs that are present in the digestive tract. Once these hairs are softened they can pass through the digestive system easier than they could if they were coarse and dry. Be careful, though, that you do not add too much fiber to the cat’s diet and this could cause adverse health effects.
There are some cat foods available for purchase in any stores that sell cat food. These products can also be used to aid in the reduction of hairballs. Products that are designed to help reduce hairballs aid the cat in passing the hairs through its digestive system. Some kinds of cat food also come with ingredients that work in a similar way.
If you do these things and your cat continues to have hairballs, you should take your cat to the veterinarian, as it could be a symptom of a medical condition.