Cat hairballs

QuestionEdit

I am a new owner of a cat and he's been having some hairball problems. He would throw up the hairball (sometimes it would trigger some food that he ate too). Is there any type of food or something to help alleviate this problem? I try to brush him everyday ... is there anything else I can be doing? Right now he eats Hill's Science Diet (which is going to be the last bag because I think I could be feeding him something better) and sometimes wet canned food (Avoderm the last time and Fancy Feast sometimes). My mom told me that I should only feed him dry food (but I don't think that wet food contributes to the hairball vomiting) I hope you can answer questions about cats :) Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it. --Vicki S.

AnswerEdit

First of all, the best food you can feed you are already feeding. I would switch, however, to the hairball formula for adults. What it does is provide extra fiber and nutrients that help the hair to pass harmlessly through the digestive tract and out. There is nothing wrong with given a small amount of canned food,but be careful what brand you use. I have done the dry weight analysis on Fancy Feast and some other 'small fancy' foods from the stores and they are extremely high in protein. Too much protein can cause kidney and liver problems and even renal failure.

Brushing him helps a lot with hair but if he is vomiting whole food up right after he eats then he is regurgitating and not vomiting. That is not a hairball problem. That is something that needs to be addressed by a veterinarian. One thing you might consider is that the Science Diet is helping him to eliminate the hairballs he had from the lesser care he got before you adopted him. Vomiting is a normal way of cats getting rid of excess hair in their stomachs. Try the Science Diet Hairball control and I think in a few weeks you will see much less vomiting of hairballs. Write to me in a month and tell me how he is doing on it.