Pebbles to the Rescue
Ever wondered how cats really feel about their own hairballs?
Pebbles the agony-uncle-cat of The Divine Feline has the answers.
Dear Pebbles,
Winter was so blissful. My cat, Tom-Tom, and I, snuggled up and slept peacefully until the morning. Now, I am not only being woken up by daylight streaming through the window at Five o’clock but also by the disturbing sounds of Tom-Tom retching violently before he finally vomits up a hairball. Is Tom-Tom alright?
Is there anything I can do to ease this hairy situation?
Disconcerted
Dear Disconcerted,
Welcome to spring! The time of year the sun rises early, the flowers bloom and cats everywhere wake their guardians early with the sound of their dry-heaving, gagging, convulsing, huffing and choking before they manage to finally hurl up that pesky hairball that’s been sitting in their stomach like Old Aunty May’s Christmas pudding.
Don’t be disconcerted, Disconcerted. Those hairballs are the result of our fastidious tongue grooming and while they can happen any time of year, they are especially prevalent in spring. When you shed your hair, it goes down the shower drain. We swallow ours.
Usually the hair passes through our digestive tracts without a problem. But occasionally there is a build-up. If the shower drain gets blocked, you call a plumber. If our system blocks, we cough up the obstruction.
‘Is Tom-Tom okay?’ you ask. Well, let me ask you this? Does Tom-Tom look okay? If you studied him closely enough before you went scurrying for those paper towels you might notice that Tom-Tom looks quite pleased with himself. When I was a young lad-cat, my friends and I used to compete with each other about the size of our hairballs.
There was Jack who, despite a great show of sucking his stomach muscles in and out like a piano accordion, could never bring up more than a tiny pellet of hair; then there was Lucky whose hairball regurgitation resembled something like tuna soup with a mouse’s toupee floating in the middle of it. Eugh!!
But it was Max’s efforts that used to send a thrill through us. Looking at first like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, Max would sit up with a fixed look in his eyes. Then ever so slowly, the tiniest quiver in his stomach would turn into a violent vibration. Suddenly, Max would be contorting himself into various positions as if possessed by a demon.
We would watch in anticipation as all the muscles of his throat would expand and contract until from his wide open mouth would slip a hairball as long and neat as a schoolgirl’s plait. Max would then straighten himself and with a slight swagger announce: ‘Will you look at that? You could tie a ship to the dock with that!’
Yes, Disconcerted, your Tom-Tom is okay. Those hairball barfs would only be of concern if:
♥️ Tom-Tom went through all those gagging and retching motions but wasn’t bringing any hair up, or if there was blood in his vomit.
♥️ Rather than being smug after producing a hairball, Tom-Tom looked decidedly sick.
♥️ Tom-Tom was losing weight and off his food.
♥️ His stomach was swollen and he was suffering either constipation or diarrhoea
All those symptoms could indicate an impacted hairball or other serious condition. Get Tom-Tom off to your local veterinarian tout suite!*
To ease the frequency of hairballs, the following advice may be helpful:
♥️ Brush Tom-Tom daily. Most cats love being brushed. However if Tom-Tom is something of a Boris Johnson, who seems to think it’s a crime to run anything other than his fingers through his hair, you can start slowly on the same places Tom-Tom likes to be scratched and build up from there. Daily brushing will prevent knots in long-haired cats. If Tom-Tom’s fur is long, use a wide-toothed comb to gently loosen any tangles and follow with a plastic-tipped pin brush.
♥️ A de-shedding tool used once a week will not only reduce hairballs on Tom-Tom but also the amount of cat fur that ends up on your furniture and clothes (as if there was anything wrong with that! After all, it is called FURniture!)
♥️ Running a dry pet chamois cloth over Tom-Tom after you brush him will take off any loose hairs and will impart a Hollywood shine to his coat.
♥️ Adding half-a-teaspoon of fine, unflavoured psyllium powder to his wet food twice a day will keep the hair moving along nicely in his gut and prevent constipation. Alternatively, you could feed him food specially formulated for hairball prevention.
Also, encourage Tom-Tom’s drinking habits (I’m talking about water here not Pimms!) by supplying him with a fresh bowl of water daily or even a water fountain.
Chin-chin!
Pebbles 🐾
*Both Belinda Alexandra and Pebbles agree that if your kitty-cat is showing any sign of illness or pain that the best person to diagnose the problem is your veterinarian. Quick action saves lives.
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