Hairballs

If you have ever had a cat, you have found hairballs in various places where they have thrown up. When cats groom or clean themselves they naturally ingest hair. Some of this hair will pass naturally but some will stay in their digestive tract where it can cause them problems.

If the hair starts building up in their stomach, it will cause them to throw up hairballs from time to time. If the hair builds up in their intestines, it can cause a blockage that can be life threatening.

One way to help prevent hairball problems is to brush or comb your cat every day. This sounds simple enough but we all get busy and forget or you may have a cat that hates to be brushed making it a real battle.

Another way is to give hairball remedy 2-3 times a week. This is an over the counter product that you can get from a vet or almost any store that has a pet section. The problem with this is that we have a tendency to forget to give it or the cat hates it and it becomes a battle of wills to get them to eat it.

A few weeks ago I read that olive oil is good for helping to relieve hairballs. I give my 4 cats canned food twice a day. When I open the can in the morning I pour a little over a tablespoon of olive oil into the canned food and mix it up well. I divide half the can between them in the morning and they get the other half in the evening. I have been doing this for 3 weeks now and have not found any hairballs laying around during that time.

I will keep you posted on the success or failure of the olive oil treatment. If anyone else has found an effective yet simple way to treat hairballs, I would love to hear it.