Conference misery::feline

    Hi Holly,
    
    Besides the 'rub on forepaw' trick, I use a fine tooth comb on my two
    shorthairs. This gets the undercoat thinned out.
    
    Also one cat doesn't mind being vaccuumed, but that's a lucky thing!
    
    During furball season I also try to feed more wet foods, and less dry
    food. Dry food only days always bring up unpleasant presents...so I try
    to go with juicy canned food, that helps to keep things in the right
    direction.
    
    Susan
    Rocky & Corky

    I have one cat that would eat the entire tube of laxotone if he could.
    The other won't come near it with a ten foot pole. She will lap up 
    vaseline likes it's a treat. I use the plain kind, no additives like
    extra moisturizers or sun protection. Anything greasy will help with 
    hairballs.  A dab of shortening, like Crisco, can help, too. 
    
    NancyS

Which appears to be vasoline with flavoring works well.
Both my guys would eat the whole darn tube if I let them. 
I suspect it might help Spike (mid lenght fur) as even
with  1" ribbon once a week he'll occasionally have hairballs.
Hurri (short haired, but fastidious)  seems less prone to them.
I'm probably going to get a slicker to brush Spike with in 
furball season.

Thanks,
Keith

    I have a long-haired cat that used to have severe hairball problems
    until he got fleas.  At that point, since he's allergic to flea podwers
    and sprays and collars, I started flea-combing him twice a day. No more
    hairballs, and he loves the grooming session now!  I tried the grease
    stuff with him, and he shook his paw so hard and so well that it ended
    up all over my walls. He even rubbed it on his head to get it off his
    paw..."No way, Mom, I'm not eating this. But I will put it here, and here
    and here and here.....
    Sarah

    -more wet food
    -comb your cat EVERY DAY (or every other if this is too much)
    -dab some margarine/butter on your cat's nose (they will lick it off 
        naturally)

    where can Petromalt be purchased- at a store or thru a vet?
    

    I get Petromalt at a pet food store.
    
    Steffi

    I suppose this is another "classic" hairball story.....but I'm looking
    for some words of wisdom/experience. One of my cats, Cinammon, seems to
    have chronic hairballs. She throws up just about every other day.
    My husband dubbed her "puke breath", which is a funny name, but
    finding it on the floor/carpets is not! She's a mid-length hair cat,
    but she's a constant groomer. So, I've been feeding her the remedy from
    the vet (forget the name - the flavored vasoline stuff). I give her
    some every day. She gets a little offended but she doesn't seem to mind
    the taste. My questions are 1) how will I know when she finally
    gets the furball out, assuming I don't have the priviledge of finding
    it early some morning with my foot.....and 2) what else can I do?
    Daily brushing?
    
    She is otherwise very happy and healthy, but I'm sure a furball in the
    stomach is NOT good for her.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Chris 
    
    p.s. it's funny, we have a Maine Coon cat (boarding with us for 2
    years) who never gets them. I guess he's a little lazy - not into
    too much grooming, but his hair is MUCH longer!
    
    

    Does she shed a lot?  Daily combing and maybe a weekly bath would help. 
    You want to get as much loose hair off her as possible.  Has the vet 
    checked her to make sure she doesn't have an obstruction somewhere in her 
    digestive tract?  Perhaps it's the food.  She maybe allergic, or she may 
    gobble it too fast and then throw up both hair and food.  I've found
    that my shorthairs shed more and get hairballs more than my longhair
    Birmans.  So length of hair is no indication of whether a cat will get
    hairballs.
    
    Good luck,
    Steffi

    Some kitties are prone to get hairballs and some are not.  According
    to my vet, some kitties' systems can deal with them while others seem
    to have problems.
    
    Once the hairball kitty has been identified, like Chowder our Maine
    Coon Cat, there are a couple of things to help keep it in check.  The
    first is daily brushing.  We brush until we get a whole brush full of
    hair.  If you continue to brush, you'll get more hair, never running
    out until maybe the cat is bald.  So just a little brushing is all that
    we've found is necessary.  One brush full gets rid of most of the hair
    that would have formed a hairball.
    
    The second thing is what you are already doing, that is, an anti-hairball
    preparation.  The one we use is a malt derivative that I can't think of
    the name right now.  We spread about 1/2 inch or so on one of the front
    paws and Chowder licks it off right away.  We do this every other day.
    We found that if we give it to her every day, then her poop gets too soft
    and we have to wipe/trim her, which is a smelly yucky mess that neither
    she nor we like at all. Every other day works best for us.  Your milage
    may vary.
    
    If you have a multi-kitty household and if the kitties lick one
    another, you may find it necessary to regularly brush all of the
    lickees to keep the lickers from forming hairballs off of the others'
    fur.
    
    Anyway, this is what we are currently doing, and so far so good for
    the past couple of years.  Our fingers are still crossed.
    
    I hope this is of some use to you.  Please keep us informed.
    
    Carl

    
    I think the stuff you mention is called Petromalt.
    
    len (who thankfully hasn't needed any).
    

    Not exactly a help to you, but a funny story to cheer you up!
    My son David (just turned 4) and I were doing the weekly grocery
    shopping thing.  We have 2 cats, one of which USED to be a champoin
    hairball-hurler until I started flea-combing him EVERY night.
    David and I were cruising the fruit aisle, and he spots a display of
    coconuts :
    
    David : "Mom, are those HAIRBALLS??"
    
    Can you imagine what was going through his mind?  Gosh, they sell cat
    throw-up things right next to the bananas?  And they are huge!  Those
    must be REALLY BIG cats!  
    
    Sarah

    one of my cats, Abel, (well, almost officially a cat, she's 11 months...)
    seems to occaisionally have a coughing fit after dinner (half a can of
    cat food).  It reminds me of how my cats in Houston used to sound right
    before they'd show us what they'd eaten.
    She also usually assumes the position, head down, in a crouch, and she
    looks around as she hacks... (not appetizing - her timing is usually as
    I start eating... :-)
    Cain (her brother) seems to ignore her as she hacking away, and will
    jump and wrestle with her.
    She never seems bring anything up, tho.
    I'm not sure if it is hairballs, or if she eats too fast - sometimes
    she resembles a vaccuum, and chases Cain away from his food.
    I bought some hairball stuff yesterday - any thoughts?

    It could be hairballs; it could also be a sign of a much larger
    problem.  I would start by giving her the hairball medicine (be
    dilligent in the applications; follow the instructions on the tube) and
    if the condition persists, speak with your vet about the possibility of
    xray or ultrasound to determine if an underlying illness is present.
    
    -Roe
    

    Jimmy used to do this when he was a kitten/adolescent. The reason
    seemed to be the speed at which he gulped his food down. Sometimes he
    bolted it so fast he was sick. I tried feeding him separately and a
    little at a time and the problem seemed to disappear as he got older.
    If you're worried, take your cat to the vet, just to be safe. It's
    peace of mind for you, if nothing else.