My cat grooms excessively and has frequent hairballs. What can I do?

If you suspect the coughing is due to hairball you can buy a hairball paste at the pet shop and give it to Booger regularly as long as he is licking the puppies. if it does not help i recommend taking him to the vet in order to get that cough checked and treated.

Hello! Hyperthyroidism can cause obsessive behaviors (ie. overgrooming), as well as vomiting. You should see a decrease in her vomiting over the next few months as the medication levels stabilize. I would recommend adding a hairball supplement to her diet in the mean time though. It usually comes in a stinky paste form that they love and helps lubricate the hair to move it along. If she lets you, brushing her regularly can reduce the amount of hair she's able to ingest. The Furminator brand brush is a lifesaver for serious shedders. I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! :)

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Hairballs are a very complex problem and are not normal despite them being accepted by a lot of people in the veterinary profession and many cat owners. Hairballs are caused by abnormal digestive tract motility or by increased grooming due to skin diseases, psychological distress, and pain. Pain anywhere can cause increased grooming. It's important to discuss this with your veterinarian and set up an appointment to have Faith evaluated for potential problems that may contribute to their formation. Your veterinarian can perform a good physical exam, take a thorough history, and then advise some diagnostics to help sort this out. Good luck with Faith

Poor Boda! Overgrooming is usually a symptom of allergic skin disease or emotional stress. He may respond quite well to a veterinary prescription allergy diet like Hills z/d and stop overgrooming completely. Some cats need to be on allergy medication like steroids to help with the symptoms. If stress or emotional issues are the culprit, then Boda might need to be on antidepressants or anti anxiety medication designed for cats like Zylkene or Feliway spray. If you want to try something before taking him to the vet, buy some Feliway cat pheromone spray and allergy diet like z/d and try that for 8-10 weeks, as both may work and save you a trip to the vet! Good luck!

It is pretty normal to regurgitate hair balls once in two weeks. Keep feeding the Hairball prevention formula. It actually helps with eliminating most of the hair via the feces, but a long haired cat, especially if she is a meticulate groomer, just may ingest too many hairs for this to solely happen and therefore she has hair balls to get rid off also.You can also get some hairball remedy (a malt and oil paste) from your vet or a petshop, which also helps with the elimination of hairballs. If you brush your kitty often , she will ingest less hair as well.

Comb him regularly as you are doing. This will remove a lot of the dead hair which otherwise your kitty would have to remove and then regurgitate as a hairball.Feed good quality food. Get some hairball remedy from a petshop and feed that according to the instructions. This should reduce the hair balls significantly. It is normal for cats to regurgitate hairballs when they are good groomers..

You need to figure out what is stressful in the cat's environment, and reduce the stress for her. It could be the addition of a new cat, a move, a new baby in the house, etc. Have Mokey seen by a vet first, however, as over grooming could also be due to a medical illness. I'd take her into a vet in the morning.