Do all cats need hairball medicine, even if they don't get them?

Yes, depending on the food. Most of the brands that claim to have efficacy against hairballs have some kind of formulation that has added fiber designed to help hairballs to pass. Some foods are more effective than others at this (stick to Science Diet, Royal Canin, or Purina for over-the-counter non-prescription diets). These are not usually prescription diets and are almost always ok to feed as a maintenance diet to normal, healthy cats.

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

If he likes his current food then you can add in a hair ball medicine like catlax or laxatone. You can give this to him 2-3 times per week. If you don’t feel like you will be able to do that then I would go back to the food you were feeding before since it seemed to help. I like science diet, Royal canin, Iams, and eukanuba which all should have affordable hair all formula options. I hope this helps!

Brushing her may be the missing step in reducing her hairball production. If she will tolerate a shedding tool, use one to get the majority of the loose hair off her and then use a soft brush daily. My cats tolerate a natural bristle brush very well, it's a brush meant for people and they're pretty inexpensive. The more hair you can get off her, the less she'll ingets while grooming. Also, get her a tube of hairball medicine, the most common brand is Petromalt. Most cats like the flavor so it's easy to give, but if she doesn't take it easily wipe a bit on her face or paws so she has to groom it off. This helps move the hair through and out the other end rather than her vomit them up.

What a great question. Consider yourself lucky that you do not have to deal with the complicated and challenging issue of hairballs. Yes it can be normal that your cat does not have hairballs. What that means is that your diet you are giving and the cats lifestyle is conducive to a hairball free life. So keep it up. Have a great day.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You may want to try giving them 1-2 tablespoons of plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in their food twice daily. This extra fiber boost can help with hairballs. You can also try the hairball formula from Science Diet which has a higher percentage of fiber in it than other cat foods do to help prevent hairballs. I hope this helps and thanks for posting!

A high quality food of science diet, royal canin, iams, or purina are great brands. Iams makes a hairball control. You can also purchase hairball medications/supplements and use your favorite food.