Why do my cats still get hairballs despite brushing and products?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lilly. A longhaired cat should only produce 3-4 hairballs per year. Any more than that is considered abnormal. If her initial blood panel came back normal, I typically recommend a secondary panel that checks for pancreatitis, a disease known as pancreatic exocrine insufficiency as well as cobalamin and folate levels. This can reveal the cause of the vomiting or give some treatment options for her. Inflammatory bowel disease is common cause of chronic vomiting. This will typically result in a low cobalamin levels. It can not be diagnosed without intestinal biopsies, but those are very invasive. An abdominal ultrasound can give a lot of information and rule out other causes of vomiting. If I suspect this to be the case, I will treat the patient with a prescription hydrolyzed diet to help decrease inflammation and sometimes medication as well. I hope this information helps!

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! :)

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.

I am so sorry your cats are having this issue. I would recommend Science Diet Hairball formula, daily doses of cat lax (for hairballs) or laxatone and also grooming with the furminator (https://www.chewy.com/b/grooming-432?rh=c:432,furminator&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwp_UBRD7ARIsAMie3XZdkVx70Hb8gu2MvY0srwTUNZ10qOh6_HD4sbUFYgvyY37qXt1rcVwaApngEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds). Unfortunately, this is all you can do at home. If Mila is coughing, not vomiting and non of that is working then I would be concerned about asthma. This would require a veterinarian to listen to her and see if her lungs sound asthmatic. If so then giving her an appropriate treatment. Thank you for using PetCoach.

If hairballs are not a problem, you do not have to give them a specific hairball product. A high quality cat food and plenty of fresh water, as well as a healthy environment with some toys and scratching posts or other appropriate places to exercise his claws are all he needs. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

HI, thanks for using Petcoch! Poor Molly! Due to Molly's age I want to be sure that you have had your Vet do a physical and had full blood work done to check her for kidney disease and an overactive thyroid. If you haven't that should be done. The most common reason if the blood work is normal for chronic vomiting with or with out hairballs is inflammatory bowel disease. Molly could have her belly ultrasounded to take a look at the thickness of her intestines and how big her lymph nodes are. Treatment consists of steroids and a prescription hydrolyzed diet. Another option is to have a groomer perform a lion cut! That cuts down on the hair she can ingest and plus she will look super cute! I hope this helps and good luck!

It is completely normal behavior for a cat to groom himself and/or other cats. It becomes abnormal if there seems to be areas of hair loss, which it sounds like is not a problem with Booger. Since Booger does seem to groom a lot it may be helpful to have him on a food with a special hairball formula and/or a supplement like laxatone to keep hair balls from causing blockages.