My cat keeps throwing up hairballs despite daily brushing. What to do?

While vomiting hair occasionally is normal for some cats the increased frequency you have described is concerning. It is possible at Midnight is grooming more due to a seasonal coat shedding or she may have some underlying intestinal irritation contributing to the vomiting. Cats that hunt are at higher risk for parasites and this can also contribute to vomiting. If the increased frequency of vomiting continues or if you notice any other signs such as decreased appetite, lethargy or weight loss, I would recommend that you have her seen by your veterinarian. They may recommend checking a stool sample for parasites and possibly blood work to rule out other potential causes for vomiting such as kidney disease or thyroid problems.

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!

Hello. Of course, having your veterinarian check Annabelle would be the best , but if finances are tight, then you need to take a little more control over her grooming. Try to brush her every single day to try & minimize the amount of hair she ingests. If she does not like being brushed, start slow, maybe for a second or two, & reward her. Every day, try to do a little more. Take her off all fish based cat food, canned & dry, & treats. Switch her slowly to a poultry or meat based one. These are readily available, but you need to look at the ingredients ( Purina makes one ). You may need to try a diet dedicated for cats with sensitive stomachs. Hill's pet foods makes one, and you should be able to purchase this at any large pet retailer like Petco. Making these changes may not eliminate all vomiting, but should help. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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.

Poor guy. It sounds like Simba could very well have inflammatory bowel disease if he is vomiting this much. The next best step here though to ensure we have not missed anything is some baseline bloodwork (check organ function and clues) and an abdominal ultrasound to look at the intestines for signs of inflammation. If inflammatory bowel disease is the most likely cause, then Simba will need to go on a prescription diet for best results. Some good options to consider are: Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed protein, Hlil's Z/D Ultra or Royal Canin Selected protein PR. A short course of steroids should also be considered to help calm things down. Here is more information on inflammatory bowel disease in cats and the treatment options in detail --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=7393377 Another possible causes here is a hairball obstruction, so it is important to get Simba to your vet for radiographs of his stomach and look into this possible cause. If a hairball trichobezoar (hairball mass) is the cause, then it may need surgical removal. If it is not a severe case then your vet likely will try some stool softeners and hairball formula to see if this can resolve the issue. I hope that Simba does well moving forward and that you get a handle on her frequent vomiting episodes. Best of luck and take care.

It's probably something more serious. chronic vomiting can be caused by various conditions (foreign body, pancreatitis, lymphoma, IBD and more...), you will need to take her to the vet in order to get checked and have a blood test done as a first step to try and find out what is causing this.

It's possible Snickers may be dealing with some problematic hairballs, however if the vomiting has been going on this long it is best to seek veterinary care for a complete exam to make sure there isn't another underlying cause. You can attempt to groom Snickers more at home by brushing daily and offering hairball paste (found in most pet stores), however if the vomiting continues, vet care is needed. If you are having trouble affording veterinary care, this site may help give you some ideas about how to make it more affordable: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html