My cat throws up. How can I tell if it's a hairball and what helps?

It is ot possible to identify the source from the photo but your vet may be able to examine to confirm if it is indeed cat hair or synthetic yarn. I would recommend feeding a diet formulated for hair ball reduction for 3-4weeks. A full health check and abdominal xrays would be recommended to rule out any partial obstruction or sooner if there is any weight loss

I am sorry we didn't answer your question sooner. Hopefully you have heard from your vet by now. The tissue in the picture is actually a couple of hairballs. I would recommend talking to your vet about what may be the best option for preventing additional hairballs (medications, dietary change, shaving the hair, etc).

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Mushu and for providing pictures, they are helpful. It may be he is grooming himself a lot causing the hairballs and leading to the vomiting. I would start brushing him daily to see if that helps with the vomiting. If it does not, then I would have him seen by a vet. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the images. It doesn't appear to be blood. Blood in vomitus is usually much darker. That appears to be a mix of chewed or partially digested food, bile and hair. Monitor for continued vomiting, lethargy or loss of appetite. These are symptoms that should be addressed by your veterinarian. Consider a short fast, maybe 12 hours, then offer a bland diet in small, frequent amounts for a day or two. Transition slowly to the regular diet afterwards. If Luna will allow, increase brushing or grooming to decrease the amount of hair ingested. You can also use Laxatone or PetroMalt paste to help her pass hairballs.Find either in the local Petco.

Usually, if cats regurgitate undigested dry food they are eating their food way too fast. You may want to get a feeding toy into which you put his dry food ration (do not free feed dry food) two to three times daily. This way Soya has to work for her food by playing around with the toy which dispenses the dry food in individual pieces thus preventing your cat from eating too much too fast. As for preventing hair balls there are several things you can and should do: 1) brush/comb your cat regularly, removing any loose hair from its fur as well as mattes, before they get too big. 2) buy some hair ball remedy paste from either your vet or a pet shop and feed it to your cat according to the instructions on the tube. This helps prevent formation of hairballs. 3) Next time you buy dry food pick the type that specifies "Hair ball Prevention" on the bag. This should make you and your kitty happy!

She is obviously grooming a lot and therefore ingesting a lot of hairs. It is good for her to either poop out the hair or even regurgitate the hair balls. I think you are doing everything right and I would not change her food regimen. You can help her a bit by combing or brushing her coat and removing loose hair. This would reduce hair ingested. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Brushing Meezer daily to remove excess hair will help reduce the hair balls and therefore the vomiting. You can also give cat laxative twice weekly to reduce the hair balls. Feeding several small meals will help too as cats who eat large amounts quickly tend to vomit more frequently. In general healthy cats tend to vomit off an on regardless. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Meezer.