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Is my longhaired cat's frequent hairball vomiting normal or serious?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Longhair | Female | spayed | 2 years and 1 month old

My cat vomits hairballs and food (macerated dry food, urinary and hairball prevention formula from Hill's Science) very often, around once in two weeks. Is this normal for a longhaired cat, or should I take her to the vet?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 28th, 2018

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jeffrey Milner
Veterinarian
Published on October 6th, 2018
Yes, it is typically more frequent in long haired cats in my experience just obvious reasons. The amount of hairballs vomited is typically dependent upon how much of a groomer your cat tends to be. In my opinion, it is definitely something that requires some intervention if it is happening everyday. There are special diets to help break down hairballs / prevent their growth. There are also supplements that aim at doing the same. Hope this makes sense. Ignoring the problem may not necessarily result in anything too dramatic. There are rare instances where hairballs can cause impactions and blockages in the GI tract. These typically require surgical extraction dependent upon their location. Hope this makes sense.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on February 15th, 2017
I would recommend giving her Lactulose to help with her hairball issues. I have yet to meet a cat that has a sensitive stomach to Lactulose (lubricant).
Also you should help Chloe not form hairballs in the future by brushing her regularly. Once a day for long hair cats and once twice a week for short to medium haired cats is the usual recommendation. The less shedding hair that is there, the less your pet Chloe will ingest when she grooms herself on a daily basis.
If Chloe just can't seem to get this hairball out and seems to be having a real difficult time then it is best to get her to your vet for further treatment.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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Related Questions

My long-haired cat is throwing up hairballs and food. Is it normal?

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.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

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

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!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My cats hack like hairballs but swallow them. Is this normal?

Cats often will try to vomit up hairballs. I would try brushing them more frequently, say every other day or at least twice a week to remove most of the hair that they could potentially ingest. You can continue to give them hairball medicine (i.e. Laxatone) or start this if not done so already. As long as they are eating well and not vomiting, then you can continue to monitor them for now. Best wishes with your fur babies. Take care.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

What can I do for my cat's hairball vomiting, lethargy, appetite loss?

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..

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

How to help my cat pass a hairball and stop throwing up food?

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!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Food & Nutrition

Why does my cat keep throwing up food and hairballs so often?

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.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Food & Nutrition

Cat vomits hairball and colored fluid after treats. Should I worry?

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!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

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