What is the best hairball remedy? I saw one by Hartz, but don't like to buy their products. I am brushing TinyT a lot which should help. Am also feeding a little salmon cat food which I figure is good cause of the oil in it.
I found this on the link below:
You can use a commercial remedy like Petromalt or Laxatone, but I have several natural remedies that will work and won't cost a trip to the pet shop. Feeding your cat a bit of butter or margarine can do the trick, or you can use a dab of petroleum jelly on their nose. One teaspoon of mineral oil will also work, and you can also feed about one-quarter to one-half a teaspoon of mineral oil every couple of weeks, as a preventative measure.
(But am wondering the the mineral oil will give the kitty the runs)
actually, I have never had success with them licking it from their paw....I squeeze an inch onto my index finger, then put it into their mouths, sort of scraping it off behind their teeth, so they just lick and lick until it is gone...
Hmmm... I seem to have fallen behind the times on this: I recall giving mineral oil and Laxatone to a cat that had a serious hairball problem but that was years ago. Q turns 14 this month; he occasionally does the 'hack hack' - or I find evidence on the carpet - but then he is immediately all right again; I've never dosed him. Pinto has been with us 2 years - he is turning 3 about now - so far as I've noticed, he has no problems in this regard. Both cats are American short-haired domestic, which means they have that trace of mix with longhairs (rather than the "short-short" pelt of the original European domestic.) Should I be giving Laxatone or whatever to them regularly?
Mineral oil is not recommended because it can cause fatal aspiration, and it also robs the intestine of mucosa.
It's not necessary, nor advised to give hairball remedy on a regular basis, unless the cat has a history of hairball problems -- in which a better approach would be to investigate the diet being fed, and to brush the cat on a weekly basis. On occasion where hairballs are vomited, hairball remedy administration every other day or every couple days for one week should suffice. If the problem persists, a vet check is in order. Hairballs are concerning if they are vomited more frequently than once a month or so, and are accompanied by regurgitation of food on a frequent basis.
Make sure the "hacking" is not something else, like lung disease, heart problems or asthma, particularly if it occurs frequently.
Whew! Thanks Traci. Apparently I have little to worry about - Q did hack a bit recently, one time, almost certainly either a hairball or a bit of chow going down the wrong way, but that's all. And I now recall the warning about mineral oil - haven't even had any of that on hand for years, for whatever purpose...
