Looking After Pets

No cat owner wants to have to deal with hairballs, but they are a common problem with cats. They are caused by a build up of fur and lack of brushing. Cats end up swallowing furballs and this is where the problem starts. Once these lodge in the cat’s throat, choking can ensue. This is not a nice thing to witness and it can end up being quite risky.

If you want to know how to minimise the risk of hairballs, you need to make sure you know your cat health care. That means watching out for hairballs and matted fur accumulating. Great advice is to make sure grooming your cat forms a part of your daily routine. This is a great activity as you are helping the cat’s health and also your pet will love being stroked. Just be sure to be gentle to make the cat as relaxed as possible.

Some cats with longer fur (and more of it) are prone to hairballs, and this is something that the vet should remind you of when you take it for check-ups. Anyone with a Persian cat will know how stunning it is to look at, but the long fur is more likely to make hairballs. You can’t stop the cat from licking itself, as they all do it, which is why hairballs are such a problem. Luckily, dogs don’t suffer with this hairball problem, as they don’t clean themselves by licking the fur. As cat owners know, cats keep clean by licking their fur and thus hairballs occur.

The process is simple – as soon as the hairball gets into the stomach, the cat tries to cough it up. When the choking starts, the cat’s owner will get a bit nervous about how they are supposed to handle the situation. There’s not much you can do at this stage, and it’s a case of letting the cat cough the hairball up, but be sure to keep an eye on the cat. Look out for any worrying signs and just make sure the cat is okay after coughing the fur up. If you like to stay prepared, there are some hairball treatments out there which a vet can advise on.

Cat owners know that where there are cats there are also hairballs. Cats oral grooming habits involve swallowing large quantities of hair. Most of the swallowed hair passes harmlessly through the cat’s digestive system. Problems occur when instead of passing through the cat’s digestive system the hair remains in the cat’s digestive system. As time passes the undigested hair collects with other undigested hair, these hairs stick together, until a hairball forms in the cat’s stomach. The larger the hair ball becomes, the greater a risk it poses to the cat’s health and well being.

A vast majority of cats are able to rid themselves of a hairball by hacking it up. The sound they make when trying to bring up a hairball is similar to a person suffering from dry heaves, although the noise is slightly higher pitched. Most cat owners also report that the best time of day to extract a troublesome hairball is in the middle of the night so that sound can keep the cat’s entire family up all night. Cat owners also find that their cat is very clever at depositing the hairball in places where it’s humans frequently walk barefoot, like on the bathroom floor, directly next to the shower.

As unhappy as cat owners might be about having balls of half digested hair littering their house, they are even less happy about large hairballs that remain in their house cat’s stomach. When the enormous hairball makes its way into the cat’s intestine it can create a blockage that frequently means a hasty trip to the vet for an emergency surgery. This surgery can cost several hundred dollars.

Signs that your cat is suffering from a hairball are; your cat ignoring their personal grooming regime and allowing their coat to become dirty and matted, constant coughing and hacking, loss of appetite, constipation, and depression. Long haired cats, because of the length of their coat, are more prone to hairballs then their short haired contemporaries.

Pet grooming is a wonderful way for cat owners to prevent the unpleasantness of hairballs. Brushing your cat once a day will remove dead hairs from the cat’s coat. These dead hairs wont be around to stick to the cat’s tongue and later be swallowed to form a hair ball. Although any brush can be used to groom your pet cat, a cat brush purchased from pet store has bristles that are specially designed for cat hair. Daily grooming routines will strengthen the bond between you and your cat.

If you have a long haired cat, or even a short haired cat that seems prone to hairballs, you may want to consider clipping your cat to remove excess hair. Hair that is no longer on the cat’s body can not wreck havoc on their digestive system.

Another thing that cat owners can do to prevent hairball is to purchase cat foods that are specially designed to prevent hairballs from forming in the cat’s digestive system. If your budget wont extend to purchasing expensive anti-hairball foods, you may want to consider other commercial hairball remedies.

Cat owners should consult their veterinarian for additional methods of hairball control.

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No cat wants to be dirty, and it’s up to you to ensure that your cat stays clean.  Grooming is very important, as it helps your cat remain clean and healthy.  Grooming starts with brushing, as brushing helps to keep the cats hair from becoming hairballs.  Brushing will remove loose hair, and help prevent the risk of hairballs.  A lot of cats have trouble dislodging hairballs.If the cat is unable take out the hairball, it might result into a serious blockage of intestine.  Blockages are very serious, and can quickly become life threatening for your pet.

Cats that have long hair need to be brushed and combed on a daily basis, while cats with short hair need to be groomed on a weekly basis.Whenever brushing is done to your cat, you should be watchful for lumps in the coat or any marks of irritation on the cat’s skin.  You should start brushing along the cat’s back, going from his head to his tail.  Do this a few times on one side, and then switch to the other.Each area of the cat hair should be brushed more than once in accordance with the direction of hair growth.

When you brush your cat, you should always avoid brushing his face and paws.  If a cat doesn’t like to be brushed, you can still groom him using another tool.The grooming glove is an excellent alternative to the brush, as most cats don’t mind it at all.  Starting out young is the key to grooming, as it will get your cat used to brushing and grooming.  Some cats that have started grooming when they were kittens grow to love it, many of which often look forward to their grooming time.

When brushing your cat, make sure that you check his ears, eyes, teeth, and claws.  His eyes should be bright and clear with nothing residing in the corners.  His ears should be clean, pink in color, and no sign of ear mites.  Ear mites result from dirt built up in a cat’s ears, and can result in the ears shriveling up and your cat losing his hearing.  Ear mites are very annoying for the cat, and hard for you as an owner to get rid of.  The best way to get rid of them – is to ensure that your cat’s ears stay clean and healthy.

Your aim always should be to go a bit further with your examinations, every time when you groom your feline.  When your cat remains still, you should always praise him and give him a treat.  If your cat doesn’t cooperate and starts to struggle, you shouldn’t fight with him, but instead let him go and try the next day.  Once your cat gets used to grooming he will look forward to it each and every day.

Being a animal friend probably you ought to be cognizant of a usual condition that afflicts felines:  cat hairballs.  But what do you know of a hairball’s indications, causes, and treatments?

What Causes Cat Hairballs?

Hairballs are caused by the harsh exterior of a feline’s tongue pulling out free hairs in the course of washing themselves.  This hair is then ingested and moved into the digestive tract.  In the ordinary situation, this hair wouldn’t be digested, but would get pooped out when the feline uses the litter box or goes outside.  Naturally, cats are hunters, and are evolved to be able to accept eating fur, like from some poor mouse it catches.   As the hair congeals into a mass, the cat will surely end up with the messy experience of puking it back up.  In unfortunate situations however, this might not occur and it may end up trapped inside your kitty, unfortunately resulting in potentially disastrous health problems.

Hairballs and Your Cat’s Health

Cat hairballs are a hassle all by themselves, but can in addition instigate several corollary concerns, rapidly becoming dangerous if not removed or treated quickly.  Additionally the open and unpleasant vomiting, of course, the remaining hair can induce intestinal distress and constipation.  Your cat well could cease eating and start being lethargic as the hairball multiplies in size, while they are still unable to expell it.  Their insides can swell and this can certainly create all sorts of unsafe issues that you’d not like to have to worry about.  This condition could even end up necessitating surgical intervention to remove the hairball, which is an awful big financial impact and hazard to your pet, especially considering the simplicity of preventing hairballs in the first place.  Left untreated, it could become a fatal health problem.

Treating Hairballs

Cats naturally try to treat themselves by throwing up.  They can accomplish this by consuming grass, which often makes felines to vomit due to the irritating fiber content.  Other ways to cure hairballs use petroleum or mineral oil based substances intended to grease the intestinal tract in such a means to ease the natural elimination of the hairball.  Products such as cat Laxatone or Petromalt fiber capsules have been designed to cure cat hairballs.  They are a semi-solid crème that you give your kitties before meals.  This slides the hairball through the digestive process and acts in a manner very helpful to alleviate non-hairball caused constipation in addition.  They tend to be available in a assortment of flavors like tuna or catnip flavoring.  One serving each day for two or three days, and your issue should be fixed.

Hairball Prevention

Hairball prevention is done by a few varying ways, some of them complementary.  One is a 1/2 dose of Laxatone or Petromalt 2 or 3 times per week.  Laxatone is always highly thought of by veterinarians and pet people alike. There are also certain “hairball prevention” formulated diets available.  A large percentage of hairball prevention is of course proper grooming.  Be sure to brush the short-haired cats but comb the long-haired kitties on a continual basis.  They adore it and it’s a wonderful means to spend time being sure your kitty remains happy and healthy.