Thursday, October 16, 2008

How To Prevent Hairballs

As a cat friend certainly you must be knowledgable of a typical issue that targets kitties:  the hairball.  But what are you aware of a hairball's symptoms, triggers, and treatments?

Hairball Causes

A hairball is caused by the harsh surface of a cat's tongue pulling out loose hairs while they are grooming themselves.  This hair is then gulped down and pulled into the digestive tract.  Ordinarily, this hair would not get digested, but would get excreted when the kitty uses the litter box or goes outside.  Naturally, kitties are predators, and are capable to be capable to handle eating fur, like from any poor mouse it catches.   When it congeals into a mass, the cat will probably not enjoy the unwelcome experience of throwing it back up.  In some cases however, this might not work and the hairball can end up stuck inside your animal, likely resulting in unfortunate health concerns.

Hairballs and Your Cat's Health

Hairballs are irritating enough all by themselves, but can additionally cause a few related problems, rapidly growing unsafe if not removed or treated in a prompt manner.  Aside from the obvious and unpleasant vomiting, of course, the unexpelled hair can precipitate digestive difficulties and constipation.  Your cat well could cease eating and act lethargic as the hairball multiplies in size, while your pet are still unable to expell it.  Their insides can swell and this can certainly create many kinds of unwelcome problems that you'd certainly not want be stuck with.  This danger could even end up requiring surgery to remove the hairball, which is a pretty unwelcome cost and jeopardy to your kitty, particularly considering the simplicity of preventing hairballs in the first place.  Left alone, it could result in a mortal health problem.

Eliminating Hairballs

Cats naturally try to self treat by throwing up.  They can do this by swallowing grass, which often makes kitties to puke due to the grass fibers irritating their stomaches.  Other possibilities to eliminate hairballs revolve around petroleum or mineral oil based substances made to lubricate the intestines in such a means to ease the natural passage of the hairball.  Products such as Laxatone for cats or Petromalt hairball remedy have been made to treat hairballs.  They are a semi-solid crème that you feed your cats before meals.  This moves the obstruction through the system and is helpful to alleviate non-hairball induced constipation in addition.  They have been made purchasable in a array of flavors like tuna or catnip flavoring.  One dose each day for two or three days, and your problem is fixed.

Preventing Hairball Recurrence

Preventing hairball recurrence is realized by certain different means, some of them complementary.  One is a half dose of Laxatone or Petromalt 2-3 times per week.  Petromalt hairball remedy comes highly approved by veterinarians and pet owners alike. There are specific "hairball prevention" diet foods available.  A large part of hairball prevention is obviously proper grooming.  Definitely brush your short-haired cats but comb your long-haired felines on a continual basis.  They enjoy it and it's a wonderful method to spend time making sure your feline continues to be happy and healthy.

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