Reducing Cat Hair Balls

[muchlovex]

Apart from brushing my long haired cat daily, what other measures can I take?

I am wondering about giving my kitty Sardines in olive oil once per week?

What do other AB'ers do that are effective?

Thank you

[Mosaic]

Or, turn a negative into a positive - make a sweater. Seriously, some folk do....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrlOwxfvUug

[goldblend]

Reducing cat hair balls! I had a little Persian and brushed every day and she also had Royal Canine Food which has ingredients to stop hair balls and she never ever had one. Ask at your local pet shop as they are numbered and I cannot remember which number is for Hairballs as I lost my cat three years ago. Goldblend

[muchlovex]

Thank you Goldblend. Sorry to hear you lost your cat x

[Prudie]

I've only got shorthairs so not really a problem and don't know if it's a con but you can get Dreamies that are specifically for anti-furball. More expensive than the normal ones. I know Tesco do them.

[237SJ]

My cat has fur induced gastritis and is always throwing up. I was told that giving the cat sardines, olive oil etc won`t help the passage of fur through the gut because the gut absorbs the oil in natural products and therefore they have no effect. There is a product you can get from the vet. I can`t remember the name but it is an oily gel which is flavoured and it isn`t absorbed by the gut. You only need a little dap on a finger or hidden in the cat`s food and it is supposed to help the passage of fur balls. Unfortunately for me, it didn`t work because the little devil wouldn`t touch it but it might be worth a try.

[wolf63]

My old cat got a bit clogged up and I took him to the vet. The stuff we got sounds like the stuff 237SJ got. I was told to dab it on his paw and he would lick it off. It took me a few days to work out why some of my woodwork had turned red. The little monster was rubbing it off his paw and onto the woodwork.

Try the food stuff goldblend mentioned or knit a jumper as per Mosaic's video. Prudie mentioned the KittyKocaine (Dreamies) and that will be worth a try too.

My little princess is long haired - she hacks up some disgusting lumps of hair. It sounds disgusting to us but is natural for cats.

[jourdain2]

My 15 year-old short-hair has started throwing up furballs to a worrying degree. I brush her, but as she has got older her coat seems to be thicker - I discovered matted lumps today. All the vet says is to brush. I'm reading all your answers avidly - she's a finiky eater and won't take anything 'suspicious' (worming is a 2-person job). I've tried sardines, which she likes, to no avail.