Cat Hairballs
Dog Breeds
Every day cats groom themselves extensively and swallow large quantities of hair in the process. Normally, the hair mixes with food and passes in the stool distributed evenly throughout the feces. Sometimes however, hair will remain in the stomach and begin to form clumps.
Read More >
Introduction
Every day cats groom themselves extensively and swallow large quantities of hair in the process. Normally, the hair mixes with food and passes in the stool distributed evenly throughout the feces. Sometimes however, hair will remain in the stomach and begin to form clumps. As these clumps increase in size they begin to irritate the stomach and eventually cause the cat to vomit them up. The usual shape of a hairball is a tube approximately 1 cm in diameter and about 4 cm long.
Complications Associated with Hairballs
In some cases, cats develop excessive hairballs when their stomach is irritated. Problems that result in stomach and gut inflammation or changes in normal motility (mixing movements) in the upper intestine and stomach can favor abnormal retention of hair. The frequency of vomiting and hairball passage can be significant in these cats. Finding more than one hairball every few weeks can indicate this sort of situation.
Hair buildup in the digestive system can be a worrisome problem in combination with chronic constipation. The presence of the hair in the stool can enhance the tendency towards very dry, hard stools that are tough to move through the intestine and pass. This makes it more likely the stool will get caught in the bowels, sometimes leading to trichobezoars, or hard, dry, obstructive hair-based masses. It is not unusual for the stool of cats with chronic constipation problems to contain a significant amount of dry hair in the stool ball. It is likely that weak gut motility contributes to this situation. It is important to effectively manage the constipation to prevent the risk of dry hair-based masses. Left unattended, the result can be permanent stretching of the gut wall around large impactions.
Managing Your Cat's Hairballs
Low-grade hairballs can be effectively managed using gentle hairball medications that help lubricate hairs in the stomach and prevent tangling. These lubricants are usually formulated as a tasty paste administered once or twice weekly by mouth. They have added vitamins, and can be very effective if used regularly.
Symptoms and Types
Overview and Facts