5 Best Cat Foods For Hairballs in 2021

Though almost all cats experience hairballs at a time in their life, long-haired cats are more prone to hairballs as they shed their coat year-round, as such, they tend to swallow too much hair.

In this article, we will examine the meaning of hairball in cats, causes of hairball, symptoms, treatment of hairballs, both clinical and home remedies. We will conclude by reviewing the best foods to feed your cat with when it’s suffering from hairballs.

What are hairballs in cats?

A hairball is a collection of dead hair, food remnants, and digestive juices that are formed in the stomach of cats. By grooming themselves, cats use to swallow little hairs, which at the end will coagulate to form a ball.

We all know that cats are very good at keeping themselves cleans; they lick their fur to shed excess hair and clean away dirt. Naturally, their tongue has tiny barbs that grab the hair as they lick their fur; these barbs are facing backward as such, they easily snag any loose hair on the body of cats. However, during this process, cats tend to swallow the hair they shed. The little hair they swallow will accumulate with time, combine with food remnants and digestive juices, and turned into a hairball.

All adult cats get hairballs from time to time, and it doesn’t usually form actions except in a few cases. But you might have been wondering what causes hairballs, how will you know if your cat has developed them and how to treat them. Well, worry no more as this article got you covered.

Causes of hairballs

The main cause of hairball is self-grooming. As earlier stated, cats are cleaning themselves as such; they don’t even need bathing. However, during that process of cleaning themselves, they tend to swallow loose and dead hair. As time goes on, this hair will keep increasing, and it will be coagulating with remnants of foods eaten by the cat and some digestive enzymes till it forms a ball-like structure which is known as a hairball.

Symptoms of hairball

It’s really disturbing to watch your feline friend struggling to eliminate a hairball from its stomach. Mostly before vomiting, hair falls, cats gag, hack and retch. Some keep stretching themselves and turning their heads, after that the cat will vomit out the hairball. This is a normal condition that doesn’t call for alarm.

However, in situations where you notice your cat is suffering to eliminate hairballs for a long time and it can’t, this indicates that the hairball has grown big and has likely caused a blockage that can threaten the life of your pet. In such cases, quickly contact your veterinarian for a proper check-up. The symptoms include;

• Vomiting: If you notice that your feline friend is vomiting or trying to vomit in vain, it might be that a hairball has caused a blockage in its intestine, and it’s trying hard to bring it out.
• Hard stool: If you notice that your cat doesn’t have normal bowel movements, or it’s excreting dry hard stools and straining itself, then it’s probably a hairball that caused a blockage in its intestine
• Lethargy: If you notice that your cat is experiencing fever, low energy, drowsiness, and lack of sensitivity to the environment, then your cat is probably suffering from a hairball that refuses to be eliminated
• Diarrhea: Though diarrhea might be caused by other health complications, it is one of the early symptoms of hairballs in cats.

Other symptoms of hairballs in cats include straining, lying down in a hunched posture, loss of appetite, and sleepiness. If you notice any of these symptoms, quickly take your little friend to a veterinarian.

Should I be worried about cats’ hairballs?

A question I’m sure is popping your head right now is whether cat hairballs are normal cat hairballs don’t call for much alarm. Just take the sight of your little friend retching and gagging; trying to get rid of a hairball can be disturbing, you will begin to wonder if anything is going to happen to your cat. This is a result of self-grooming, which every cat does to keep itself clean.

The hairs swallowed during self-grooming are usually digested, the few stubborn ones keep accumulating till they form a ball, to avoid blockage, and your cat will be struggling to get rid of that hair. It’s in that process that you will see it stretching itself, gagging, and vomiting sometimes. After a few minutes, the cat will relatively vomit a hairball and walk away. It’s quite disturbing seeing your cat gagging, but it’s a normal thing; a part of their nature.

Do cats have hairballs every day?

No, most pet owners think their costs eliminate a hairball every day the way it eats and grooms every day. This is quite wrong, cats usually have hairballs once in a Blue Moon. Most of the hair they swallow use to get digested and is passed out simply in feces. It’s only a few of that hair that will be sticking together till it forms a ball. Usually, cats don’t use to have more than two hairballs in a month, though this has a lot to do with the kind of hair a cat has.

However, if your feline friend experiences hairball frequently, it’s good you take it to a professional as it might be a symptom of over-grooming. Overgrooming mostly occurs when a cat is stressed, it will keep licking its fur all day round. This will lead to the accumulation of too much hair. Another reason for frequent hairballs is gastrointestinal tract problems. These two things can lead to serious health problems if not tackled on time. So it’s best to rush your cat to a vet if you notice that it’s having frequent hairballs.

What Type of Cat Produce More Hairballs

The amount of hairballs produced by a cat depends on how old it is and how hairy it is.

Young cats and kittens hardly produce any hairballs as they aren’t fast in grooming, so the little hair that enters their stomach during grooming will easily be digested and passed out in feces. Elderly cats, however, produce hairballs frequently as they have grown a puffier coat and they tend to lose more hair through grooming. So don’t fret if your cat’s hairballs are increasing as it’s getting older.

Long-haired cats like the Persian and Maine Coons breed also produce more hairballs as their long fur easily accumulates and forms a ball. Fluffy cats are also known to shed more hair during grooming than the less fluffy ones as such, they produce more hairballs.

What to do when your cat is struggling to eliminate a hairball

As I’ve earlier said, hairballs are normal, and they happen at one time or the other in cats’ life so it doesn’t call for much worry. But we all know that it’s disturbing to watch your little friend gagging and stretching trying to eject a hairball out of its stomach, so if you see your cat in such a situation, what should you do?

Well, the best thing is to give them space, just allow it to gag and stretch the way it likes so as it will be able to vomit the ball. Don’t try to stop it, shout or hold it. Just keep an eye to see if it will stop gagging immediately if it ejects the hairball or not.

Can hairballs become Dangerous?

Yes, a hairball can become dangerous. Though naturally, they are 100% harmless. But if you see your feline friend spending the whole day gagging, stretching itself, and giving out painful cries, do fast and take it to a vet as it might be that the hairball has moved to its intestine and caused a blockage.

If such a case happens, you will notice that your cat has lost its appetite, it’s drowsy, and it is uncomfortable. Other symptoms highlighting that hairballs have become dangerous include; lethargy, prolonged gagging, and stretching, prolonged vomiting, a swollen stomach, diarrhea, hard stool, and fever at times.

How do hairballs get diagnosed?

Veterinarians have many ways of diagnosing hairballs in cats, mostly they do so by physical examination, at times an X-ray is required, and in extreme cases, surgery might be needed to remove the hairball if it’s too big.

It’s good to take your cat to the vet if you notice any changes in its habit, as some symptoms of hairball can be symptoms of other medical conditions, for example; lethargy and too much stretching are also signed of asthma so to avoid mistaking it as a hairball.

It’s normal to see a cat throwing up and reaching to remove hairballs once in a while; you only have to be worried if your cat keeps vomiting and gagging for more than 48 hours.

How to Treat Hairballs in Cats

As we all know, hairballs are natural conditions that happen to every cat, and we can’t escape them. What we can only do is take care to prevent too many hairballs.

Here are some ways you can follow to reduce the hairballs your cat produces. They include:

Be brushing your cat

Brushing your cat means helping it to groom and shed a lot of loose and dead hair in a short period. If you are regularly brushing your cat. It will have little or no hair to swallow when it grooms itself. And we all know that the fewer the hair swallowed, the lesser the hairball a cat can have. If your cat doesn’t like being brushed, you might want to take it to a professional groomer, if not it will be grooming itself , and too much hair will be accumulating in its stomach, leading to frequent hairballs.

To know more about brushing your cat, why you should, how to do it, how frequent and some best brushes to use, check out our previous articleBest Cat Brushes In 2021

Be cutting its hair short from time to time

Another good way of preventing excess hairballs in cats is by cutting short their fur. This, however, works better for long-haired and fluffy cats than short-haired cats. This also, you can meet a professional groomer to help you do it to avoid mistakes. Keeping the hair of your feline friend well-trimmed not only means it will look fine, but it also means it will not swallow much hair as such, it will not have many hairballs.

Be giving your catfish oil

Fish oil plays a great role in fighting hairballs in cats. Whether tuna oil, sardine oil, or pollock oil, fish oil generally helps cats by nourishing their skin to reduce shedding and pushing swallowed hair to the digestive tract for ejection.

Fish oil also contains Omega 3 fatty acids that help to keep well-nourished skin and a fine coat in cats with less shedding. Feel free to add some fish oil to your friend’s daily meal.

Feed your cat with foods that help in eliminating hairballs

Just as you need a well-balanced and nutritious diet, your cat too needs it. Giving your cat a well-balanced meal will help it a great in eliminating hairballs. Foods that are good in helping with hairballs are usually high in fiber, the high amount of fiber stops the hairballs from growing. These nutritious foods also help your feline friend in maintaining healthy skin, a fine and strong coat that doesn’t shed easily.

Wondering where you can get those foods? Worry not, we got you covered. Below we shall review some of the best cat foods for hairballs that you can ever find on Amazon. Leggo

Here we shall take a look at some of the best foods to feed your cat with when it’s having a hard time passing stool. As I know after seeing proper diet in the ways to treat hairballs in cats, you will start thinking about how to get good cat food for hard stool. Well, there are hundreds of brands producing and selling cat’s food for a hairball, choosing the right brand is the problem as you might be too overwhelming. To save you from making the wrong choice, we have decided to review the five best cat’s food for hard stool on Amazon.

Note: These Foods are reviewed in no order.