A cat making hacking noises and throwing up a cylindrical mass of hairs and mucus can be quite alarming. This problem is cat hairball, a mass of hairs accumulated in the intestine and stomach when the cat grooms and licks its fur thereby swallowing loose hairs. These loose hairs cannot be digested and do not pass through stools completely, which makes the cat throw it all up. The problem becomes graver when the cat sheds heavily, grooms and licks other cats, or swallows big hairs. Cat hairball can clog the digestive system and can be removed only by surgery. Whether the cat has long hairs or short, over grooms or not, it will face this problem some time or the other.
The cat will vomit hairball just about anywhere and any time. Some cat hairball symptoms include the cat passing hard stools containing hairs in them, lethargy, vomiting after consuming food, dry cough, and a loss of appetite. Additionally, the cat’s fur also becomes matted, and the cat will seem depressed and fatigued all the time. A general pet health information is that when the cat tries to vomit a hairball out, she will crouch, back up and hack, symptoms that are similar to cat asthma too. So, if one finds the cat showing these symptoms several times without throwing up anything, the owner must take it to the vet immediately as it may be an asthma attack in deed.
Even though one cannot do anything when the cat is expelling hairball, controlling this problem is quite possible. Preventing hairballs can be a part of pet health care as this problem can lead to extreme abdominal pain, intestinal blockage and even death in some cats. The owner must brush the cat’s fur about twice a week and once everyday during the shedding season to remove loose hairs. Feeding the cat half a spoon of melted butter everyday for a few days or a little petroleum jelly will lubricate the intestine and make the hairball pass through feces instead of vomit. It’s important to improve the quality of the cat’s coat to prevent shedding and consequent hairballs. For this, the cat’s food must have more fiber and less grains like corn or wheat. Heavy snacking and inadequate exercise will make the cat’s bowel movement difficult and in turn make it throw up the hairball. There are many commercial hairball remedies that can help in treating pet health issues like hairballs and inability to defecate.