Ever step on a pile of natty hair and wonder if your cat does this on purpose? Cats are known to produce hairballs several times a day. BUT this is not a way to get your attention or to annoy you! In fact, hairballs are the number one health condition reported by 35% of cat owning households!
Well what exactly is a “hairball?” We all know it’s a ball of hair (duh!), but what does it mean? The development of hairballs is a common cat condition that is the result in self-grooming. This ingested hair can brew around in your cat’s stomach and throat, causing irritation and sickness. Your cat will most likely gag or throw up if it has a hairball stuck in its throat.
Don’t ignore the hair! Sometimes hairballs can be very large, this can lead to serious medical problems with your cat. Don’t let hair be the reason why you need to take your cat to the vet. There are NUMEROUS ways to reduce and prevent your kitty from getting hairballs.
- Brush your cat’s hair daily! By removing all the loose hair, this decreases the amount of hair the cat ingests when it self grooms
- Feed your kitty commercial cat food. By improving your cat’s coat you can reduce shedding and strengthen fiber in your cats diet.
- If its seems your cat grooms too much its best to buy your cat a toy or a new treat in order to distract itself from self grooming.
- However, you can never stop a cat from self-grooming, it’s a natural instinct. So if your cat seems like its still producing too many hairballs you should take it to the vet and consult on what to do medically.
Hairballs are just small balls of cat hair, but its nothing to ignore! Your cat may seem fine but inside they may be uncomfortable and irritated. Remember that they depend on you for a voice, protect your cat today and they will feel FURRtastic all the time!
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