My cats have vomited many many hairballs over the past 16 years. I have also cleaned up tons of hairballs all by myself because my husband and daughter refuse to touch the hairballs even with paper towels in hand! Does any of this sound familiar? Anyway, here are a few hairball remedies cats to put into practice.
An important hairball remedy is water! You need to make sure you are giving your cat new fresh water everyday! The other important thing is to make sure that what the cat drinks out of is clean. I suggest cleaning the water bowl daily to keep from getting bacteria growth in it. That would not make the water fresh nor clean! Water is a vital part of the cat's digestive system. To maximize your cat's water consumption, supply the water in such a way that your cat prefers. Such as, a drinking fountain or a pool of water. The drinking fountain simulates running water; were as a pool of water is just that... a pool of water. My cats prefer the pool of water method.
The next hairball remedy is laxatives! Laxatives are petroleum-based. This allows hairballs to pass through your cat's digestive system by coating the hair inside the stomach and the stool. This can work one of two ways for your cat's hairball, in most cases: 1) They will either poop the hairball out; or 2) They will vomit up the hairball easier. I personally do not recommend using petroleum jelly out of the jar that humans use. I would go to the pet's store and purchase a commercial laxative. These are flavored so the cats will enjoy it. You can put the laxative in their food, on your finger for them to lick off or on a cat treat.
The last hairball remedy is fiber! The last hairball remedy is fiber! Fiber adds bulk and moisture to your cat's stool; helping your cat pass their stool easier. Canned pumpkin is a hairball remedies cats source of fiber that your cat can have. You can try to add a teaspoon of canned pumpkin to your cat's canned food several times a week to help control hairballs. Another fiber source is cat grass. This grows indoors in a controlled environment and is chemical free. The cat grass rejuvenates quickly and is cheap. The best thing of all is that cats love cat grass!
