OK, cat owners... can we discuss shedding and hairballs?!!

[Lynn B]

OK, we cat lovers have discussed pretty much everything about cat care, but if we have THOROUGHLY EXPLORED and DISSECTED (in true PS style)

the issues of shedding and hairballs, I''ve missed it.

And I need HELP!

Buster is a card-carrying SHEDMEISTER, oy! He has ALWAYS shed like crazy. I can fill a brush up with his hair 3 times a day, I swear. He is one year old, and otherwise seems very healthy and active. I don''t think it''s a health issue, I think it''s just the way he is. (There were 6 kittens in his litter, 3 long-haired and 3 short-haired; we chose a short-hair specifically for what we thought would be less shedding. Well, all 3 short-hairs shed like CRAZY and none of the long-hairs shed a BIT! You can barely PULL a hair off those guys!!!

)

Anyway, I brush and comb him every day, and even use a lint roller on him (the sticky kind). But even with all that, sometimes he still gets a hairball. The vet recommended Cat-Lax, which I tried, and Buster HATES IT! I put some down on a plate for him and he looked at me like I was CRAZY! ("You want me to eat WHAT?!") So I put some on his front paw (like the vet suggested)... ohmyword, you''d have thought I SHOT him, he TORE through the house like a WILDMAN, and the greasy CatLax ended up all over my livingroom!

SO, I mail-ordered 2 different kinds of a similar product, "TUNA flavored" and "SALMON flavored". I mixed some in with his food and he would not go NEAR it. He didn''t eat ALL DAY or ALL NIGHT. Finally I couldn''t stand it any more, so I gave him his regular food back (I knew he had to be hungry!).

I feel like I am out of options! I was just going to buy him the (dry) Purina Catfood that says for help with hairballs, but now (since the other threads on cat food) I don''t want to feed him Purina anymore, I plan to switch him to Innova.

SO, does anyone have any shedding or hairball prevention tricks up their sleeves? (Buster and I) THANK YOU!

 

[rainbowtrout]

Psyillium husks are supposed to help. You can buy them at Whole Foods or vitamin shops.

Wheatgrass too. You can buy a little thingy of it just for cats and just let them chew on it in hairball season.

 

[VegasAngel]

Seems like you are doing all the right things. Is there a hairball treatment you can administer via dropper or syringe? You could always take him to a groomer to be bathed or shaved down (He'll hate it though). I use a grooming stone or a Slick N' easy to get the hair off my cat. It works really, really well. Some people use a hose attachment on their vacuum to get hair off their pets

It seems like it would be effective if your pet will tolerate it.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 6:17:08 PM
Author: rainbowtrout
Psyillium husks are supposed to help. You can buy them at Whole Foods or vitamin shops.

Wheatgrass too. You can buy a little thingy of it just for cats and just let them chew on it in hairball season.

Thanks for the reply.

Really??! Never heard of either of those! Are the psyillium husks a PILL? Or a "husk" of some sort?
And wheatgrass... is that literally a grass? Where would I buy that?

 

[rainbowtrout]

I vaccuum Chen....he thinks its funny, but it took him a little while to get used to the noise.

Psyillium husks are a carb-free form of fiber which --errr--"flushes" them. You just sprinkle a little on their food--I'm not sure of the correct dosage per meal, MC gets it in with his food when I make it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyllium_seed_husks


Wheatgrass, like the kind health nuts put in their shakes.

http://www.amazon.com/Wheatgrass-Growing-Pets-Instinctively-Instructions/dp/B000E7ZJWS

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 6:22:48 PM
Author: VegasAngel
Seems like you are doing all the right things. Is there a hairball treatment you can administer via dropper or syringe? You could always take him to a groomer to be bathed or shaved down (He''ll hate it though). I use a grooming stone or a Slick N'' easy to get the hair off my cat. It works really, really well. Some people use a hose attachment on their vacuum to get hair off their pets

It seems like it would be effective if your pet will tolerate it.

Thanks, VegasAngel. Oh you are sure right there -- he would HATE going to the groomers to be bathed or shaved. Oh my, I can see it now. I think he''d pack up and MOVE OUT!!!

He is the CLEANEST cat I have ever seen, and he smells SO GOOD! Really. Even strangers will say, "What do you do to this cat? He smells so good!" We don''t do anything, and we have never had to bathe him.

I have tried the vaccuum but oh, he DESPISES it, and it seems to terrfiy him... I just can''t do that to him!

But, please tell me more about your GROOMING STONE and your "SLICK ''N EASY". Those sound promising!!! Thank you!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 6:26:47 PM
Author: rainbowtrout
I vaccuum Chen....he thinks its funny, but it took him a little while to get used to the noise.

Oh, I envy you! I WISH I could vaccuum Buster. It really isn''t an option, though -- it is SO upsetting to him.

 

[rainbowtrout]

(edited last post for your question . Ignore the babble about all the wonderful nutritive benefits of the grass on the link, it just flushes them out, they can''t digest it!!

 

[surfgirl]

I am not a cat lover at all. But may I share? Last week I was out watering the lawn and I saw what looked like cat crap on the grass. I tried to water it away but the darn thing wouldn''t budge. Upon closer inspection it was like a hairy ball of crap. So gross!

My FI, who once owned cats, said it was a hairball. ACK. If I saw one IN my house I''d be really freaked out. That''s some nasty stuff you cat lovers put up with!

 

[rainbowtrout]

Well, dogs I have found are generally way messier, so. Sake used to get diarhhea on the carpet. Give me a hairball any day

 

[luckystar112]

Have you been introduced to the furminator?
It''s a cool brush. I want one but they are like $35.

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 6/13/2007 7:17:54 PM
Author: luckystar112
Have you been introduced to the furminator?
It''s a cool brush. I want one but they are like $35.

The furminator is seriously amazing... I thought the "zoom groom" was good... well I had NO idea. My friend saw it on an infomercial and made me order one for Maya, and it pulls out every possible piece of loose undercoat. The first time I did it, DH was horrified and insisted I must be pulling her hair out... but its just THAT good at getting out the loose ones.

That said, Maya still sheds like crazy... and I picked a black cat because I didn''t want white hairs on my black clothes. Well turns out she is a "smoke", so while she looks black on the outside, each of her hairs is half-white underneath! So essentially it shows up white on black clothes, and black on white clothes... lovely.

 

[sumbride]

I love the furminator! It''s funny... the instructions specifically say to only use it somewhere that can easily be cleaned up afterward because there is so much hair! i.e. the couch would not be a good spot.

We grow cat grass often around here. Bill was an outdoor cat and still likes a bit of "salad" before he eats cat food. And he''s never EVER had a hair ball.

When Max was going through massive hair ball problems, I did some research and found that papaya extract actually helps break down the fat that holds them together, so they go through the body faster... but if you can figure out how to get a cat to take papaya extract, let me know! I went to GNC and bought 2 bottles! I crushed a couple tablets up and mixed them with the smelliest cat food we had, and nada... no dice... no way, no how. I thought they were delicious (not mixed into the cat food!) myself, but it''s not really a "cat" flavor.

Which brand of laxative did you try? Laxatone was Max''s favorite, in the malt flavor, but Bill doesn''t like it. I used to just put it on my finger and he''d lick it right off.

Oh, and my vet advised to mix a little metamucil into the food as well... like the psylium husks... but I could only find orange flavored and well, cat''s don''t like orange flavoring so he wouldn''t eat that either.

the worst part about hairballs is stepping on them unawares, in bare feet! BLECH.

 

[VegasAngel]

Date: 6/13/2007 6:31:17 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 6/13/2007 6:22:48 PM
Author: VegasAngel
Seems like you are doing all the right things. Is there a hairball treatment you can administer via dropper or syringe? You could always take him to a groomer to be bathed or shaved down (He''ll hate it though). I use a grooming stone or a Slick N'' easy to get the hair off my cat. It works really, really well. Some people use a hose attachment on their vacuum to get hair off their pets

It seems like it would be effective if your pet will tolerate it.

Thanks, VegasAngel. Oh you are sure right there -- he would HATE going to the groomers to be bathed or shaved. Oh my, I can see it now. I think he''d pack up and MOVE OUT!!!

He is the CLEANEST cat I have ever seen, and he smells SO GOOD! Really. Even strangers will say, ''What do you do to this cat? He smells so good!'' We don''t do anything, and we have never had to bathe him.

I have tried the vaccuum but oh, he DESPISES it, and it seems to terrfiy him... I just can''t do that to him!

But, please tell me more about your GROOMING STONE and your ''SLICK ''N EASY''. Those sound promising!!! Thank you!

Grooming stone & Slick N Easy These suckers work soooo good. My cat would never let me brush her until I started using these. The Slick N Easy smells a little & I think that is why my cat likes it. They get off a crazy amount of hair. Just be gentle on their legs/face.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 7:17:54 PM
Author: luckystar112
Have you been introduced to the furminator?
It''s a cool brush. I want one but they are like $35.

I LOL''ed over that, "The Furminator"!!! Brilliant marketing, just brilliant!!!
NO, I have never seen it! But after I read about it here, I looked it up online and it looks like a SHAVER???! Does it have a BLADE??? Or teeth like a brush or comb??? How does it work???
Thank you!

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:37:19 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 6/13/2007 7:17:54 PM
Author: luckystar112
Have you been introduced to the furminator?
It''s a cool brush. I want one but they are like $35.

I LOL''ed over that, ''The Furminator''!!! Brilliant marketing, just brilliant!!!
NO, I have never seen it! But after I read about it here, I looked it up online and it looks like a SHAVER???! Does it have a BLADE??? Or teeth like a brush or comb??? How does it work???
Thank you!

Haha... no blade, I promise!!! It is really just a comb, but with sort of a double metal "toothed" part... hmmm... hopefully somebody else can describe that better! But Maya LOVES it... she knows where we keep it, and as soon as I go anywhere near it, she appears out of nowhere at a full sprint, purring up a storm. And it is genuinely shocking how much fur comes out... I could build another cat with the amount in the trash can after just one brushing!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:14:38 PM
Author: sumbride
I love the furminator! It''s funny... the instructions specifically say to only use it somewhere that can easily be cleaned up afterward because there is so much hair! i.e. the couch would not be a good spot.

We grow cat grass often around here. Bill was an outdoor cat and still likes a bit of ''salad'' before he eats cat food. And he''s never EVER had a hair ball.

When Max was going through massive hair ball problems, I did some research and found that papaya extract actually helps break down the fat that holds them together, so they go through the body faster... but if you can figure out how to get a cat to take papaya extract, let me know! I went to GNC and bought 2 bottles! I crushed a couple tablets up and mixed them with the smelliest cat food we had, and nada... no dice... no way, no how. I thought they were delicious (not mixed into the cat food!) myself, but it''s not really a ''cat'' flavor.

Which brand of laxative did you try? Laxatone was Max''s favorite, in the malt flavor, but Bill doesn''t like it. I used to just put it on my finger and he''d lick it right off.

Oh, and my vet advised to mix a little metamucil into the food as well... like the psylium husks... but I could only find orange flavored and well, cat''s don''t like orange flavoring so he wouldn''t eat that either.

the worst part about hairballs is stepping on them unawares, in bare feet! BLECH.

Wow, you HAVE tried!!! Whatta good mama you are!

What is CAT GRASS?! I grew catnip this year and Buster is totally uninterested in it. But I have no idea what CAT GRASS is? Maybe that''s something I should look into.

I''ve tried several different brands of the laxative, all were malt flavored until my latest brainstorm of trying the tuna and salmon flavor. Well, he hates them all, and I do mean HATES. And he''s so UNpicky about food, he''ll eat just about any dry food I put in front of him, so it''s not like he''s finicky. He just really HATES the laxatives, poor baby, and he gets so soulful and sorrowful looking when I put it down for him. And when he has to walk past his corner where his dishes are, he makes a point to detour WAAAAAAY around the dishes... it''s so funny!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:28:28 PM
Author: VegasAngel

Grooming stone & Slick N Easy These suckers work soooo good. My cat would never let me brush her until I started using these. The Slick N Easy smells a little & I think that is why my cat likes it. They get off a crazy amount of hair. Just be gentle on their legs/face.

WOW, never saw anything like THOSE before. And inexpensive, too!

How DO they work??? I cannot imagine how anything resembling a pumice stone would remove hair from a cat?? Is it a different kind of pumice? How does it compare to the pumice we have in our bathrooms for our heels?! And does it last "forever" or wear away and need replaced?

THANK YOU!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:42:19 PM
Author: ephemery1

Haha... no blade, I promise!!! It is really just a comb, but with sort of a double metal ''toothed'' part... hmmm... hopefully somebody else can describe that better! But Maya LOVES it... she knows where we keep it, and as soon as I go anywhere near it, she appears out of nowhere at a full sprint, purring up a storm. And it is genuinely shocking how much fur comes out... I could build another cat with the amount in the trash can after just one brushing!

LOL, Thanks!!!

Hmmm, I will really have to look into getting one of those. The website said available at Petco and Petsmart, so that shouldn''t be too hard for me to find. And he''s not WILD about being brushed, although he does tolerate it... it would be nice if he enjoyed it like your Maya does.

And hey, what''s $35, right? Around these (PS) parts, that''s small beans!

I was just thinking today how much PS has cost me lately in NON-JEWELRY items... Innova cat food (both kinds), Greenies, likely some slicker stones and cat grass, and now... THE FURMINATOR!!!

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 6/13/2007 7:00:03 PM
Author: surfgirl
I am not a cat lover at all. But may I share? Last week I was out watering the lawn and I saw what looked like cat crap on the grass. I tried to water it away but the darn thing wouldn't budge. Upon closer inspection it was like a hairy ball of crap. So gross!

My FI, who once owned cats, said it was a hairball. ACK. If I saw one IN my house I'd be really freaked out. That's some nasty stuff you cat lovers put up with!

Surfgirl,
I just wanted to let you know that Buster was highly offended by that post!

(J/K!) He said that a small, tidy, harmless hairball is NOTHING compared to the NASTY kinds of things DOGS constantly provide... pee that kills the grass, piles of poop and diarrhea in the yard, puke of undigested food, doggy smell and doggy dirt, and let's not forget that INCESSANT DROOL!!!!

Haha!

 

[laine]

I''ll second (or third or fourth) the vote for the furminator. Abso-freakin-lutely amazing! I just got one for my cat and its great, gets so much hair off, so now we can pet him without creating clouds of fur. I found it for $15 plus shipping on amazon, so I''d do that instead of petsmart.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FSFNUE/102-0304602-2527373

 

[chrono]

Date: 6/13/2007 9:50:14 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 6/13/2007 9:42:19 PM
Author: ephemery1

Haha... no blade, I promise!!! It is really just a comb, but with sort of a double metal ''toothed'' part... hmmm... hopefully somebody else can describe that better! But Maya LOVES it... she knows where we keep it, and as soon as I go anywhere near it, she appears out of nowhere at a full sprint, purring up a storm. And it is genuinely shocking how much fur comes out... I could build another cat with the amount in the trash can after just one brushing!

LOL, Thanks!!!

Hmmm, I will really have to look into getting one of those. The website said available at Petco and Petsmart, so that shouldn''t be too hard for me to find. And he''s not WILD about being brushed, although he does tolerate it... it would be nice if he enjoyed it like your Maya does.

And hey, what''s $35, right? Around these (PS) parts, that''s small beans!

I was just thinking today how much PS has cost me lately in NON-JEWELRY items... Innova cat food (both kinds), Greenies, likely some slicker stones and cat grass, and now... THE FURMINATOR!!!

Lynn,
If you go to Petsmart, keep an eye out for a tool that looks and works like the Furminator. I have it but can''t remember the name. It''s a new competitor and is MUCH cheaper and works just as well. It looks like it has the same toothed blade too. When I used it, I was sure my cat was going to be bald when I was done combing due to the amount of fur that I was getting out. The end result was a fluffier cat and no fur flying about when I ran my hand across her back.

 

[Finding_Neverland]

We had the same situation, Lynn. Our long hair did not shed much, but the short hair,........ Oy! Comb him daily just to keep up with it.

We got some hairball stuff. Can''t recall the name. Comes in a tube that looks like toothpaste. It''s a yucky brown color goo that smells totally unappealing. Hubby insisted that it worked, tho.

Hubby would squeeze a bit of goo on his index finger, pry open the cat''s mouth (press in on both sides behind the canines in front of the molars), and swipe the goo on the roof of Kitty''s mouth. It''s kinda like a kid with peanut butter, the cat trying to get the stuff off the roof of his mounth, but it worked.

I remember hearing about the Kitty Grass when ours where younger. There''s a blend you should grow, in pots, in your house so your cats have it to chew on. We never did try that one. It''s supposed to take the place of grasses they would naw on if they were out of doors.

Another one I heard is,........ Feed your cat rice. Put a bit of cooked rice in their food several times a week. While we never actually did add rice, we got foods that had rice in them. Made sure they ate something with rice a couple times a week. That did seem to help.

Mostly it was grooming tho. He loved it. They both did. Him more so than her, tho.

That was one of his "people" times that he really enjoyed. Mostly with Dad, but any family member would do. He''d enjoy the scratching of a good combing. And then you''d have to play the "Comb Game" with him. He''d reach and grab the comb and pull it in his mouth to chew on. His eyes would dart back and forth as if someone was gonna try and take his prize. Take the comb away, swirl it in the air a bit, let him get it again. The "Comb Game" lasted a few minutes after he was done with a grooming session.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/14/2007 9:35:19 AM
Author: Finding_Neverland
We had the same situation, Lynn. Our long hair did not shed much, but the short hair,........ Oy! Comb him daily just to keep up with it.

We got some hairball stuff. Can''t recall the name. Comes in a tube that looks like toothpaste. It''s a yucky brown color goo that smells totally unappealing. Hubby insisted that it worked, tho.

Hubby would squeeze a bit of goo on his index finger, pry open the cat''s mouth (press in on both sides behind the canines in front of the molars), and swipe the goo on the roof of Kitty''s mouth. It''s kinda like a kid with peanut butter, the cat trying to get the stuff off the roof of his mounth, but it worked.

I remember hearing about the Kitty Grass when ours where younger. There''s a blend you should grow, in pots, in your house so your cats have it to chew on. We never did try that one. It''s supposed to take the place of grasses they would naw on if they were out of doors.

Another one I heard is,........ Feed your cat rice. Put a bit of cooked rice in their food several times a week. While we never actually did add rice, we got foods that had rice in them. Made sure they ate something with rice a couple times a week. That did seem to help.

Mostly it was grooming tho. He loved it. They both did. Him more so than her, tho.

That was one of his ''people'' times that he really enjoyed. Mostly with Dad, but any family member would do. He''d enjoy the scratching of a good combing. And then you''d have to play the ''Comb Game'' with him. He''d reach and grab the comb and pull it in his mouth to chew on. His eyes would dart back and forth as if someone was gonna try and take his prize. Take the comb away, swirl it in the air a bit, let him get it again. The ''Comb Game'' lasted a few minutes after he was done with a grooming session.

I was going to suggest trying that with the Katalax, that is what we have to do as our cats hate it, but it does help. A little twice a week is a good preventative. If you clamp kitty between your knees it stops them struggling so much.

 

[sumbride]

You can buy cat grass at a pet store. They have it a few different ways

1) you can be lazy and buy the pre-grown kind - we do this when we're feeling guilty about something... like bringing home a toy for a kid... Bill gets SO excited when we do this! Instant gratification.

2) seed and soil in a container... you just take the top off and add water

3) just plain seed... put it in your own soil and pot.

The seed I buy is a mix of wheat, flax, barley and oats... but you can also get just plain wheat seed too. Wheat seed = wheat grass. Oats are the favorite around our house though.

It only takes a few days for the seeds to germinate, and it usually lasts about a week, week and a half, so ideally you could just keep rotating in new grass... but we forget so it's still a treat to Bill when grass appears.

 

[laine]

Date: 6/14/2007 9:35:19 AM
Author: Finding_Neverland
We got some hairball stuff. Can''t recall the name. Comes in a tube that looks like toothpaste. It''s a yucky brown color goo that smells totally unappealing. Hubby insisted that it worked, tho.


Hubby would squeeze a bit of goo on his index finger, pry open the cat''s mouth (press in on both sides behind the canines in front of the molars), and swipe the goo on the roof of Kitty''s mouth. It''s kinda like a kid with peanut butter, the cat trying to get the stuff off the roof of his mounth, but it worked.

We have the same or similar stuff. Forget who makes it, but its salmon flavored. The cat absolutely loves it. He thinks its a treat and comes running when he sees the tube. I think it helps, when we remember to give it to him.

Switching food also helped. He was on Iams and seemed to be getting sick more often, so we switched to Innova EVO and he''s doing better with the hairball puking.

 

[FireGoddess]

I bought the Furminator off QVC last year and ended up returning it. Chloe isn''t long haired, and though I thought it would cut down on her shedding anyway, it didn''t. I guess I was brushing her enough in the first place because not much more fur at all came off with the Furminator. Oh well.

As for furballs, which they occasionally get in my house, I started giving them crunchy treats with furball medicine inside. They both seem to go for those, whereas Chloe would get POed when I tried to smear the tube of goo stuff on her. And then wouldn''t totally clean it off.

LOL!!!!

 

[VegasAngel]

Maybe you can try putting the hairball paste on his nose instead of his paw?

 

[Gypsy]

Okay... gotta check out the Furminator. We just vaccumm ALL THE TIME. And I've got a 12 foot sticky roll thingy.

Frodo doesn't clean himself. So no furballs. The other two clean him. BIG furballs. And let me tell you I'd take a furball over dog ick anytime.

We tried petro malt on Duncan Lynn.. exact same reaction -- especially with the paw thing! He wiped it all over my duvet and pillow cases.

Fortunately Hally and Frodo do love it.

I also give them wheatgrass. We call it 'salad' too sumbride! They love it. And mine Decimate fresh catnip.

Oh yeah... Innova has lessened their hairballs for me too!!!

 

[Matata]

LOL, ya''ll smear greasy laxative on your cats and let them careen around the house!!!! No, no no...smear greasy stuff on their little faces and incarcerate them in a room with washable surfaces....bathroom, laundry room, garage & they will do the icky dance, shake their heads to and fro and eventually do what they cannot not do....clean their sticky faces.

I found the most effective method of reducing hairballs is to pluck the cats (just kidding). I bathe them, use deshedding brush, feed them Innova and the hairballs are greatly reduced. I don''t mind the the hairballs as much as I mind the locations where they choose to hurl them up....the middle of my forehead at 3 a.m., in a shoe, in ski goggles (and this took some finagling because the goggles were on top shelf of closet behind 2 boxes).

And since we''re on the topic, why do they almost always barf on fabric surfaces. Two-thirds of my house has pergo flooring. Cat starts eeping in the laundry and proceeds to eep & back up allllllllllll thru the laundry room down a long hallway, around the kitchen, and nothing comes up until he or she hits the carpet. Even when I hear that awful precursor sound to the actual barf, grab newspaper, run around in front of the cat trying to center paper under mouth, they still manage to hit the carpet.