MetaChat - Cat query....

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21 August 2006

Cat query.... Warning, involves feline up-chucking. →[More:]

So for the past year or so, I've been feeding my hairball laden cats Purina's anti-hairball food. It didn't stop them from hacking up hairballs. In fact -- they did it more often. I attributed this to the fact that the food was doing its job.

Last two times I've bought cat food, the store was out of the hairball stuff. Because returning home without cat food wasn't an option, I bought a different variety. It's probably been three weeks or so that they haven't on the hairball remedy food.

...And, not a single puke lately.

So the question is: Was the anti-hairball food actually making things worse? Or was it making things better? Are my cats now full of dangerous, unexpelled hairballs? (And how come my carpet looks so good?)

post by: mudpuppie at: 13:38 | 31 comments

All good questions. No idea what the answer is, but we've just mixed a sample of the Purina anti-hairball food into our hairballsier cat's private food stash. He coughs one up an average of once a week, so I'll be sure to report the results of this little experiment -- in wet, hairy detail.

posted by me3dia 21 August | 13:56

I will not lecture, I will not lecture, I will not lecture, I keep telling myself I will not lecture..... What you buy at the grocery store is not cat food - it could be food made from cats for all we know. This is food for cats, just check out the Wellness ingredients.

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 13:59

Is it possible that your cats are not getting enough cilantro in their diet?

posted by pieisexactlythree 21 August | 14:07

I've been using Petromalt for Little Al's hairballs, but having just done some more research on it, I think I'll stop. It's effective, but apparently not very good for him. Other suggestions that I'll be trying are olive oil and/or occasionally a bit of butter (either on the food or on their own), and cat grass. I'll let you know if that works. Also, I'm afraid I have to chime in with goml on this one. The good stuff is more expensive, but often they eat less of it as its nutritional content is so much higher, and they poo less (and less stinkily) because there is less waste 'filler' material.

On preview, y'know, pie might have a point there.

posted by elizard 21 August | 14:13

I've found my cats will yack up hairballs just as much with the hairball formulae as without. My cats eat the human grade food and seem to like it.

My dad would comb the cats we had growing up with a fine-toothed comb and that seemed to work. My current gatos don't like the comb [got them as adults and you can't teach an old cat new tricks].

Although gross, I've just come to realize that cats hack up hairballs and there's little we can do about it.

I've also hear anecdotal stories that the mass-produced stuff like Purina sometimes do the opposite of what the formulation supposed to do: Weight loss -> Weight gain; Fewer hairballs -> More hairballs.

My kitties eat premium food -- although not as hardcore as getoffmylawn's cats -- that is made up of human-grade meats and whatnot. The hairballs are less frequent than when I first got them and they were eating the Iams the former owners gave them. The stuff I use now is lots more expensive but they are spoiled and if I lose my job, I can know I have something to eat.

posted by birdherder 21 August | 14:16

Giving your cats/dogs foods like cat/dog chow is like feeding your cat/dog doritos for EVERY MEAL. Also, I have issues with the ash and filler they use to "shape" the food.

Now, I buy the $18 a bag Wellness for my cats, and Tippy STILL yaks up hair balls and he's a short hair! It is his constant, fastidious grooming that does it. I comb and brush him all the time, but to no avail. So, I doubt it is food related. Is it a long, medium or short hair cat and do you groom him/her frequently?

I have 37 years of cat ownership experience and 6 years experience in the veterinary care field, so I am only talking out of my ass just a little.

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 14:18

Well, this is as good a place as any to share this: One of my cats, Oreo, is SO thoughtful. Just before he throws up, he emits these unearthly yowling sounds, nothing like the sounds he normally makes. He sounds like he's possessed -- I always expect to see his little head start spinning around. It's great though, because it gives me about 20 seconds to grab some newspaper and hold it under his face, and the dear little thing upchucks right into the paper. No muss no fuss!!

Getting back to your question, all three of my cats have trouble with hairballs, always have, and they're teenagers now, and it always seems to go in cycles, so it's entirely possible the food change is coincidental, and your cats' innards are just working on another round.

posted by JanetLand 21 August | 14:50

Since we are talking about our cats, I just thought this was so interesting.

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 15:07

Just before he throws up, he emits these unearthly yowling sounds, nothing like the sounds he normally makes. He sounds like he's possessed -- I always expect to see his little head start spinning around.

JanetLand, I do the same thing.

posted by Specklet 21 August | 15:10

[runs and gets newspaper for Specklet]

posted by JanetLand 21 August | 15:16

Butter works for this. Just slather some room temperature butter on the cat's chest and paws. On top of working - most cats love butter.

If you don't want them having a glob of butter on their paw (with which to stain your carpets or pillows or whatever) then just put it on their chest and they'll take care of transporting it to their gut.

posted by fluffy battle kitten 21 August | 15:19

FBK: that above photo is actually for YOU! When I saw that the other day I had just read one of your comments and noted your name and thought how fitting that cat armor would be for FBK for doing battle with ferociouskitty!

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 15:23

Mmmm ... doritos.

posted by brainwidth 21 August | 15:27

I will not get pissed off, I will not get pissed off, I will not get pissed off.

I will say, however, that I don't like implications about the quality of my cat-parenting. So any criticism of how or what I feed my cats? Not all that welcome, and not the advice I was looking for.

Thanks.

posted by mudpuppie 21 August | 15:35

Seriously, y'all. I'm getting pissed off in mudpuppie's stead.

posted by occhiblu 21 August | 15:48

Hmm, maybe I should start eating Doritos for every meal, because Purina cat chow kept my cat alive and happy for 18 years.

posted by amro 21 August | 15:52

Where's pup's stead? 'Cause I think I need to be in there too.

posted by Specklet 21 August | 15:53

Woo hoo! Stead party with the pup!

(Yeah, I don't know either. But my cat does not get hairballs, so I feel utterly superior to all y'all! I am the master cat owner! No one can trump my cat-owning skills! Many have tried, none will succeed! Bwah ha ha!!!)

(My lord, but I'm bored.)

posted by occhiblu 21 August | 15:56

I have no doubt that fluffy battle kitten would have no trouble kicking my ass WITHOUT the armor. See, I'm a pansy.

posted by ferociouskitty 21 August | 15:58

Also, for goml -
When we switched from the crap the shelter was feeding the cat to Iams, we noticed an improvement in our kitty's coat and general behavior. Ditto when we switched from Iams to Purina One. So if we were to switch to Wellness, what can we expect? The damn cats already feel like they're covered in spun silk.

posted by ferociouskitty 21 August | 16:01

Their coats will, of course, be turned to gold. Duh. :-)

posted by occhiblu 21 August | 16:08

Point taken, mudpuppie. My apologies.

posted by elizard 21 August | 16:19

hmm. I can't help with any of this because when I had cats growing up on the farm, we fed them the cheapest stuff we could get our hands on, and none of them had hairball problems. but then, they were all indoor/outdoor/farm cats. so they ate grass and birds and mice and snakes and bugs and whatever else cats eat in a 'natural' environment. I think eating grass is supposed to keep their hairball problems to a minimum. also they tended to puke pretty much right after they ate grass, so then its done outside where one doesn't really notice beyond kind of an 'ugh... MOOOOOOMMMMM!!... Kitty's eating grass again and yakking, eeew gross!!!' reaction, plus then it doesn't mess up the rugs...

my roommate's 2 cats are both indoors-only cats (mostly because it isn't very safe to let small pets out around here... the foxes and coyotes etc. might get them). one has hairball problems, the other doesn't. and he feeds them some insanely expensive cat food the vet recommended.

the one who has hairball issues is an insatiable groomer, so much so that we've considered kitty valiums or something for him.

and that's about all I know. merely anecdotal.

posted by lonefrontranger 21 August | 16:19

Olive oil helped Andy Warhol, my cat of hairball doom, a.k.a. the Vomit Comet, thus named because of this one time where he started emitting those unearthly sounds* from the top of the loft in our NY studio apt and so my boyfriend flung him from said loft and he managed to spew in midair, which was infinitely worse than if he had just done it on the bed, although I guess the laughing for an hour or two helplessly on the floor was beneficial in some way. But anyhow. Olive oil was the only thing that helped and it didn't help much, partly because he would only eat it if it was used to cover something he truly coveted, like vegan doughnuts or vegetarian pate. Andy was unforgettable in his weirdness, but I will never have another long haired cat.

*In Andy's case, those sounds were eerily like him saying "I don't want to throw away**! I don't want to throw away!"

**We say throw away instead of throw up because that's what one of the kids said one day (perhaps the time where she threw away all over the principal's desk) and it stuck, hard.

posted by mygothlaundry 21 August | 16:23

Sorry you thought I was saying you are a bad pet care giver, because I know that can't be true. I have met you, you may not like me personally, but I think you are good hearted, kind and caring person.

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 16:50

My cat eats Iams and she'll kick your cat's arse.

And then she'll vomit in your slippers.

posted by dodgygeezer 21 August | 17:03

Hey goml, I think you might be jumping to all sorts of conclusions here, and missing the point. You didn't answer pup's question, and you lectured her instead. She didn't appreciate it. End of story.

posted by Specklet 21 August | 17:27

Context gets lost via the internet, and that is the end of the story.

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 17:38

Uh, goml, you shouldn't have gone on about Wellness and Doritos, and you should have taken your cue from elizard.

posted by Specklet 21 August | 17:53

I just got home from work, and there is a lovely vomitous hairball on the recliner, so my cat pukes too, no matter what I feed them.

Specklet: I already sent an apology to MP.

posted by getoffmylawn 21 August | 19:13

When my mom had her old cat, the vet had suggested plain old Vaseline. Just a dab on his nose, and lots fewer hairballs, if any at all. It got to be that he'd actually lick it off your finger after a while.
And JanetLand, my semi-long hair, Charlie, does the same yaowling noise before he tosses up. I generally have time to either get him on the linoleum, or hold him over the garbage can-neat and easy to clean up! He's the only one of the two grown cats I have that has hairballs. Of course, when I'm not home, he'll do them in horribly inconvienent places, such as window sills, dripped down the computer desk, on a kitchen chair (where you won't see it until company comes for dinner).

posted by redvixen 21 August | 19:29

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