[AmyY]

I just did a quick search on this forum but didn't come up with anything that addressed my specific situation.

We have an outdoor cat who is a, well, dedicated hunter. She has short hair but does the cough-up-the-hairball thing often, several times a day. At the vet's office they say that it's probably not hairballs it's probably from her hunting if you KWIM. Yuck... They say the treatment is the same as it would be for an indoor longhair cat with hairballs.

Right now I am trying to treat her conventionally

and as I'm sure you're all about to tell me, it's not working so very well. She's eating Purina hairball formula food and I give her the

: petrolatum-based brown stuff from the vet a few times a week.

Poor thing, help me go more natural and more successful please! TIA!

 

[HappiLeigh]

I have no idea if this is good [read "natural"] advice or not. Probably not, since it involves a petroleum product? Anyway, this is what we do. I've always sort of wondered if it's a good idea...maybe other posters can tell us! I do this on the advice of a friend.
I feed our cats a little dollop (a small fingerful) of vaseline when they start to get hair-bally. The cats really like it, or maybe they just like licking something gooey that's being offered on their human's finger. Anyway, the vaseline supposedly clumps together the hair in their digestive track and lubes it so the hair passes through their systems and ends up in the litterbox instead of on the floor. It "works" from the perspsective of where the hair ends up; I have no idea if it has side effects.

:
Sorry to give such a half-a$$ed response! Usually I feel more confident about my advice...

 

[broodymama]

Another person who uses the Vaseline treatment for hairballs here, too.

: It works and the cats don't mind, several of them are pretty excited to see the Vaseline come out. I'm sure it's not the best option, though, and will be watching the replies to see what other recommendations come along.

I've tried the "hairball control" food but it didn't help.

 

[shannon0218]

Add some cod liver oil to the food every day. Also if you can get them to eat it, canned pumpkin.

 

[AmyY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shannon0218 Add some cod liver oil to the food every day. Also if you can get them to eat it, canned pumpkin.

Thank you, this is what I was looking for - something natural and food-based. Do I add the cod liver oil to her dry food? Or do I need to get some moist food? Any recommendations on what kinds/brands/etc of food are best in this situation? Or at all for that matter?

Thanks!

 

[shannon0218]

You can try just adding it to her dry, but I am a firm believer that cats need some wet food each day to ensure they are getting enough water.
You can see if whatever dry you use makes a wet, or go with something else, just look for something free of byproducts and with very little or no grains.

 

[AmyY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shannon0218 You can try just adding it to her dry, but I am a firm believer that cats need some wet food each day to ensure they are getting enough water. You can see if whatever dry you use makes a wet, or go with something else, just look for something free of byproducts and with very little or no grains.

Thanks - more good stuff here. Does this mean that setting out a bowl of water along with the bowl of dry is not enough to ensure she's getting enough water? Hmmm... and thanks for the tips of how to look for a good cat food. Much appreciated.

 

[Gardeninginthefog]

Slippery elm powder will work great. It is fairly tasteless if mixed in with food (unless you have a really picky cat). It will help hairballs, and also helps heal the stomach in the event that she is throwing up due to tummy troubles. 1/4 tsp slippery elm POWDER on her food daily.

Also pumpkin is good for hairballs, but not as effective as the elm, and doesn't heal stomach lesions like the elm would.
Good luck