freaked out, is it poo or something else....? (new cat owner who is a bit clueless!)

[paisleyII]

went upstairs and there is what initially looked like a few cat poos on the bedroom carpet (joy) only to discover upon closer inspection that they might not be as they (barely) smell and when i looked up close (aren't i daring!) i could see among the 'light brown matter' what looked like alot of hair - what does fur balls look like? tbh my cat doesn't seem herself today, meowing alot, barely eaten and following me around all the time. i haven't had her for 2 weeks yet (two weeks on tuesday) , any advise would be much appreciated, thanks

[Fluffycloudland77]

Furball. Try her on some chicken breast chopped up small and get the furminator on her.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Oh and buy a carpet cleaner. Very useful for cat owners.

[paisleyII]

i called the vet and he said to boil some chicken so thanks fluffy, i have just boiled some up although she is asleep upstairs in her bed, she was sick a few times in the kitchen although this was watery, about two hours ago now. also, i have ordered a furminator although it hasn't arrived yet....

[paisleyII]

how often do they have these furball attacks? i guess they have a build up, feel a bit off for a day and BAM, it all comes out, quite gross really. dh recons this happens once every few months....does it?

[Grumpla]

Furball. Is she an indoor-only cat? My cat (who does go outside) usually eats grass for a few days then brings up furry grassballs, apparently this is quite normal. If she's an indoor cat you can buy little trays of "cat grass" for them or just dig up a chunk of lawn and this can help.

[Grumpla]

Oh yes and it is usually every couple of months, for a couple of days at a time!

[paisleyII]

oh blimey, i didn't know cats were like that, great.....she seems at the moment to only want to be an indoor cat, had her nearly two weeks. today i let her out in the back garden but she was REALLY nervous and kept running back in. doesn't help that some ginger tom thinks our garden is his, one of our beds he uses as a litter tray (disgusting) and i cleared it up before i let her out but the bastard appeared and was making REALLY WEIRD noises, i was guessing that he was trying to chat her up but she wasn't having any of it :) there are alot of cats where i live, i wonder if we get alot of males coming to use now because of her, she is kind of pretty although i don't know obviously if this makes her more appealing in cat land

[paisleyII]

grumpla - what is the point of cat grass????? is it something they need health wise or is it something for fun like a furry rat! i bought her one and she loves thrashing around with it

[JobCarHouseNoBaby]

paisleyII

Cats lick themselves to clean themselves. This causes them to swallow a lot of their own fur. Their stomach cannot digest the hair so it needs to come out as a hair ball. Cats natural instinct to help this is to eat grass, which brings on the retching to get the hairball out.

If your cat is mainly indoors you could use cat grass to help her or alternatively buy special indoor cat food which can help. To be honest though, it sounds like she's doing fine on her own!

Always make sure there is plenty of fresh water available. As with humans, any voimiting can lead to dehydration.

Hope this helps - we have 3 of our own and I've grown up with at least 1 cat in my house all my life so pretty clued up on what's normal and not!

[paisleyII]

thanks jobcar, as you can tell i am clueless and learning fast. i have never had a cat and tbh probably never would (as allergic) but have rescued her although she already feels like part of the family. there is always a bowl of fresh water there for her. i brush her a fair few times during the day and have on order one of those furmulator combs. tbh it is for me as a new cat owner a pretty grim thought that a few times every month or so she is going to wretch all over the place, not a lovely prospect for someone like me who has just taken on a cat and knew nothing about them......still love her though