Furball?

[Marshy]

I came downstairs yesterday morning to find something on the kitchen floor which looked like cat poo (solid and sausage shaped - sorry if tmi!) but definitely not as had no smell.
I had heard my cat miaowing earlier but thought nothing of it. She does tend to miaow a lot if she's going to be sick. She's long haired and a house cat so not exposed to anything other than her usual food.
Do you think this was a furball? Are they just to be expected with a long haired cat? We do comb her regularly and fortunately she loves it!

Sounds like a hairball to me. RainbowCat's tend to resemble dead rats.

It was pretty disgusting. Teenage ds wouldn't go anywhere near it, having told me it was there, and I'm off work with hideous back pain atm so couldn't get to the floor to clean it up. Had to leave it for dh on his return from work. He was delighted

I sometimes pretend I don't see the cat sick. You know those days you just can't face it!

What does 'regularly' mean though? I groom Seniorboy every evening as part of his general love-in (althouh he's very old and needs the help) and he doesn't get furballs. And I get a huge amount of fur out over several evenings, say.

I suspect that grooming rids the fur of some loose hair but also loosens others which are just 'thinking about it' so maybe the frequency could do with an increase a bit?

Hmm...I think youre rigjt and she probably could do with more grooming. She's not very old. We had a short haired tabby for lots of years previously who needed next to no grooming help from us. I can remember her having a furball only once ever.

Was she a house cat also?

Not to start with but for the last 5 or 6 years. We had to have her pts at 19

New kitten came from the RSPCA just over
12 months ago and they stipulated that she should be a house cat as we are near quite a busy road. She did come out into the garden a bit with us in the summer. She seems very happy and we love her to bits.

Does it make much difference to the furball situation do you think?

I think it might but I have no clear evidence. Just thinking about it though - outdoor going cat means colder weather exposure so a thicker coat with stronger hair, more availability of emetics (eg grass), easier places to vomit small amounts etc etc. Indoor cat means higher temperatures and (probably) weaker hair, less availability of emetics, more difficulty in finding a place to vomit - maybe even more grooming through boredom.

Lots of factors and I'm not certain how they all operate together. I just know that I have an indoor cat and since I've been giving him very frequent (and now daily) grooming, he's not had furballs and I get a shedload of hair from him in his brush comb.

I think it's probably worth upping her grooming frequency a tad. Not just because it might prevent further hairballs (although the jury may be out on that one) but because it will help her coat condition and minimise possible tangles. If she enjoys it, so much the better - it will improve her life generally.

Thanks for your thoughts. She's had lots of attention and grooming tonight