Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Hair in belly and bum!

7 replies

cloudlessskies · 16/06/2016 19:16

Now that I have your attention, haha! ;)
I have a half ragdoll moggy, not only is her hair long there's also loads of it as it is very fine. Obviously malting a lot at this time of year and I brush her twice a day.
A few weeks back she had a poo ball hanging from her bum and on closer inspection it was being held in place by a string of matted up hair - so she's ingesting the hair when she cleans herself and it's passing through. I had seen this once before on her (had her 1.5 years), I cut through the hair string and presume she then poos the rest of the hair out.
I occasionally find hair balls with a bit of sick outside (natural cat behaviour) but this week she made awful crying sounds in the kitchen then proceeded to projectile vomit up a LOT of hair and some sick. Her whole body was convulsing and so much stuff came up.
Since then she has been happy and come to think of it in recent weeks she had been a bit droopy and not cuddly like usual so I think she wasn't feeling well with all the hair in her....

Anyway, thanks if you're still reading!
I give her Science plan dry biscuits that supposedly reduces furball formation (dubious) and this makes her poo drier anyway - maybe getting more tangled up with the fur inside her? And when I told the vet the other week about this clump or hair hanging out of her she said I could try wetting her biscuits to soften up her poo (my girl is a fussy princess and has just turned her nose up at soggy biscuits and refuses wet food, the only other thing she eats is tinned tuna which she gets about twice a week) The vet also suggested I include a small amount of laxative in her food everyday to loosen everthing up, not done this yet.
So -
Any tips for hairball control?
Does anyone give their fluffy moggy a laxative with good results?

Thank you!x

OP posts:
Toddlerteaplease · 16/06/2016 23:31

My two longhaired Persians have Royal Canin Persian food. It's supposed to stop hair balls I've never ever had a hair all from either of them. They also occasionally have poo stuck to them but it's from the litter tray not from them eating it. They do have quite dry poo even though they drink loads. But they are not constipated from the amount. You can give human lactulose but I'd be worried about their teeth.

eleventybillion · 17/06/2016 20:33

Have you tried adding some fibre (just like people with constipation!!)

This one is pretty cheap and does the trick. I crush the pellets as eleventycat is super fussy but apparently it's quite palatable and lots of cats will just eat the pellets.

www.vetuk.co.uk/dog-supplements-cat-supplements-prebiotic-probiotic-products-c-5_172/protexin-profibre-for-dogs-cats-500g-pot-p-769

cloudlessskies · 19/06/2016 16:56

Thanks for your responses. Her poo is drier due to a mainly dry diet but I don't think she constipated. So eleventy, do you think adding fibre would help the furballs pass through her so she will be sick with them less?

She was sick again this morning with 2 big furballs brought up,

OP posts:
WeirdAndPissedOff · 19/06/2016 17:26

I'm no Vet, but I don't know if the hairballs are a concern by themselves - my understanding was that it's a natural thing, particularly with long-haired cats. I have a semi-long haired cat who brings up maybe 1 a week, and has been the healthiest of our cats by far. And I would imagine it's better for her to bring it up rather than have trouble passimg it through.
That said your girl does sound like it is causing her trouble. I hope you're able to find a solution.

Lonecatwithkitten · 19/06/2016 17:40

Hairballs are usually hacked up or passed through. Very occasionally they can have very serious consequences last week I lost a cat on the table with respiratory arrest secondary to compartment drone that had occurred when the blood supply to the spleen had been obstructed due to a stomach filled with fluid that could not empty due to a hairball blocking the small intestine.
Regular brushing to help reduce hair ingested is important also using a product like katalax to help fur balls pass through easily are also important in long haired cats.

Lonecatwithkitten · 19/06/2016 17:41

That would be compartment syndrome damn autocorrect.

cloudlessskies · 24/06/2016 19:28

Thanks all, they are big furballs. My worry is she doesn't bring them up that often but when she does they are big so I do worry about them sitting in her stomach and causing problems.
Thanks Lonecat. I will definitely get that laxative, I've just read a few good reviews online. How often would you suggest giving it her?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page