Hairballs!

[Notmyrealname855]

Please help - I have a 17 year old cat who’s very dear to me. She recently has been really afflicted with hairballs - coughing and no sign of a cold etc. Does anyone know an effective and not-too-invasive way of getting rid of them? She isn’t fond of the vets and I’d be scared of stressing her out with a visit (might ask for a home visit though). Any recommendations welcome! Would be useful to at least check these with the vet

My colleague uses hairball paste for her cat. She says it works well.

A two pronged approach has helped for me.

First the hairball paste.

Secondly a furminator, expensive but will last a lifetime and far superior to any other cat brush I have ever used.

Is your cat just coughing or bringing up a hairball? If it is the former then it sounds like a vet visit might be in order.

The cheaper de shedding brushes are just s good as a furminator

Our old cat hated being brushed with anything so I'd sometimes just wipe round him with a damp cloth which would bring off loose hairs. Mine also refuse the paste and special biscuits available but will eat the tuna that comes in a bit of sunflower oil and that always seems to help.

If your cat won‘t eat the hairball paste, you could give her 1/2 a teaspoon butter twice a week.

I like Beaphar hairball paste for my Persian cat, it really works and has lad to him pooing and vomiting hairballs (having appeared to have one stuck beforehand, it worked within a few days). And a curry comb from Zooplus is much cheaper than a terminator and very effective.

Mine are indoor cats, and I give them a mix of Indoor dry and anti-hairball dry (plus some wet). They seem to have very few hairballs, and as they don't go out and seem to be terrified of any grooming implement they should be prone to them.

Coughing can be a sign of heart failure. Unless you are sure it's a hair ball a vet check might be a good idea.

I’ve booked in with a vet as it is just coughing :( thank you SO much for the responses xxx

I hope that she is OK OP. Do let us know.