How dangerous are hairballs?

[felinelucky]

My very floofy boycat is prone to hairballs and not a fan of the slicker brush.

Has anyone run into serious problems where hairballs cause obstructions and/or result in surgery? I'm not sure how worried I should be as he gets older.

Worst case scenario is a blockage that requires surgery. Cat will die otherwise.
But, it can be managed for most floofers. Gradually train your cat to accept a brush, hairball food and paste can be added to the diet.

I get my floofy cat clipped as he's prone to matted fur and that helps cut down on hair balls

So far they haven't affected my cat, but they do feel disgusting if you tread on them with bare feet.

My cat has been to the vet three times this week with a suspected fur ball blockage. He hadn’t been able to eat for two weeks. Vet bills so far are £900 with more to come. We can’t afford surgery so will have to put him to sleep if he can’t pass it.
Maybe add this stufff to your cat’s diet to keep furballs under control

www.amazon.co.uk/Laxapet-50g-Tube-Cat-Laxative/dp/B003ZJ8HPI/ref=asc_df_B003ZJ8HPI?mcid=d5b13801ce8c3da99e983646b7020948&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=710829559572&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2040569113090616932&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9211141&hvtargid=pla-2311760112430&psc=1&gad_source=1

You rub it onto their legs and the cat licks it off. It’s pretty easy to apply to my (non-compliant) cat, but you have to rub it in a bit otherwise it just falls off all over the furniture/rug.

Do they eat biscuits? They do hairball formula biscuits

Ah, so sorry to hear you're going through that, @Nomafsforme. Fingers crossed things improve.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. He does eat biscuits, so I'll look into that, and I've got some paste that I'll try on his paws. He's super greedy food motivated so I guess I just need to persist with the grooming and get him used to cooperate for treats.

Hope your cat manages to shift it Noma
The paste is quite tasty so your cat might like it OP.
I got my floofster used to brushing with lots of Dreamies. Literally let her sniff the brush - gave a treat. One brush - treat. At the first sign of her not liking it, I put the brush down and gave her a treat.
She now actually loves being brushed and drools with pleasure.

The hairball dry food is more expensive than the standard from the same makes, and tends only to be available from makes like Royal Canin and Hills who both do various veterinary formula foods. But well worth it if you are worried about hairballs. I was feeding my (indoor only) cats on the RC Indoor food, which has a small amount of anti hairball ingredients included anyway, but started to do one bowl of the anti hairball for every 3 of the normal indoor, and saw quite a difference over time.

You can also get anti hairball treats, so if your floofy one likes those you can use them as the bribery for being brushed - win win.

However you have failed to pay the Cat Tax - where's the pics???

Ah, where's my head. Cat tax coming up...