Should I be concerned about my cat?

[Symposium]

Ive had my rescue cat for 6 months he's about 2 1/2 years old. I've had him at the vet twice in the last few months due to vomiting which seems to be being caused by hairballs. He's always had a very good appetite but last couple of days is hardly touching his food. He will eat a bit of cooked meat if I hand feed it to him though. Should I be very concerned? Does it mean another trip to the vet? Vet has seemed pretty unconcerned on the previous visits.

You could try some anti-hairball treatments? E.g. Royal Canin make a specific anti-hairball dry food, my indoor only cats have access to grass that I grow them, and there are anti-hairball treats and pastes on the market. Over the years both my boys have had a tendency to chuck up hair, whereas after about 9 years I think my girl has gifted me with one single hairball so whether they get them or not depends on the individual cat.

Is he constipated our cat goes off his food if he hasn’t been for a day or two,I give him 1ml(FGSno more) of Lactulose to get things moving!

I've got him on a special anti hairball dry food already but he doesn't eat a huge amount of it as he gets wet pouches too. We tried some paste from the vet but he wouldn't eat it at all. I've also bought some anti hairball treats which he was enjoying at first but is now refusing since being off his food. It's not like he is not eating at all. But he usually eats 3 pouches plus some dry food over the day and now he is having little nibbles and leaving most of it. I'm throwing out more than he is eating. He was previously very keen on his food and pestering for it but now not bothering at all.

@Symposium How often are you grooming him at the moment? Concious it's your first winter to summer with him and i wonder if hes begining to moult and is getting bunged up from digesting more hair than usual.

My siberian looking tabby is in his full winter plumage visually still but starting to spring moult and needs to be groomed more frequently until his winter coat has shed. It's hairball season already in my house so you have my sympathies!

Quick tip with the hairball paste/ gels, wiping a small amount regularly on his front paws and nose has worked for me if i hink he's off his food and trying pass something. He instinctively licks it off to immediately clean himself up and a hairball appears within a few days of judicious application. It's worth the affronted looks of absolute consternation in order to get him eating again!

Wipe the hairball paste on his paw. He'll lick it off to clean himself.

Mine refused the paste at first but after a week of the paw thing he started just accepting it directly from the tube.

Thanks for the tips! He's doing much better now. He's brought up a couple of hairballs over the last week. But the main thing is his appetite has returned. He is eating the anti hairball treats now so I'll keep going with that. He is a very fluffy cat and has been dropping clumps of hair as I presume he is losing the winter coat. I try to brush him a bit every day and remove a bit of the loose hair.

I’ve had cats pretty much all my life, and to be honest I wouldn’t be too worried about a couple of days of being off their food. The cat I’ve got now will have a few weeks of completely emptying her food bowl, then there will be a few days where she isn’t really bothered at all. Then it’s back to being ravenous again. Keep going with the brushing too, that will help a lot, it’s a nice way to bond too if they don’t mind it!