In spite of all the wonderful-ness of kitties there is one cat activity that most cat parents would gladly do without – hairballs.
We know how fastidious our kitties are at grooming themselves, making their fur soft and shiny. But all the hair ingested during this grooming may cause kitty to upchuck a hairball. Medically known as a trichobezoar, a hairball is not round at all but rather cylindrical like a sausage. This wad of undigested hair is generally the color of kitty’s fur and ranges from 1 to 5 inches in length. Most of the hair passes through the digestive tract and is excreted but there is a part of the hair that is indigestible. This is what accumulates in the stomach and eventually becomes a hairball.
It’s not uncommon for a cat to regurgitate a hairball once every week or two, according to the Cornell University Feline Health Center, and it’s nothing to be concerned about. However if the wad of hair grows too large to either be brought up or excreted out, that is potentially cause for concern as it could create a blockage. If kitty seems lethargic, refuses to eat or retches repeatedly without producing anything, don’t take matters into your own hands and administer a laxative. Instead have your vet examine kitty right away to determine what’s going on.
Long-haired cats like Persians may be more prone to hairballs as they ingest more hair. And hairballs can be more prevalent during shedding season. Because they are a normal byproduct of grooming there isn’t much you can do to prevent hairballs. But brushing kitty daily is the best way to control their frequency.