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Business & Tech

What's That On My Carpet?

Hairballs are gross, but normal. Here are tips for reducing them.

Dear Dr J:

"I have two cats.  One is always having hairballs (ruining my carpet!) and the other never has hairballs.  Why is this?"

Baffled in Burke

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Dear Baffled:

Welcome to another interesting characteristic of the cat.  While other species also are afflicted with “hairballs,” the cat seems to have a special knack for creating them, ridding themselves of them, and leaving them in public places.  Whether you visually come upon them unexpectedly, or you step on one barefoot in the dark, it is undoubtedly unpleasant and usually provokes an oath of some sort.

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A hairball, also known as a “furball” or “trichobezoar”, is a mass of ingested hair that forms in the stomach.   Food, water, stomach fluid and other things such as grass that your cat might have ingested can be found in the soft tubular matted mass. 

Usually cylindrical, because of being forced up through the esophagus, these masses of hair can be of any length, from a few hairs in a wet pool to an extremely long rope-like extrusion.   Self-grooming is the major cause of hairball formation.  Often deemed a particular problem of long-haired cats, any cat who grooms will ingest loose hair. 

Have you noticed the rough surface of your cat’s tongue?  The tongue is covered with small barb-like projections.  When your cat grooms himself, these projections are very good at snagging the loose hairs in the coat.  Most of the ingested hair passes through the gastro-intestinal tract unnoticed.  But if a significant quantity of hair is ingested a small mat might form in the stomach and additional hair entering the stomach adds to the pile.  Like making a snowball in your hands, the stomach kneads the hair into a bundle. 

Some cats groom themselves more than others.  Cats are known for being fastidious and focused on personal hygiene.  And don’t forget, one of your cats might be grooming the other!  If your white cat is vomiting black hairballs, then you know you need be combing someone else as well.  Additionally, I have seen cats vomit hairballs that contain human hair.  Something else to think about.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell if your cat is trying to vomit up a hairball or if there is another problem.  The hairball that is vomited is often preceded by a dramatic preparation, including gagging, coughing, posturing, disturbing noises and at last, with great effort, the expulsion of the hairball.  If no hairball is produced, you may have a different problem, or the hairball has grown so large it cannot be pushed back up the esophagus. 

At this point, you could look to see if large quantities of hair are being passed in the feces.  While the little cigars in the litter box might look perfectly normal from the outside, if you were to tease the thing apart you might find a center packed with hair like a cigarette filter (if you’ve ever taken one of those apart).  Some hairballs can become so large that they have to be removed surgically.  Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often.

The obvious answer for preventing , or at least decreasing , hairballs is for you to comb your cat on a regular basis.  Every loose hair that you comb out is hair he will not be ingesting. 

Some cats need to be combed daily.  For cats that form hairballs easily, combing alone may not be enough.  There are lubricants that help ease the hair through the G-I tract, foods that may include fiber or oils to help the hair move along, and hairball remedies of all kinds and claims.

The best thing you can do, however, is to comb the loose hair out before your cat can ingest it.  HINT: The inexpensive, fine-toothed plastic flea combs are excellent at pulling out the loose hair.  In my experience, cats seem to tolerate and enjoy these combs more than any other.

Remember that hairballs are natural.  They only rarely present a serious problem.  And you are the best prevention.  So go comb your cats!  It can be quality time for you and your feline friends.

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