Hairballs (civvie) - help!

[Allie & Myrtle (GA)]

My Murray, although he has a short coat, swallows a lot of fur, although I groom him every day with a slicker brush.
It is summer here in NZ, BTW!
He doesn't have a problem in winter, but from spring onwards (well, I have only had him over a year) he hurls up these sausage-like hairballs on to the carpet at about 3 a.m. or so. If I am lucky I can catch them on a piece of folded newspaper but generally I am cleaning the carpet at that hour in my nightie!
I give him some hairball crunchies because he isn't diabetic, but what else can I do - apart from the good daily brush and comb session?

Someone said give him E-lax. Is that right?
Myrtle used to go outside every morning, eat some grass, and drink some water and bring up the grass and a little bit of fur - outside! Oh, what a good girl - didn't appreciate that enough! :mrgreen:

 

[BJM]

First things first - check with the vet to rule out any digestive anomalies which may contribute to the problem, such as constipation, obstruction, growths, allergies, etc.

Does he groom obsessively? Some cats with obsessive behaviors do well on Prozac. Also, Feliway diffusers in the most commonly habited areas may reduce stress (which aggravates obsessive behaviors).

Is he drinking enough water? Wet things seem to move through the GI tract more easily.

A small amount of an over the counter hairball remedy may help such as Petromalt. The crunchy stuff has to be fed regularly to do anything.

Adding a small amount of plain psyllium fiber might help it move through, IF there is adequate moisture it it.

And there's always giving him a shave down!

 

[Allie & Myrtle (GA)]

Thanks BJM!
No, not constipated, not an obsessive groomer, and yes, he drinks a reasonable amount of water (not at all a "worrying" amount).

I guess I don't give him much of the crunchy hairball stuff because of my prejudice against dry food.
He also has a little dish, which I change daily, containing olive oil and he licks up the teasponful of that.
The weather here is not consistently hot enough for a shave down (we can get four seasons in one week almost!), so I'll see about the Petromalt.

Thanks for taking the time to cover all the ground! :smile:

 

[BJM]

Maybe a modified shave/clip down could work, of half as much as you'd do for hot seasons? So maybe to 5/8 - 1/2 inch long, rather than 1/8 - 1/4 inch long remaining.

Nothing says it has to be down to the skin.