March 18, 2025
You’ve Been Lied To: Hairballs Aren't Normal – How to Stop Your Cat’s Vomiting
If you think hairballs are just part of life with cats, think again! Frequent hairballs can signal serious health issues like digestive problems, excessive grooming due to stress or allergies, or even conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pancreatitis.
In this episode of Muddy Paws & Hairballs, veterinarian Dr. Linda Atkins breaks down the truth about cat hairballs, why they happen, and how to prevent them.
Key Takeaways:
✔️ Healthy cats should have hairballs "seasonally", approximately four hairballs per year—weekly or monthly hairballs are a red flag.
✔️ Excessive grooming is often triggered by stress, food allergies, skin irritation, or parasites.
✔️ Digestive motility issues, like IBD, pancreatitis, or even constipation, can cause hairballs to form instead of passing through.
✔️ Brushing your cat regularly removes loose fur before they swallow it—the #1 way to prevent hairballs!
✔️ Wet cat food and fresh water improve digestive health and help move swallowed fur through the system.
✔️ Long-haired cat breeds (Persians, Maine Coons, Ragdolls) require extra grooming to prevent hairballs and matting.
✔️ Hairball-related coughing? It might not be hairballs at all—feline asthma or heart disease could be the real culprit.
✔️ Training pets early to accept brushing makes future grooming stress-free.
✔️ Thinking of adopting a cat? Know what you’re signing up for—long-haired cats need lifelong grooming commitment!
Don’t Ignore the Signs!
Frequent hairballs, vomiting, or excessive grooming are NOT normal cat behavior. If your cat is hacking up hairballs more than a few times a year, consult your veterinarian to rule out underlying health concerns.
🎧 Listen now and learn how to keep your cat’s digestion, coat, and health in top shape!
#CatHealth #Hairballs #PetPodcast #CatCare #FelineWellness #PetGrooming #HealthyPets #MaineCoon #RagdollCats #PersianCats #PetWellness #Cat
Connect with Us
✅ Subscribe to Muddy Paws and Hairballs for more practical advice for real pet parents.
✅ Share this episode with other pet parents to help them live their very best lives with their pets!
We Want to Hear From You!
Your thoughts and experiences matter to us. What’s one thing you’ve learned from this episode that you’re excited to try with your pet? Or, do you have a question or topic you'd like us to cover in a future episode? Leave a review or comment—your feedback helps us create content that truly resonates with you!
LISTEN & FOLLOW!
▷ Official Site
▶ Facebook
▶ YouTube
▶ Apple
▶ Spotify
CONTACT: Amy@StarlightPetTalk.com
Thanks for listening to Muddy Paws and Hairballs, your go-to resource for all things pet care. From dog training, behavior, and socialization to cat enrichment, pet adoption, and tackling behavior problems, we provide expert advice and real talk to help you create a happy, healthy life with your pets. Whether you're dealing with dog anxiety, looking for puppy training tips, or exploring enrichment ideas for your cat, we've got you covered. Be sure to check out all our episodes!
Chapters
00:00 - Hairballs Are Not Normal
03:45 - Why Cats Get Hairballs
08:51 - Diagnosing the Real Problem
17:55 - Prevention and Treatment Options
25:01 - Hairballs in Other Animals
28:14 - Training Cats to Accept Grooming
31:18 - Water Quality and Hydration Tips
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:06.008 --> 00:00:06.628
sound familiar.
00:00:06.628 --> 00:00:11.054
You know the sound, that wet, gagging nightmare prompting sound.
00:00:11.054 --> 00:00:20.083
That means somewhere in your house a fresh, steaming hairball has just been deposited, probably in your shoe or maybe on your new white rug.
00:00:20.083 --> 00:00:24.033
But here's the kicker your cat's hairballs are not normal.
00:00:24.033 --> 00:00:25.021
That's right.
00:00:25.021 --> 00:00:31.045
Contrary to what you've been told by the experts in your cat lover's Facebook group, something is off.
00:00:31.045 --> 00:00:38.881
Today we're diving into the colossal catastrophe of cat hairballs with a vet who's seen more feline vomit than probably all of us combined.
00:00:38.881 --> 00:00:53.768
So grab some paper towels, a trash bag and maybe a stiff drink, because we're about to deep dive into why your cat is creating those beautiful fur-based abstract art pieces all over your house, and we'll talk about how to stop it.
00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:02.073
Welcome to Muddy Paws and Hairballs, the podcast where we don't sugarcoat the gross parts of pet parenting.
00:01:02.073 --> 00:01:09.170
I'm your host, amy Castro, and today we're talking about something that I think haunts cat parents everywhere, and that is hairballs.
00:01:09.170 --> 00:01:11.865
I don't know about you, but they're definitely haunting me right now.
00:01:11.865 --> 00:01:12.930
But we're going to get into that.
00:01:12.930 --> 00:01:27.566
So, to help us untangle this hairy situation, I have my longtime friend and feline expert and pretty much all-around animal care guru, dr Linda Atkins, from the Valley Cottage Animal Hospital, joining me to tackle this subject.
00:01:27.566 --> 00:01:36.563
Linda earned her degree in cell biology from Cornell University before going on to complete her doctorate of veterinary medicine at New York State Veterinary College.
00:01:36.563 --> 00:01:52.689
At Cornell she holds certifications in dentistry and ultrasound and her professional interests include general surgery, feline medicine, dentistry, diagnostic ultrasound and exotic animal medicine, which we talked about that a little bit on a previous episode when she was here.
00:01:52.689 --> 00:02:04.248
She's also the attending veterinarian for the Trailside Zoo at Bear Mountain, which is in Bear Mountain, new York, and she volunteers with local 4-H programs, which I think isn't that how we met Linda.
00:02:04.347 --> 00:02:06.253
Yes, through 4-H, 4-H Horse Club.
00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:15.250
We were 4-H horse weirdos back in the day, back when we were probably starting at least late junior high or certainly early high school.
00:02:15.250 --> 00:02:20.170
Right, yep, back in New York, where I still am, where you still are.
00:02:20.170 --> 00:02:20.771
That's awesome.
00:02:20.771 --> 00:02:22.822
I'm heading back your way, girl, I'm heading back.
00:02:22.822 --> 00:02:27.727
Well, welcome to the show and thank you for taking the time to come back with us again.
00:02:28.366 --> 00:02:31.790
Thank you for inviting me all the way from New York to.
00:02:31.850 --> 00:02:33.412
Texas, that's right.
00:02:33.412 --> 00:02:49.039
And the hairballs I got to say, you know and I'm glad that you made this point and I said this in the teaser that hairballs aren't normal, because I think, as cat parents, we sometimes convince ourselves that hair balls are just a thing, and we've heard from people that hair balls are just a thing.
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:59.181
So I got to tell everybody a funny story and if you're watching the video, no, I have not taken a shower today and I've not put on any makeup or anything, because my life is chaos and hell right now.
00:02:59.181 --> 00:03:01.084
I'm in the middle of getting ready to move.
00:03:01.084 --> 00:03:02.626
My house is on the market.
00:03:02.626 --> 00:03:10.195
Hopefully nobody will show up while we're recording this episode, but I had a photographer out the other day and he was fantastic.
00:03:10.195 --> 00:03:17.382
I mean, the pictures that he took of my place are amazing.
00:03:17.402 --> 00:03:23.383
So I'm scrolling through the photos that were up on the multiple listing service and I'm getting to the dog kennel building, which is where all my pets are living right now.
00:03:23.383 --> 00:03:32.026
Beautiful, it's a beautiful building and you know, beautiful shot of the bathing area and the laundry area, a nice long shot down the hallway where the runs are.
00:03:32.026 --> 00:03:44.604
And then the very last picture was a long shot coming from the other direction and that last kennel, which is an extra large one, is where I have my cat stashed temporarily while we're showing the house.
00:03:44.604 --> 00:03:47.689
And looks nice, it's all clean.
00:03:47.689 --> 00:04:00.927
The cat's sitting in the tower looking at the cameraman and I look down at the floor and there's a big, freaking hairball on the floor in the photo out on the universal multiple listing service for everybody to see.
00:04:00.927 --> 00:04:02.211
So of course I panic.
00:04:02.211 --> 00:04:04.842
I'm like texting my realtor please take that picture down.
00:04:04.842 --> 00:04:06.526
There's a big old hairball in the picture.
00:04:07.008 --> 00:04:14.151
So that's one of the reasons why I wanted to talk about this subject today, because that's one of the reasons I wanted my animals out of this house.
00:04:14.151 --> 00:04:22.428
I literally had started getting some stuff together to stage my kitchen and I had found which I didn't even realize I had placemats, but I found two placemats.
00:04:22.428 --> 00:04:23.211
I'm like these will work.
00:04:23.211 --> 00:04:31.589
I'm going to stage this counter and, I kid you not, I hadn't had them set in on the counter for 15 minutes and suddenly there's a hairball on one of them.
00:04:31.589 --> 00:04:35.923
So we get a lot of hairballs around here and I'm I'm one of those people that thought they were kind of normal.
00:04:35.923 --> 00:04:39.709
But you know, are hairballs really normal, you know?
00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:43.214
Or is it something we should be expecting on a daily or a weekly basis, or no?
00:04:43.935 --> 00:04:47.624
Generally no, they should only be seasonally.
00:04:47.624 --> 00:04:51.211
I tell my clients, so seasonally, so definitely you'll find them.
00:04:51.211 --> 00:04:56.451
And if you have four cats and it's seasonally, you're going to find 16 hairballs a year.
00:04:56.451 --> 00:05:01.475
So that's still a lot and that's a good reason to kind of add it to your podcast name.
00:05:01.475 --> 00:05:02.281
That's what brought it up.
00:05:02.281 --> 00:05:05.269
I was asking about your name and then I was like, oh, hairballs.
00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:11.005
I was like I could talk about hairballs and you said, could you really talk about hairballs for a half an hour?
00:05:11.005 --> 00:05:14.255
And I was like, yeah, yeah we can.
00:05:14.536 --> 00:05:18.346
So it's not technically normal for cats to throw up hairballs.
00:05:18.346 --> 00:05:19.629
It's kind of a myth.
00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:25.500
Everybody thinks, oh, I have a cat, it should vomit.
00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:27.648
And I talk to clients every day and I ask that's one of the questions we always ask does your cat vomit?
00:05:27.648 --> 00:05:30.076
And they say, yeah, it's a cat, it vomits.
00:05:30.076 --> 00:05:31.161
It vomits every day.
00:05:31.161 --> 00:05:33.526
And I'm like, oh, that's not normal.
00:05:33.526 --> 00:05:37.461
So, and there always tends to be some hair in the stomach.
00:05:37.461 --> 00:05:39.802
So most vomit does contain hair.
00:05:39.802 --> 00:05:43.185
So there's a little difference between a hair vomit and a hair ball.
00:05:43.185 --> 00:05:45.447
You can get into it too, yeah.
00:05:45.468 --> 00:05:46.509
But, it's not normal.
00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:51.012
Okay, let's talk about the difference, because I see it all.
00:05:51.012 --> 00:05:55.737
I mean, I see the ones that look like like you look across the room and it's like, is that a turd?
00:05:55.737 --> 00:05:58.086
And you know it turns out it's.
00:05:58.086 --> 00:06:00.031
It's not a turd, it's a hair ball.
00:06:00.031 --> 00:06:10.112
And then you see the ones like what I'm seeing now and what I saw on that MLS photo, which was like hair but a lot of liquid, like it wasn't formed in any way.
00:06:10.112 --> 00:06:11.416
So is that kind of the difference?
00:06:12.161 --> 00:06:14.125
A little bit, so that kind of brings up.
00:06:14.125 --> 00:06:16.249
Why are you seeing hairballs now?
00:06:16.249 --> 00:06:18.274
So you know hairballs.
00:06:18.274 --> 00:06:23.353
Hair usually will kind of go through the hair itself, so usually cats will groom themselves.
00:06:23.353 --> 00:06:25.045
As we know, cats are great groomers.
00:06:25.045 --> 00:06:35.053
They always look beautiful, they don't need baths and they've got these fancy tongues that have these small barbs on the back of them, on the front, but then they're backwards facing.
00:06:35.576 --> 00:06:38.264
So, they groom themselves and they ingest a little bit.
00:06:38.264 --> 00:06:52.302
They're grooming, they're grooming, they're ingesting a little hair and that hair should go into the stomach and then through the intestinal tract and it's digested a small amount, but not a lot, and it should kind of continue on out and be a little bit in the stool.
00:06:52.302 --> 00:07:01.555
So it's the changes in the cat that are causing them to ingest too much hair or affect the motility of the intestine that makes you see them more.
00:07:01.555 --> 00:07:03.261
So your cats are probably a little stressed.
00:07:03.261 --> 00:07:04.723
Got a lot going on.
00:07:04.723 --> 00:07:05.946
They're nervous.
00:07:05.946 --> 00:07:13.704
They're probably grooming more out of stress and now you're finding more and you've changed their whole world a little bit.
00:07:13.745 --> 00:07:16.692
So, yeah, they're extremely unhappy right now.
00:07:16.692 --> 00:07:22.692
I will say, though, it seems to be and I don't know if this is true or not true, but I feel like.
00:07:22.692 --> 00:07:45.235
So I've got a tortoise shell cat who has a lot of brown and gold in her fur, and then I have the cat with no eyes, who does have some gray but has a lot of white, and then I've got a black and white cat, and I feel like what I'm seeing looks the same color, wise, or is that just crazy for me to assume that it's Penny, penny Pinhead, who's the black and white one?
00:07:45.235 --> 00:07:48.151
I feel like he's the one that's hocking the stuff up everywhere.
00:07:48.773 --> 00:08:00.716
Yeah, and that's a good way for people to tell which cat it is If you have four cats and you're not sure which cat, to kind of look at it, sometimes it's digested and you get kind of the food and stuff in there and it can be variable in color.
00:08:00.716 --> 00:08:02.480
But that's a good way to tell who it is.
00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.432
Or, you know, take a photo, keep track.
00:08:05.432 --> 00:08:08.247
I tell people so they could kind of get an idea of what it is.
00:08:08.247 --> 00:08:11.036
But you should really only find them about four times a year.
00:08:11.036 --> 00:08:13.646
I tried to track my cat and see and that's.
00:08:13.646 --> 00:08:16.432
I maybe find two or three and she's a short haired cat.
00:08:16.432 --> 00:08:24.000
So if you have a long haired cat that's grooming you might normally find a little bit more, just because they're ingesting more of that hair.
00:08:25.642 --> 00:08:44.942
So, like I realize my cats are stressed, but I will say that Penny and we have talked to the veterinarian have not identified any particular cause, although he's going back again because, yes, it is a stressful time and it's possible that it has increased, but I feel like it's not increased that much and it is much more consistent than four times a year.
00:08:44.942 --> 00:08:52.255
So, other than stress, what else would cause a cat to throw up hair and maybe would be a cause of concern for us?
00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:55.879
So you know I try and narrow it down to the two big ones.
00:08:55.879 --> 00:09:06.001
Either they're grooming more or there's a problem with the movement of the hair through, because it should go from tongue out the butt in a smooth fashion.
00:09:06.001 --> 00:09:12.660
It shouldn't glob up into a big ball in their stomach because naturally that wouldn't be helpful for the cat.
00:09:12.660 --> 00:09:14.677
It should be kind of continuing to move on.
00:09:14.677 --> 00:09:18.321
So the first one being they're doing something that causes them to groom more.
00:09:18.321 --> 00:09:29.325
So they're either they're itchy or they have a parasite or they have a fungus or something on the fur is making them have to kind of spend more time doing it.
00:09:29.325 --> 00:09:32.739
Other reasons they'll groom more is stress.
00:09:32.739 --> 00:09:34.855
So if they're anxious they'll groom more.
00:09:34.855 --> 00:09:36.640
Or if they're grooming another cat.
00:09:36.640 --> 00:09:46.822
So if they're grooming themselves and also grooming the three other cats because they like to do that, they're going to be ingesting more than their normal share of hair.
00:09:46.822 --> 00:09:48.924
So that's why it's abnormal to do that.
00:09:48.924 --> 00:10:06.263
Or if you don't have a little short-haired cat like yours and you have a ragdoll or a Persian or a Maine Coon, something that doesn't have what I call a natural type coat, that's much more than their body can actually ingest and groom.
00:10:06.263 --> 00:10:09.558
You know they're big fluff balls, some of these cats Crazy how much hair.
00:10:09.778 --> 00:10:20.032
I have a client that has Siberians and it's so much hair for them to maintain and ingest that it's just too much for them.
00:10:20.032 --> 00:10:27.096
So they're grooming too much, so they got fleas, they have friends, they have ticks or something they're trying to remove.
00:10:27.096 --> 00:10:32.054
And then the other one I think about is the ones where that's not moving properly.
00:10:32.054 --> 00:10:38.397
So something is wrong from stomach to through the intestine that it's just not moving along right.
00:10:38.397 --> 00:10:49.065
Either they have inflammatory bowel disease or they have pancreatitis or have something that's kind of altering that flow that's normally supposed to be there, or they have a food allergy.
00:10:49.065 --> 00:10:52.177
Something is making it not smooth.
00:10:52.177 --> 00:10:55.351
Then the hair gets kind of stuck in the stomach and then it just doesn't move on.
00:10:56.975 --> 00:10:58.899
So how do we determine which it is Like I?
00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:08.202
I mean, if I took him into the veterinarian, which I actually did, and they didn't necessarily identify anything, but what's the process of trying to eliminate the causes?
00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:10.982
Yeah, you make sure you have good parasite control.
00:11:10.982 --> 00:11:15.177
So you want to make sure there are no fleas, so you have a good parasite preventative.
00:11:15.177 --> 00:11:19.013
I make sure there's no other things that are on the actual coat.
00:11:19.013 --> 00:11:20.434
So we look at the fur.
00:11:20.434 --> 00:11:22.057
So that's what they're coming in for.
00:11:22.057 --> 00:11:23.019
I'm looking at the coat.
00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:24.340
I'm seeing where it's missing.
00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:26.803
Is it missing on their back?
00:11:26.803 --> 00:11:28.086
Is it missing on their belly?
00:11:28.086 --> 00:11:32.741
That's a common one where they'll stress groom and they'll groom their whole belly bald.
00:11:32.741 --> 00:11:38.643
So they're these kitties that have bald belly or they're licking on their legs or somewhere odd.
00:11:38.643 --> 00:11:42.379
So that might be a cat that's very anxious, that's over grooming.
00:11:42.418 --> 00:11:44.753
So we're looking for changes in the coat.
00:11:44.753 --> 00:11:46.537
So that's the more the visual one.
00:11:46.537 --> 00:11:53.841
They might do a you know, a test on the fur to see if there's a fungus or something else that might be causing them to ingest more.
00:11:53.841 --> 00:11:55.491
So that's the kind of the easier one.
00:11:55.491 --> 00:11:56.813
Or they're itchy.
00:11:56.813 --> 00:11:59.618
You know we definitely see cats with food allergies.
00:11:59.618 --> 00:12:01.821
That they'll just be.
00:12:01.821 --> 00:12:02.481
Overall.
00:12:02.481 --> 00:12:04.505
Their body is itchy so they're grooming more.
00:12:04.505 --> 00:12:05.511
That's the easier one.
00:12:05.511 --> 00:12:06.274
To diagnose.
00:12:06.274 --> 00:12:10.410
The ones where it's a movement of the intestine is a little bit trickier.
00:12:10.410 --> 00:12:15.182
So we'll ask questions about the frequency and what are you feeding?
00:12:15.182 --> 00:12:16.371
What's their diet?
00:12:16.371 --> 00:12:19.177
Is there something we can change or alter?
00:12:19.177 --> 00:12:28.402
And we always, if it's a cat, do some kind of the baseline blood work to make sure there's not something like pancreatitis that we're missing and we'll pick that up on lab tests.
00:12:29.049 --> 00:12:29.410
Interesting.
00:12:29.410 --> 00:12:40.316
It's interesting you mentioned the naked belly because Pickles, who I feel like is my most nervous of the three cats, the one that's completely blind, seems like she's completely not nervous.
00:12:40.316 --> 00:12:41.639
I mean she's the first one out to.
00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:49.677
When we had guys in here working on the house, I mean I had to close her up because she wouldn't leave the guys alone when they were painting and it's like nobody needs your tail in the paint.
00:12:49.677 --> 00:12:54.360
Thank you very much, but she just, you know, no fear seemingly.
00:12:54.360 --> 00:13:04.434
And then Pickles is my nervous ninny, who's constantly looking at the ceiling fan that's been there her entire, you know, 12 or 14 years on this planet and looking like what the hell is that?
00:13:04.434 --> 00:13:06.746
So I always feel like she's the most nervous.
00:13:06.746 --> 00:13:14.796
And it's interesting about the naked belly because for the long, like for several years, she had almost a completely naked belly but it's grown back.
00:13:14.796 --> 00:13:22.438
So I don't know if she's just gotten less nervous or what the deal is, but yeah, that uh, I always thought that was kind of odd, that she was.
00:13:28.610 --> 00:13:29.231
Yeah, nervous allergy.
00:13:29.231 --> 00:13:29.832
They can be allergic.
00:13:29.832 --> 00:13:31.456
That's a big one that they're allergic to the food you're feeding.
00:13:31.456 --> 00:13:32.399
So some of that goes into the.
00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:39.383
When we get into the treatment section, one of the things we think about yeah, and do they do allergy testing on cats?
00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:40.871
They can.
00:13:40.871 --> 00:13:42.296
It's a little trickier.
00:13:42.296 --> 00:13:50.711
You have to do the intradermal testing like they do on a person, where they make all those little holes on your arm and they put the allergens onto your skin.
00:13:50.711 --> 00:13:52.014
So you have to sedate the cat.
00:13:52.014 --> 00:13:55.110
You have to shave the whole side of the cat to get a big place.
00:13:55.110 --> 00:13:57.615
We don't do a lot of allergy testing in cats.
00:13:57.615 --> 00:14:03.990
We'll do a diet change and go through a systematic change of diet to see if we can make them less itchy.
00:14:04.873 --> 00:14:14.761
So this is I know it was a gross subject, right, but do the contents of what's coming up indicate something different, Like if it's just hair versus hair and food, or is it just?
00:14:14.761 --> 00:14:19.981
Is the food coming up just a symptom of the hair not allowing the food to go anywhere either?
00:14:20.490 --> 00:14:21.412
Yeah, absolutely.
00:14:21.412 --> 00:14:23.436
You know I was trying to take a good history.
00:14:23.436 --> 00:14:26.280
Have clients take a history, bring me photos.
00:14:26.280 --> 00:14:27.943
What are they seeing coming up?
00:14:27.943 --> 00:14:30.017
What is the cat actually doing?
00:14:30.017 --> 00:14:33.490
I'm surprised you haven't made this any sounds yet for the hairballs yet.
00:14:33.551 --> 00:14:35.195
But uh, I did it.
00:14:35.195 --> 00:14:37.541
I did it right in the beginning of the teaser.
00:14:37.541 --> 00:14:38.671
You didn't hear that part.
00:14:38.671 --> 00:14:39.873
I recorded that already.
00:14:40.193 --> 00:14:48.779
So I always, if cats come in and say they're trying to cough up a hairball but it's not coming up, I'm like can you bring me a video what that is?
00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:52.696
Because most of the time the cat is actually coughing and that's always.
00:14:52.696 --> 00:15:01.798
My worry is that they're thinking their cat is trying to bring up a hairball and their cat has asthma because it's coughing and it has nothing to do with the hair or the intestine or the stomach nothing, it's got asthma.
00:15:01.798 --> 00:15:05.953
Or it's coughing and it has nothing to do with the hair or the intestine or the stomach nothing, it's got asthma.
00:15:05.953 --> 00:15:07.597
Or it's got heart disease.
00:15:07.597 --> 00:15:13.499
A lot of coughing cats are actually occult heart cats, that they actually have heart disease.
00:15:13.499 --> 00:15:17.857
So they'll come in and say, oh, my cat's trying to cough up a hairball and nothing's coming up.
00:15:17.857 --> 00:15:21.679
He's extending his neck, he's making that honking sound.
00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.630
He's continuing to do that, but nothing comes up.
00:15:24.630 --> 00:15:33.080
So do I give him a laxative for his hairball, like, let me see that video again, or even a recording, and they're coughing.
00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:35.528
So that's a kind of a different workup.
00:15:35.528 --> 00:15:39.356
We don't want to be down the wrong trail or something like that.
00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:51.518
So do I save everybody time and effort if I, you know, listen to this podcast episode and I feel like my cat, like, start gathering that evidence, the pictures, the video, and bring that, versus waiting for your vet to tell you.
00:15:51.518 --> 00:15:56.503
I mean, I figure it should be relatively easy to at least gather some evidence to start off with.
00:15:57.144 --> 00:16:10.054
Yeah, it definitely helps bringing that video because we want to know what you're seeing at home, because when the cats come into the vet for this type of problem, they're just going to sit on the table and hide and they're not going to give you any clues.
00:16:10.054 --> 00:16:12.721
They're not going to cough up a hairball in the exam room.
00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:13.519
So you're not going to see it.
00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:14.109
I can put on a show for you.
00:16:14.450 --> 00:16:15.412
No, no, no, no, no.
00:16:15.412 --> 00:16:23.787
So then we start asking those kind of more specific questions to try and diagnose if this is a grooming problem.
00:16:23.787 --> 00:16:26.413
Is it a inflammatory bowel problem?
00:16:26.413 --> 00:16:28.139
Is it a food allergy?
00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:32.873
Because oftentimes, but so many people think hairball vomiting is just normal.
00:16:32.873 --> 00:16:44.182
They do it every day or every other day, and I have currently only one cat, but I've had as many as three, and maybe I clean up a hairball from this cat seasonally.
00:16:44.182 --> 00:16:46.376
That's why I tell people so four times a year.
00:16:46.376 --> 00:16:47.038
Wow.
00:16:47.770 --> 00:16:57.315
So let's assume we've gone through the process of having it diagnosed and obviously, like you said, if it's allergy related we can make some changes to the diet and I want to talk about that.
00:16:57.315 --> 00:17:03.759
But are you just lucky that your cats just have those seasonal hairballs and I'm just unlucky, or is it?
00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:14.434
Are there things that you're doing specifically to prevent hairballs that we could all be doing, assuming it's not some major like heart disease or something like that?
00:17:14.454 --> 00:17:15.438
Obviously I can't control that in my cat.
00:17:15.438 --> 00:17:19.273
But yeah, you know, you have your as you call it, your hairball prevention playbook.
00:17:19.273 --> 00:17:24.651
So the less hair they're ingesting, the less often you're going to see hair.
00:17:24.651 --> 00:17:42.315
So if they're not a normal groomer and they just like a crazy groomer, you groom for them, so you're brushing them, so you're getting that extra hair off on a daily basis if your cat's cooperative, or a couple of times a week, because the more you take off with the brush, the less they're going to throw up because it's just you's just natural for them.
00:17:42.315 --> 00:17:47.871
If you've got one of those big Maine coon cats, you need to brush that cat because he can't ingest all that hair.
00:17:47.871 --> 00:17:48.772
It's going to come up.
00:17:49.434 --> 00:17:50.739
Yeah, I never brush my cats.
00:17:50.739 --> 00:17:51.221
I'm terrible.
00:17:52.029 --> 00:17:53.054
The brush is the best thing.
00:17:53.054 --> 00:17:54.980
That's probably half my problem right there right.
00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:55.590
The brush.
00:17:55.590 --> 00:17:56.952
The brush is the best thing.
00:17:56.952 --> 00:18:04.223
A brush, the comb, even a lint brush, a firminator, all those are excellent for getting that extra hair off.
00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:08.737
It's too bad, we can't vacuum them I don't think they would tolerate that.
00:18:08.757 --> 00:18:10.284
They don't like the sound, they don't even like the brush half the time.
00:18:10.284 --> 00:18:15.740
So train them with the brush, with treats, make it a game, make it fun to get that excess off.
00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:20.753
And if you've got one of these heavy coated cats that you can't brush, you know, maybe think about clipping that cat, getting the body't brush.
00:18:20.753 --> 00:18:23.896
You know, maybe think about clipping that cat getting the body hair off.
00:18:23.896 --> 00:18:32.105
You know, leave the fluffy tail, if you like, and the head, kind of poofy like a lion, cut, and then they have less to do and less work for them.
00:18:32.105 --> 00:18:34.047
So that will, that will definitely help.
00:18:39.569 --> 00:18:40.452
Is it worthwhile to take them to a groomer?
00:18:40.452 --> 00:18:42.642
Like my cats are all short hair so it seems to me like it would be silly to take them to a groomer.
00:18:42.642 --> 00:18:44.630
Like I can just brush them and probably take care of a good bit of it.
00:18:44.630 --> 00:18:55.261
But for people with those longer haired cats I mean, do they have like an undercoat and things like that that can cause problems that maybe a groomer can manage or get out better it can.
00:18:55.369 --> 00:19:00.643
If it's hard for you to do and the cat is cooperative enough, the groomer can brush that out.
00:19:00.643 --> 00:19:09.221
It's going to accumulate on a daily basis, though, so there's always some coming out, so it's not like a poodle or a dog that you can clip short.
00:19:09.221 --> 00:19:14.766
This fur is like shepherd lab fur it's continually being come out.
00:19:14.886 --> 00:19:19.560
Yeah, it's continually coming out, so you got to do the job at home, at least on a daily basis, right?
00:00:06.008 --> 00:00:06.628
00:00:06.628 --> 00:00:11.054
00:00:11.054 --> 00:00:20.083
00:00:20.083 --> 00:00:24.033
00:00:24.033 --> 00:00:25.021
00:00:25.021 --> 00:00:31.045
00:00:31.045 --> 00:00:38.881
00:00:38.881 --> 00:00:53.768
00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:02.073
00:01:02.073 --> 00:01:09.170
00:01:09.170 --> 00:01:11.865
00:01:11.865 --> 00:01:12.930
00:01:12.930 --> 00:01:27.566
00:01:27.566 --> 00:01:36.563
00:01:36.563 --> 00:01:52.689
00:01:52.689 --> 00:02:04.248
00:02:04.347 --> 00:02:06.253
00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:15.250
00:02:15.250 --> 00:02:20.170
00:02:20.170 --> 00:02:20.771
00:02:20.771 --> 00:02:22.822
00:02:22.822 --> 00:02:27.727
00:02:28.366 --> 00:02:31.790
00:02:31.850 --> 00:02:33.412
00:02:33.412 --> 00:02:49.039
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:59.181
00:02:59.181 --> 00:03:01.084
00:03:01.084 --> 00:03:02.626
00:03:02.626 --> 00:03:10.195
00:03:10.195 --> 00:03:17.382
00:03:17.402 --> 00:03:23.383
00:03:23.383 --> 00:03:32.026
00:03:32.026 --> 00:03:44.604
00:03:44.604 --> 00:03:47.689
00:03:47.689 --> 00:04:00.927
00:04:00.927 --> 00:04:02.211
00:04:02.211 --> 00:04:04.842
00:04:04.842 --> 00:04:06.526
00:04:07.008 --> 00:04:14.151
00:04:14.151 --> 00:04:22.428
00:04:22.428 --> 00:04:23.211
00:04:23.211 --> 00:04:31.589
00:04:31.589 --> 00:04:35.923
00:04:35.923 --> 00:04:39.709
00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:43.214
00:04:43.935 --> 00:04:47.624
00:04:47.624 --> 00:04:51.211
00:04:51.211 --> 00:04:56.451
00:04:56.451 --> 00:05:01.475
00:05:01.475 --> 00:05:02.281
00:05:02.281 --> 00:05:05.269
00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:11.005
00:05:11.005 --> 00:05:14.255
00:05:14.536 --> 00:05:18.346
00:05:18.346 --> 00:05:19.629
00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:25.500
00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:27.648
00:05:27.648 --> 00:05:30.076
00:05:30.076 --> 00:05:31.161
00:05:31.161 --> 00:05:33.526
00:05:33.526 --> 00:05:37.461
00:05:37.461 --> 00:05:39.802
00:05:39.802 --> 00:05:43.185
00:05:43.185 --> 00:05:45.447
00:05:45.468 --> 00:05:46.509
00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:51.012
00:05:51.012 --> 00:05:55.737
00:05:55.737 --> 00:05:58.086
00:05:58.086 --> 00:06:00.031
00:06:00.031 --> 00:06:10.112
00:06:10.112 --> 00:06:11.416
00:06:12.161 --> 00:06:14.125
00:06:14.125 --> 00:06:16.249
00:06:16.249 --> 00:06:18.274
00:06:18.274 --> 00:06:23.353
00:06:23.353 --> 00:06:25.045
00:06:25.045 --> 00:06:35.053
00:06:35.576 --> 00:06:38.264
00:06:38.264 --> 00:06:52.302
00:06:52.302 --> 00:07:01.555
00:07:01.555 --> 00:07:03.261
00:07:03.261 --> 00:07:04.723
00:07:04.723 --> 00:07:05.946
00:07:05.946 --> 00:07:13.704
00:07:13.745 --> 00:07:16.692
00:07:16.692 --> 00:07:22.692
00:07:22.692 --> 00:07:45.235
00:07:45.235 --> 00:07:48.151
00:07:48.773 --> 00:08:00.716
00:08:00.716 --> 00:08:02.480
00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.432
00:08:05.432 --> 00:08:08.247
00:08:08.247 --> 00:08:11.036
00:08:11.036 --> 00:08:13.646
00:08:13.646 --> 00:08:16.432
00:08:16.432 --> 00:08:24.000
00:08:25.642 --> 00:08:44.942
00:08:44.942 --> 00:08:52.255
00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:55.879
00:08:55.879 --> 00:09:06.001
00:09:06.001 --> 00:09:12.660
00:09:12.660 --> 00:09:14.677
00:09:14.677 --> 00:09:18.321
00:09:18.321 --> 00:09:29.325
00:09:29.325 --> 00:09:32.739
00:09:32.739 --> 00:09:34.855
00:09:34.855 --> 00:09:36.640
00:09:36.640 --> 00:09:46.822
00:09:46.822 --> 00:09:48.924
00:09:48.924 --> 00:10:06.263
00:10:06.263 --> 00:10:09.558
00:10:09.778 --> 00:10:20.032
00:10:20.032 --> 00:10:27.096
00:10:27.096 --> 00:10:32.054
00:10:32.054 --> 00:10:38.397
00:10:38.397 --> 00:10:49.065
00:10:49.065 --> 00:10:52.177
00:10:52.177 --> 00:10:55.351
00:10:56.975 --> 00:10:58.899
00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:08.202
00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:10.982
00:11:10.982 --> 00:11:15.177
00:11:15.177 --> 00:11:19.013
00:11:19.013 --> 00:11:20.434
00:11:20.434 --> 00:11:22.057
00:11:22.057 --> 00:11:23.019
00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:24.340
00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:26.803
00:11:26.803 --> 00:11:28.086
00:11:28.086 --> 00:11:32.741
00:11:32.741 --> 00:11:38.643
00:11:38.643 --> 00:11:42.379
00:11:42.418 --> 00:11:44.753
00:11:44.753 --> 00:11:46.537
00:11:46.537 --> 00:11:53.841
00:11:53.841 --> 00:11:55.491
00:11:55.491 --> 00:11:56.813
00:11:56.813 --> 00:11:59.618
00:11:59.618 --> 00:12:01.821
00:12:01.821 --> 00:12:02.481
00:12:02.481 --> 00:12:04.505
00:12:04.505 --> 00:12:05.511
00:12:05.511 --> 00:12:06.274
00:12:06.274 --> 00:12:10.410
00:12:10.410 --> 00:12:15.182
00:12:15.182 --> 00:12:16.371
00:12:16.371 --> 00:12:19.177
00:12:19.177 --> 00:12:28.402
00:12:29.049 --> 00:12:29.410
00:12:29.410 --> 00:12:40.316
00:12:40.316 --> 00:12:41.639
00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:49.677
00:12:49.677 --> 00:12:54.360
00:12:54.360 --> 00:13:04.434
00:13:04.434 --> 00:13:06.746
00:13:06.746 --> 00:13:14.796
00:13:14.796 --> 00:13:22.438
00:13:28.610 --> 00:13:29.231
00:13:29.231 --> 00:13:29.832
00:13:29.832 --> 00:13:31.456
00:13:31.456 --> 00:13:32.399
00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:39.383
00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:40.871
00:13:40.871 --> 00:13:42.296
00:13:42.296 --> 00:13:50.711
00:13:50.711 --> 00:13:52.014
00:13:52.014 --> 00:13:55.110
00:13:55.110 --> 00:13:57.615
00:13:57.615 --> 00:14:03.990
00:14:04.873 --> 00:14:14.761
00:14:14.761 --> 00:14:19.981
00:14:20.490 --> 00:14:21.412
00:14:21.412 --> 00:14:23.436
00:14:23.436 --> 00:14:26.280
00:14:26.280 --> 00:14:27.943
00:14:27.943 --> 00:14:30.017
00:14:30.017 --> 00:14:33.490
00:14:33.551 --> 00:14:35.195
00:14:35.195 --> 00:14:37.541
00:14:37.541 --> 00:14:38.671
00:14:38.671 --> 00:14:39.873
00:14:40.193 --> 00:14:48.779
00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:52.696
00:14:52.696 --> 00:15:01.798
00:15:01.798 --> 00:15:05.953
00:15:05.953 --> 00:15:07.597
00:15:07.597 --> 00:15:13.499
00:15:13.499 --> 00:15:17.857
00:15:17.857 --> 00:15:21.679
00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.630
00:15:24.630 --> 00:15:33.080
00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:35.528
00:15:35.528 --> 00:15:39.356
00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:51.518
00:15:51.518 --> 00:15:56.503
00:15:57.144 --> 00:16:10.054
00:16:10.054 --> 00:16:12.721
00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:13.519
00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:14.109
00:16:14.450 --> 00:16:15.412
00:16:15.412 --> 00:16:23.787
00:16:23.787 --> 00:16:26.413
00:16:26.413 --> 00:16:28.139
00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:32.873
00:16:32.873 --> 00:16:44.182
00:16:44.182 --> 00:16:46.376
00:16:46.376 --> 00:16:47.038
00:16:47.770 --> 00:16:57.315
00:16:57.315 --> 00:17:03.759
00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:14.434
00:17:14.454 --> 00:17:15.438
00:17:15.438 --> 00:17:19.273
00:17:19.273 --> 00:17:24.651
00:17:24.651 --> 00:17:42.315
00:17:42.315 --> 00:17:47.871
00:17:47.871 --> 00:17:48.772
00:17:49.434 --> 00:17:50.739
00:17:50.739 --> 00:17:51.221
00:17:52.029 --> 00:17:53.054
00:17:53.054 --> 00:17:54.980
00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:55.590
00:17:55.590 --> 00:17:56.952
00:17:56.952 --> 00:18:04.223
00:18:07.109 --> 00:18:08.737
00:18:08.757 --> 00:18:10.284
00:18:10.284 --> 00:18:15.740
00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:20.753
00:18:20.753 --> 00:18:23.896
00:18:23.896 --> 00:18:32.105
00:18:32.105 --> 00:18:34.047
00:18:39.569 --> 00:18:40.452
00:18:40.452 --> 00:18:42.642
00:18:42.642 --> 00:18:44.630
00:18:44.630 --> 00:18:55.261
00:18:55.369 --> 00:19:00.643
00:19:00.643 --> 00:19:09.221
00:19:09.221 --> 00:19:14.766
00:19:14.886 --> 00:19:19.560