How to avoid hairballs in cats?
Although the phenomenon of hairballs is something common in cats, it is nonetheless unpleasant for your pet. Fortunately, there are solutions to prevent hairballs and reduce them.
Today, on 10-Tips, I offer you tips and home remedies to avoid hairballs in a cat.
Natural solutions against hairballs:
1. Why hairballs at?
Before moving on to tips for reducing and preventing hairballs in cats, it is necessary to better understand where they come from.
It’s simple, cats can spend hours and hours washing and licking their body and therefore their hair. As the cat’s tongue is rough, many hairs are swallowed by the cat.
As the cat does not digest hair, hairballs form in the stomach and are rejected over time. This is not a dangerous phenomenon for cats but nothing prevents us from helping your cat or at least preventing these famous hairballs.
Before moving on to our solutions and remedies, here is a product that will greatly help your cat if it often has hairballs. It is a food supplement in the form of malt paste which greatly promotes the evacuation of hairballs.
Malt tube for cats
- Aid in the evacuation of hairballs
- Aids in intestinal health for cats
- Also food supplement
2. Cats with long hair and hairballs
And yes, it makes sense, long-haired cats will tend to make more hairballs than very short-haired cats. Persian cats, for example, are used to making a lot of hairballs.
Also, if your cat is mainly an indoor animal, the phenomenon of hairballs will be much more frequent than another cat that lives a lot outside, for example. It is therefore important to be vigilant if you are the owner of a cat that often vomits hairballs.
So here are some solutions, home remedies and hairball products below.
3. A comb for long-haired cats
As mentioned in the previous point, it is important to pay particular attention to long-haired cats. Because it is these long-haired cats that have the most hairballs. Fortunately, it is possible to easily find combs and brushes specially designed for small animals with long hairs.
The molting period in cats… It is important to brush your cat very often during the cat’s moulting period to prevent large hairballs. Spring and fall are therefore two times of the year when your cat is at risk of having even more hairballs, so pay special attention.
Small, medium or large cat here is the Furminator comb which is an anti-shedding comb and which helps to considerably reduce the formation of hairballs in cats.
4. Help groom your cat
To continue in the same line as the last tip, it is important to help groom your cat to help it to have fewer hairballs. The comb that we presented to you above is a good accessory for grooming long-haired cats, but there are plenty of others as well that you can choose from.
And yes, why not participate in the grooming of your cat to help it swallow less hair and thus prevent the formation of hairballs. Getting into the habit of brushing your cat every day is an excellent anti-hairball initiative. Whether using a grooming glove or a brush, it is important to brush your cat every day to remove dead hair.
If you also want to give your cat a bath, I recommend that you read these practical tips: What to wash your cat with?
5. Grow catnip
Catnip is really a good solution to prevent cat balls but especially to help your cat with his digestion.
Indeed, catnip makes it possible to eliminate cat balls more easily and quickly thanks to vomiting. Catnip also helps the cat’s good digestion in addition to preventing the formation of large hairballs.
So you can buy a pot of herbs in store or online or even buy seeds to grow at home for your pet.
6. High fiber cat food
To help your cat’s digestive system and thus help it eliminate hairballs, choose a cat food that is high, very high in fiber. Very useful to prevent the hair from remaining too long in the stomach of the cat.
The fiber-enriched mash kibbles are really excellent for cats and for controlling hair in their digestive system. On the other hand, it is important to seek the advice of a veterinarian before changing the diet of your cat or giving it a diet rich in fiber for a certain time.
7. Watch out for your hairball remedies!
The milk is ineffective against hairballs:
Many people say that milk can help cats get hairballs more easily… This natural solution against the famous hairballs is completely false. Giving your cat milk will not help her with her hairballs and even less with her digestion. It’s a legend!
Vegetable Oil and Hairball:
Like milk, vegetable oil is an ineffective remedy for your cat and its hairballs. As the oils are absorbed in the intestines, this remedy remains ineffective against hairs and balls, it is simply to be avoided.
8. Discourage your cat
If your cat is excessively grooming you can of course try to discourage him. It’s not easy, but when you notice that your cat is compulsively licking its fur, you can distract it or even lure it into another activity.
Also, did you know that a stressed and anxious cat licks itself even more and can therefore have even more hairballs, which is very bad for its health in general.
It is therefore necessary to pay particular attention to the environment of your cat to eliminate this source of stress and thus reduce hairballs.
If your cat is shedding or losing a lot of hair, I suggest you read our article: How to remove cat hair from clothes?