Click to Skip Ahead
Unfortunately for cat owners, hairballs are a common sight when it comes to our hygiene-conscious felines. Caused by their admirable attempts to keep themselves clean, hairballs are a frequent and icky issue we have to keep an eye on.
Luckily, most hairball problems are minor and can be resolved with hairball remedies like gels or treats. More serious problems might require a temporary diet change like a cat food brand specifically designed to prevent hairballs.
Hairball control cat food isn’t dangerous for your cat but the high fiber content can have some unpleasant side effects if used over a long time. Here are the five most common problems associated with hairball cat food.
The 5 Side Effects of Hairball Cat Food
1. Gastrointestinal Discomfort & Gas
Hairball cat food can be difficult to digest due to the high fiber content. A lot of manufacturers of hairball cat food will use fiber sourced from plants to increase the effectiveness of the formula.
While this works to boost the fiber content—and help remove hairballs from your cat’s system—it can be difficult for a lot of cats to digest.
2. Diarrhea or Constipation
Some cats might be fine with the increased fiber content in hairball cat food but you should keep an eye on them just in case. Diarrhea and constipation can be caused by the fiber source in hairball formulas, especially if your cat normally struggles to digest the ingredients used in the recipe.
Hairball cat food can also cause issues if you introduce it to your cat’s diet too suddenly. Since it takes the place of your cat’s regular cat food while you’re treating their hairball problem, you need to introduce it slowly.
Similar to how you introduce a new flavor or brand of cat food, slowly increase the amount of hairball cat food you mix with your current formula. You’ll have to do the same process to return to your cat’s previous food once the treatment is complete.
3. Dehydration
One of the biggest problems when it comes to hairball cat food is that most of the formulas are dry food. A lot of cats don’t drink much water to start with. It can be a challenge to convince them to drink when they don’t want to, even if they have free access to clean water.
With the increase in fiber and the limited consumption of water, there isn’t a lot left for your cat’s other systems, including their digestive system. Cats consuming these dry hairball formulas and not drinking enough water are therefore at risk of dehydration.
4. Urinary Issues
Stress, dietary changes, and dehydration can increase the likelihood of urinary problems in cats, such as cystitis (bladder inflammation) and especially feline idiopathic cystitis in cats with a history of the condition. Unlike foods formulated for urinary health, hairball foods do not typically control urine pH or reduce bladder crystals. So, if your cat has suffered from urinary issues, avoid this kind of food unless it is recommended and approved by your vet.
5. More Poop
Fiber is an important addition to any diet but you have to keep in mind that too much of a good thing can cause problems too. While the high fiber content in hairball cat food helps ingested hair to pass through your cat’s GI tract, it can have a detrimental effect on their digestive system.
Along with gastrointestinal problems, too much fiber can also affect your cat’s overall bowel movements, resulting in bulkier feces and an overall increase in the amount of poop.
What Causes Hairballs?
For animals who spend 30–50% of their day grooming themselves, hairballs are a likely consequence. As your cat grooms themselves, they ingest some of the loose and dead hair they remove from their coat. Unfortunately, the keratin protein that makes up hair—for both us and cats—isn’t digestible.
Normally, the hair passes through your cat’s system and is excreted in their poop. However, if it doesn’t and is left behind in your cat’s stomach, it will begin to accumulate. The more your cat grooms themselves, the more hair gets added to the clump in their stomach. It’s this wad of hair that your cat will throw up.
Hairballs are generally more common in long-haired cat breeds, but they can affect all cats with hair. Excessive grooming can also lead to more hairballs, which can be a result of an underlying health or behavioral issue that needs to be treated.
Signs of Hairballs in Cats
While they’re not pleasant for us or the cats who cough them up, hairballs usually pass through your cat’s system without causing a problem. There are occasions when they pose a more serious threat to your cat’s health.
A blockage caused by a hairball trapped in your cat’s digestive system, for example, can be life-threatening and require surgery to remove. Paying attention to your cat’s behavior and any unusual signs they may show can help you prevent the problem from becoming fatal:
- Dry coughing
- Gagging or retching
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Lethargy
- Loss of appetite
- Vomiting
- Frequent, unproductive visits to the litterbox
Keep in mind that some of these can also be a sign of other health issues. If your cat is grooming themselves excessively—and making their hairball problem worse—it could be due to a different or concurrent health problem.
If you notice changes in your cat’s behavior or unusual signs, you should contact a veterinarian to avoid complications. To effectively treat and prevent your cat’s recurrent hairballs, you’ll likely need to treat health or behavioral issues that may be causing the issue.
Alternative Remedies for Hairballs
Cat food formulas designed specifically for tackling hairballs aren’t the only solution to your cat’s hairballs. Sometimes, the cat food itself can even result in undesirable side effects for your cat, as discussed above.
Here are a few other remedies for hairballs that you can try instead:
Increase Hydration
Helping your cat stay well-hydrated is a smart and simple way to reduce hairballs. When your cat gets enough fluids, digestion runs more smoothly, which helps fur move through the system and out into the litter box instead of ending up on your carpet. Since cats naturally don’t feel very thirsty, it’s a good idea to make drinking water more appealing. You can try a water fountain since many cats are drawn to running water. You can also mix wet or fresh food into their meals, and, if possible, replace the dry food altogether. You can also add a splash of cat-safe bone broth or even toss a few ice cubes into their bowl to make things more interesting. A well-hydrated cat is not only healthier but also less likely to surprise you with a hairball on your favorite spot on the couch
Hairball Gels and Treats
If your cat’s hairball problem is a minor one, you might be able to tackle it with gels and treats that are formulated to control hairballs. These treats aren’t designed to be a major part of your cat’s diet and should be used alongside an already balanced meal plan.
They lubricate the gastrointestinal tract so swallowed fur passes harmlessly through your cat’s digestive system. Please use these remedies and treats only with your veterinarian’s approval.
Regular Grooming
Grooming your cat helps to strengthen the bond between you and also helps you reduce hairballs. As you groom your cat, the brush will collect the dead and loose hair. By removing the hair before your cat can groom themselves, you’ll be reducing the amount of fur they ingest.
In turn, this means less hair gets left behind in their digestive system and is less likely to end up as a hairball.
Conclusion
Hairball cat food is one of the ways many cat owners tackle their feline’s hairball problems. It is a high-fiber diet formulated to help indigestible hair pass through a cat’s digestive system. While it has its positives when it comes to preventing hairballs and is generally harmless, hairball cat food also has a few side effects.
Gastrointestinal issues, dehydration, more poop, and an increased risk of urinary problems are all possible side effects of dry hairball cat food. You should consider alternatives and have a chat with your vet before trying these formulas.
Featured Image Credit: Skrypnykov Dmytro, Shutterstock
2 Responses
My cat is coughing/ trying to hack up a hairball
She very rarely gets sick but I hear her
She had been eating Purina hairball formula
Should I discontinue use of the food
Thank you
Dear Jody,
Thank you for reaching out and sorry for a bit of a late reply. It’s a great, and very common, question we hear from cat owners. Much of the time, coughing up a hairball isn’t an accurate term, as coughing originates from the respiratory system and hairballs originate in the gastrointestinal tract.
Hairball foods, therefore, often aren’t very helpful in fixing the coughing aspect of the issue.
If you’d like to book an appointment with one of our vets at PangoVet, we’d be happy to review your cat’s situation. You could even share video of these events, that we could discuss, at that appointment.