Hairy scary hairballs

April 26th is National Hairball Awareness Day—yes, we are fur-real!

23 Apr 2015 By Leanne Philpott Comments

Listed as one of the Pet Health Awareness Events of the American Veterinary Medical Association, National Hairball Awareness Day aims to highlight the dangers of hairballs to the health of our feline friends.

One of the reasons we love cats is thanks to their ability to keep themselves clean but when cats use their tongue to groom themselves they ingest some of the hair, which can cause health problems.

While most of the ingested hair will pass through the intestinal tract, some can get stuck in the stomach and over time—as more and more hair builds up—it can result in the need for a visit to the vet (yep, that means it’s time to open up your wallet!).

Some of the signs that might indicate your cat has hairballs include:

  • Vomiting, gagging or retching—with or without coughing up a hairball
  • Loss of appetite
  • Lethargy
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhoea

Putting a holt to hairballs

Of course, with regular grooming you can help stop your meowing mate from swallowing too much hair, helping to prevent hairballs from forming in Ginger’s gut.

23 Apr 2015 By Leanne Philpott Comments

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