Posted on 07/31/2012 1:39:48 PM PDT by Rides_A_Red_Horse
In my short time here I've noticed that a lot of people on this site give great advice concerning pets.
The cat is at the vets office and he's being kept overnight to determine if they need to operate. He's a large Himalayan mixed with Maine Coon.
He hasn't held down food or water since late yesterday afternoon. He had surgery back in early June for similar symptoms. The vet removed a mass of hair from his stomach. I think part of the problem is he's been cleaning the dog who has much courser fur.
The vet also determined he's a little constipated.
He's about four years old and hasn't had these problems until recently. We just moved into a house in East Texas. Until a year ago, we lived near the Canadian border. He's been treated for fleas and worms.
He doesn't like Hartz hair ball remedy. The vet already said both animals must have their coats kept shaved short for the rest of their lives.
Can anyone offer any home remedies that will help him? We recently lost our ancient 20 year old cat. We're not prepared to lose another pet.
Online ordering is soon to come. If I were you, I’d check out your nearest pet stores, usually local, to see if they carry it.
The supermarkets don’t carry it. Try your local pet stores.
LOL
Butter.
Both of our kittehs are long-haired and we feed them Blue Indoor Health dry catfood. It is a “hairball” formula and they are thriving on it. The male, a Birman, very rarely has a hairball. The female, a Ragdoll, has them more frequently than the other but not nearly as often as before we started them on the Blue. Before that, they ate Royal Canin but they are both doing better on the Blue and they like it, too. Hairballs on kittehs is just the way of life for most cats but having to get surgery to remove them IS excessive. Does your cat drink much water? If not, get a fountain type watering contraption where the water is flowing and recycling. They prefer water like this and it encourages them to drink more which will relieve the constipation. Also, a good quality canned catfood has extra water in it that helps.
This is just an idea, but to keep the cat from grooming the dog, you might want to use a dog shampoo that is citrus based. Cats don’t like the smell of citrus. Hope he gets better!
Love your tagline!
We tried the Laxatone on Stella’s paw. She was so stubborn she would first try to shake it off and when that didn’t work, she would just wear it around all day letting in smear on the rug, the floor, the sofa, anywhere but IN her! I’d finally get tired of cleaning it off the rug, the floor, the sofa that I gave up. Now they both get a hairball formula catfood by Blue Indoor Health and hairballs are very infrequent.
Vasaline on paws every so often does the job. Our kitties often live into their twenties so it must not have hurt them.
He seems to drink a lot of water. I’ve been considering one of those fountain bowls.
I had two Maine Coon kittehs, brothers who lived for 14 and 16 years respectively. I advise keeping a hairbrush handy, and brushing them whenever they stop by to “visit”. Not all cats like to be combed, but they all seem to like a soft human hair brush. Short hairs generate a respectable amount of hair, too.
This will 1)cut down on what they swallow 2)cut down on hair matting 3)cut down on hair floating around your house, all good things!
I recommend feeding meat-based canned food. Dry foods containing grains (and rice is a grain) contain levels of carbohydrates kittehs are not engineered to handle, and predispose them to develop diabetes. Read the labels. Avoid “gravy” formulas.
Canned food has another advantage—it contains water, and cats rarely drink enough water. If your cat begins to drink LOTS and lots of water, it is an indication that something has probably gone wrong.
that is one hilarious post. Glad the vet didn’t pull the hair out of his own butt in front of you.....
You’ve gotten advice similar to the cheap route I take: “indoor” formula food with a shmear of Vaseline - on top of the paw so she grooms it off naturally, if she won’t lick it off my offered finger.
Hope your kitteh feels better soon! I agree with others; if your vet did not also do bloodwork in combo with the surgery (to rule out other issues) then you should look around for a new vet. Also, definitely start giving your baby either Laxatone or Petromalt or any of the “lubes” for kitties. They all do the same thing, just about, but have different flavors. If you find one he likes, he may lick it right off the tube (as one of my cats used to do). The various lubes are specially formulated to help them pass hairballs and will do a much better job of that than butter or olive oil or what-have-you.
Hope your baby is better soon!
Thanks!
Thanks! My husband found a different brand of grain-free cat food at Petsmart last night, and we’ll see how they do with it.
We have two Maine Coon kittehs - well, mostly coon in one case. We brush ‘em a LOT (which the ylove) and feed them Petromalt on a daily basis. They’ll still hurk up the occasional hairball, but nothing serious.
Norman and Olivia vas Paus say howdy.
Oh great to hear, good luck! Was it Wellness CORE? That’s also another good brand.
Innova Prime.
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