How to Prevent Cat Hairballs: Grooming and Other Remedies

If you are a cat parent, you've had to clean up hairballs. Not only are they messy and smelly, but it's also hard to watch and listen to your little furbaby go through that. Often, they look scared and unhappy about what happened!

Dealing with hairballs doesn't have to be a messy job. You can prevent cat hairballs with little extra effort on your part! How can we best help our pets?

There are a number of over-the-counter (OTC) remedies available to us! Of course, you should ask your family's vet before you do any of these things. Read on to see some easy ways to prevent cat hairballs!

Grooming

Short hair or long, you should be grooming your cat. Doing so daily means less hair for your furbaby to digest. It's also a good way to bond with your pet.

Be careful with matted fur, though, as it would be easy to hurt your cat by accident. Special brushes exist that help to remove mats and let your cat move better. Mats can occur all over your cat's coat, but most often you will see it around the cat's butt, or under their arms.

If your cat doesn't let you brush them, you could try some self-grooming products on the market. If that doesn't work, consider hiring a cat grooming service.

Food Choices

If your cat's hairball problem is more than just an occasional even, you might want to try a "hairball formula" food. You can find these high-fiber foods by most pet food makers and is made to help the health of your cat's coat. Vets often have a brand they recommend for hairball treatment!

Hairball Laxative

Laxatives for cats are pretty common, and a good way to help promote digestive health! They come in flavors that cats usually eat, and they will have it like a treat. These mild laxatives will help the digestive system and prevent hairballs.

Plenty of Fresh Water

Sometimes hairballs can be the symptoms of dehydration. Keep fresh water out for your cat at all times! They need water to survive as much as we do, no one likes to drink out of a dirty water bowl.

Olive Oil or Butter

A teaspoon of oil or butter added to your kitty's food once a week will help keep their insides lubricated. You melt the butter in a microwave before adding it to the food and mixing it up! It doesn't have to be olive oil either.

Any cat-safe oil will work for this purpose. You can also smear a little petroleum jelly on your cat's paw. They'll lick it off and it'll help coat the insides like the oil or butter!

Prevent Cat Hairballs Easily

While hairballs are relatively normal in the scope of cat ailments, it doesn't hurt to help our furry friends out and try to prevent cat hairballs. They might be an indicator of something serious if they happen too often. They might even thank you for it since several of these remedies can double as treats.

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