My senior cat has vomiting and hairball issues

by Sharon
(Yorba Linda, CA USA)

Juju is 12 years old. I have had her since she was 3 months old (from a shelter). She is an indoor only cat who is always up on shots and never leaves home unless she is borded. She has always had lots of hairballs (several each week) and I have asked at many vets about it. I always get the same answers, use hairball treatments like the flavored gel, special food or treats, etc. None of these have ever worked. I think she may be an excessive groomer but does not have any of the symptoms like dry skin, bald spots or anything else.

She also regurgitates her food un-digested after eating on a regular basis. One vet told me to give her only moist food and to elevate it so that she can eat it easily without having to keep her head bent over so it will get all the way down her throat. This was a couple of years ago, and it seemed to help a little, but now it is getting so much worse. She is not losing any weight...in fact she seems to eat non-stop (starving after she throws up) and acts normal otherwise, but she throws up several time per day. We have had her since my 16 year old daughter was 4 and I know she will be as crushed as I will if we have to find her another home ...but the vomiting is ruining my house, carpet, bedding, clothing...everything... and I don't want to keep her locked up in one room forever...what kind of life is that? I recently had to spend $1500 when she tried to hack up a hairball that got stuck and she began to choke on it. Although I have insurance for her, I don't think it covers this type of thing and I am out of money (still paying off the hospital visit). I just don't know what to do. Please help!


Answer by Kate
Firstly can I say what a great photo, she certainly looks happy here.

As for the hairball problem. Even though she is a short haired cat, if she is an excessive groomer she will get hairballs. Unfortunately there is no way to stop your cat grooming so much so all you can do is to try and remove as much of the loose fur yourself to reduce the issue. this means brushing her every day with a special cat brush. Also try and notice when she grooms herself the most and if you can try and distract her with a game etc, the less she gets used to grooming herself hopefully the less she will want to.

Excessive grooming is sometimes a sign of a bored or slightly stressed cat, so it may be a good idea to try and make her environment a little more interesting/ challenging please see my page here about that http://www.our-happy-cat.com/indoor-cats.html

Also try feeding her smaller amounts more often through out the day. This worked for my cat who would throw up her food after eating. It will take a while for them to get used to the smaller amounts but they will get used to it and it does give their stomachs time to digest the food.

best wishes kate