{"id":1570,"date":"2020-10-09T00:01:04","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T00:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/?p=1570"},"modified":"2020-10-09T00:01:04","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T00:01:04","slug":"they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"They Come With the Territory, but Can Cat Hairballs Signal Illness?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AnimalMedical_iStock-979065852-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"cat hairballs\" class=\"wp-image-1571\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be difficult to imagine a pet more purr-fect than a cat. They are adorable, entertaining, and their quiet natures make them excellent snuggle partners. Additionally, cats have great manners and hardly ever embarrass themselves with untidy behaviors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is one thing that doesn\u2019t earn high marks: cat hairballs. They are never convenient or welcome, but is there a point when cat hairballs leave the \u201cnormal\u201d category and enter a dangerous one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hairy Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Without a doubt there are some intrinsic feline behaviors, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/2018\/05\/why-do-cats-knead\/\">kneading<\/a> or bringing you a fresh \u201ctrophy\u201d. Hacking up a mess of hair and stomach acid is widely perceived as a common feline behavior, too. But that doesn\u2019t mean hairballs are always healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not exactly ball-shaped, cat hairballs are actually elongated clumps of hair that have been squeezed up through the esophagus and out through the mouth. It\u2019s no wonder that they throw these up. After all, cats spend a large portion of time every day grooming themselves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Equipped with a scratchy tongue, when they lick their coats they pick up dead fur, dirt and other debris. The barbs that make their tongues feel like sandpaper only face back toward the throat, leaving them no choice but to swallow whatever they gathered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hairballs in Cats: Normal Or Not?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cats can digest fur, and you might notice clumps of it in their litter box. However, cat hairballs, or trichobezoars, represent wads of undigested fur. How can they sometimes move their fur through the GI tract, while other times they need to regurgitate?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It could depend on the season, for example, during the high-shedding seasons of spring and fall, cats may ingest more hair than normal resulting in frequent cat hairballs. Similarly, cats with longer fur coats may experience more hacking than short-haired breeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to Worry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally speaking, cat hairballs are considered normal, up to a point. If your cat is throwing up more than once a week it is time to investigate. If a clump of hair is too big to move through the GI tract, or back up the esophagus, a painful obstruction may occur. Cat hairballs can also become lodged in the small intestine, a situation that could require laxatives, various diagnostics, and possible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/veterinary-services\/surgery.html\">surgical removal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Signs of Stress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your cat is lethargic, continually vomiting or unproductive retching, or refusing food or water, they should be examined without delay. Sometimes, symptoms can also explain possible respiratory illness or a separate GI issue and should always be immediately addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Preventing Cat Hairballs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can help your cat manage their hairballs by combing and brushing their coats on a regular basis. There are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/veterinary-services\/nutrition.html\">specific diets and supplements <\/a>that can reduce cat hairballs from getting stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Here For You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/\">Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care<\/a> is always here for you. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/#contact\">Please let us know<\/a> if we can assist you with questions or concerns about<a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/veterinary-services\/behavioral-training.html\"> your cat\u2019s behavior<\/a>, health and safety.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It can be difficult to imagine a pet more purr-fect than a cat. They are adorable, entertaining, and their quiet natures make them excellent snuggle partners. Additionally, cats have great manners and hardly ever embarrass themselves with untidy behaviors.&nbsp; But there is one thing that doesn\u2019t earn high marks: cat hairballs. They are never convenient [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,34],"tags":[120,121,135],"class_list":["post-1570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pet-health-wellness","category-pet-safety","tag-cat-grooming","tag-cat-hairballs","tag-cat-wellness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>They Come With the Territory, but Can Cat Hairballs Signal Illness? - Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It can be difficult to imagine a pet more purr-fect than a cat. They are adorable, entertaining, and their quiet natures make them excellent snuggle partners.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"They Come With the Territory, but Can Cat Hairballs Signal Illness? - Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It can be difficult to imagine a pet more purr-fect than a cat. They are adorable, entertaining, and their quiet natures make them excellent snuggle partners.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-09T00:01:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.animalmedical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AnimalMedical_iStock-979065852-1024x576.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca07ae0dfdda304203d69e754125e490\"},\"headline\":\"They Come With the Territory, but Can Cat Hairballs Signal Illness?\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-09T00:01:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":507,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/AnimalMedical_iStock-979065852-1024x576.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cat Grooming\",\"Cat Hairballs\",\"cat wellness\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pet Health &amp; Wellness\",\"Pet Safety\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/\",\"name\":\"They Come With the Territory, but Can Cat Hairballs Signal Illness? - Animal Medical Hospital &amp; Urgent Care\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/they-come-with-the-territory-but-can-cat-hairballs-signal-illness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/AnimalMedical_iStock-979065852-1024x576.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-09T00:01:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.animalmedical.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca07ae0dfdda304203d69e754125e490\"},\"description\":\"It can be difficult to imagine a pet more purr-fect than a cat. 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