# this is an odd question...why doesn't my cat have hairballs?



## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

Why doesn't my cat have hairballs? 

I have had him since March and have never found any vomit or hairballs from him. The cats we had when I was a kid puked up hairballs at least once a week. Our prev. Cats were shorthaired Siamese and were fed dry until they got older then got canned twice a day. But I dont remember the hairballs getting any better with the wet. Munch is a fluffy shorthair and is on a canned and raw diet and something different every meal. I brush him now and then, but we did the same for our other cats. I guess I just want to know if it's his diet or genes or both that help him not to have hairballs.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I think some cats just don't get them much, a few months and no hairballs isn't unusual. They, uh... process them better?

Then there's also shedding seasons, I'm not sure if indoor cats experience them as much as indoor/outdoor cats, though since they're more in an even temperature throughout the year. If a cat is outdoor I find they lose a lot of hair to wind. 

In 10+ years I've seen Blacky with a hairball once, maybe. Jasper's been here since late October and only once did I walk into the garage and find a bit of throw up, though I can't even recall if it was hair. His mouse was sitting on top of it though, like he couldn't bear to look at it. :lol:


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

LOL "oh god, I THREW UP!" (puts mouse on top of it.)

I think indoor cats go through a couple of shedding periods, one about May and maybe one in the fall when it starts to get cold that isn't nearly as much.

I definitely think indoor/outdoor cats get their hair rubbed off on other stuff, plus they eat grass if they want to throw up and then do it outside, so you wouldn't notice as much.

we had indoor cats when I was a kid and they rarely got hairballs. sometimes, but not often. they also ate all wet food. I never questioned why we didn't give them dry, we didn't give the dogs dry food either though. I think the moist food does a better job of moving the hair through the digestive tract. brushing helps too. all the cats of my childhood were Siamese, and all of mine have been except for one. people say Siamese don't shed? I call bull****. they shed horribly sometimes.

I have also noticed that none of my cats seem to throw up hairballs until they're more than four years old. maybe it takes time to accumulate, I don't know.


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## DeafDogs&Cat (Mar 27, 2013)

I should say that all three of the cats I've lived with are/were indoor only


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## Jakiepoo (Jan 5, 2013)

I think a lot has to do with genetics when it comes to hairballs. Some cats are just more prone to have them. A little has to do with diet, and some regular brushing, a little bit has to do with age, how fast they eat their food plays a big roll as well. I also personally think attitude has a lot to do with it, I've found happier cats are a lot less likely to throw up, just from my experience, it seems they sometimes almost do it out of spite.

Our last girl made sure we got regular hair balls and she threw up all of the time. I've seen Jacob gagged once or twice, but that was right after chewing on some grass, and nothing came up


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

If your cat is grooming and ingesting hair, it's coming out one end or the other. Some cats have particularly sensitive stomachs that are irritated by even the smallest amount of hair moving through them. Those are cats who frequently vomit hairballs. Cats with iron guts, however, will be likely to send hair all the way through the GI tract so that it's expelled in feces.

Laurie


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

All wet for ET didn't seem to help with hairball problem. ET is prone to hairball, even with wet and dialy brushing and 3X egg yolk lecithin weekly. I can't stop giving him psyllium husk, PH really does help to prevent it coming up, but rather help to have the hair going down that way.


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