How To Prevent Hairballs (Or Worse) With A Long-Haired Cat

Having a long-haired cat comes with a few extra responsibilities versus a shorter-haired cat. However, it's well worth the effort if you love the way long-haired cats look or have already made friends with one. If you want to keep your long-haired cat safe and healthy, it means taking their long fur into consideration. Hairballs, and a much more dangerous health hazard called gastrointestinal obstruction, can arise if a cat consumes too much of its own fur. Since long-haired cats tend to have thicker fur, this is particularly a problem for them. Here's what you can do to keep this issue at bay. To learn more, contact a pet service.

Grooming

Understandably, all long-haired cats need to be groomed on a regular basis. While you can attempt to do this yourself, bringing your cat to a professional is a good idea. They'll have a good understanding of how much fur your cat has and how to remove any fur that's on the verge of falling out. They can also advise you on things like how often your cat should be groomed. While simply brushing your cat in between professional groomings can be helpful, brushing at home rarely removes all the excess hair, so your cat can still end up eating too much of it when cleaning themselves. Get some advice from a pro to keep this from happening.

Medication

Even with the excess loose hair removed, some cats will simply have hairball problems. Everyone's digestive system is different, and the same is true of cats. Thankfully, there are some preventative measures you can take that your local pet pro will be able to walk you through.

For example, some small quantities of lubricants help indigestible cat fur to make it through the digestive system. Usually, a small amount of petroleum jelly or a similar oil helps the hair to slide through and not get stuck. 

Seasonal Considerations

A pet pro like a vet or groomer is an invaluable resource because they understand things like seasonal fur changes. While long-haired cats have long fur year-round, during the colder months, their fur tends to grow in thicker. This usually doesn't cause too much of a problem, but once the weather starts to warm up, this fur falls out in order to keep your cat cool. Once this extra fur starts shedding, it increases the risk of your cat consuming it and getting sick. Thankfully, you can avoid this problem just by getting advice from your groomer or vet. They can advise you on coming in more often for professional grooming during this time of year and can monitor your cat's fur changes with regular appointments. That way, they ensure that your cat is as safe as possible from hairballs and gastrointestinal obstructions.

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