The term “trichobezoar” may seem like alien language to you… but certainly you’ve seen or heard about hairballs that cats can produce.
What are they and how do they form?
In essence, these balls of fur are formed by cats’ natural cleaning habits. Being quite adamant about their personal hygiene, our adult kitties can spend about 3 hours per day dedicating themselves to these activities, grooming and licking their fur.
What happens is (as you may have noticed) a cat’s tongue is hoarse, due to tiny little hook-like structures: these are called “Filiform papillae”. Try saying that out loud three times fast and see if the cat got your tongue. Ha! What happens then is that these tiny hooks act like a brush on the fur and retain loose fur on the tongue, which is then swallowed.
Most hair that cats ingest make it through the digestive tract without a problem, being excreted in the feces. But… if the hair remains in the stomach for a long time and doesn’t move along (for example if it’s present in large amounts) then these awful hairballs are formed (sometimes mixed with food and quite foul-smelling). Eventually they are regurgitated (thrown up).
Do all cats produce hairballs?
Coughing up these balls of fur isn’t a pretty picture. As an owner, you may have witnessed your cat looking as though he’s choking or even suffocating which normally leads to a great deal of stress if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Luckily, not all cats develop these.
The most common occurrence is in long-haired breeds such as the Persian cat, the Norwegian Forest or the Maine Coon. It also occurs primarily in adult cats, because as cats get older they tend to develop their grooming skills and spend an increased amount of time licking their fur compared to when they were kittens.
On the other hand, cats that shed a lot of fur or that have an excessive tendency to groom their fur, are at higher risk of producing these hairballs too.
The term “trichobezoar” may seem like alien language to you, but certainly you’ve seen or heard about the hairballs that cats can produce.
What are they and how do they form?
In essence, these balls of fur are formed by cats’ natural cleaning habits. Cats are quite adamant about their personal hygiene and adult cats can spend up to 3 hours per day cleaning, grooming and licking their fur.
A cat’s tongue is coarse from tiny little hook-like structures called the “Filiform papillae”. (Try saying that out loud three times fast and see if the cat got your tongue. Ha!) What happens then is that these tiny hooks act like a brush and leave behind loose fur on the tongue, which your cat then swallows.
Most of the hair cats ingest make it through the digestive tract without a problem and are then excreted in the feces. If the hair remains in the stomach for a long period of time then hairballs are formed (sometimes mixed with food and quite foul-smelling). Eventually they are regurgitated by the cat.
Do all cats produce hairballs?
Coughing up these balls of fur isn’t a pretty picture. Owners may have seen their cat looking as though he’s choking or even suffocating. This can be extremely stressful if you don’t know what you are seeing. Luckily, not all cats develop these.
The most common occurrence is in long-haired breeds such as the Persian cat, the Norwegian Forest or the Maine Coon. It also occurs primarily in adult cats, because as cats get older they tend to develop their grooming skills and spend an increased amount of time licking their fur compared to when they were kittens.
On the other hand, cats that shed a lot of fur or that have a tendency to groom their fur are at higher risk of producing these hairballs, too.
How to avoid?
Some measures can be taken to reduce the frequency with which your feline friends produce hairballs or, at least, help them to excrete the hairballs.
Brush regularly
The more hair you remove from your cats, the less loose fur they will ingest during their hygiene and so there’ll be less hair in their stomachs! So brush that fur daily if you don’t want your “little ball of fur” to cough up “nasty balls of fur”!
If brushing hair is not your cat’s favorite past-time, don’t worry. You can always ask grooming professionals for a bath and shear. Remember, less fur on your cat means less hairballs in the stomach. Simple as that.
Diet
Some diets are formulated specifically to help control and reduce the formation of hairballs. These diets, which are richer in fiber, are formulated to optimize your pet’s health and coat. They simultaneously reduce hair loss and facilitate the flow of fur through the digestive tract.
Anti-hairball products
You can also choose from a variety of veterinary products (either lubricants or laxatives) sold specifically for hairball control. These products help your cat to eliminate ingested helping to facilitate the digestive process.
Supplements
Skin and hair supplementation with fatty acids (such as Omega 3) and vitamin E can also help improve skin and hair quality, making it stronger and less likely to shed.
Remember, before supplementing your pet with any type of additive or medication, check with your veterinarian, first.
Generally, fur balls are not an indication of a health problem. However, if vomiting, frequent regurgitation or loss of appetite occurs, you should make an appointment and see if the hairballs are causing more trouble than usual.
You can also use the Petable app to record days when your cat coughs up one of these “trichobezoars” (use the ‘Add Photo/Notes’ feature). Subsequently, you can check back to see if the frequency is increasing and whether or not it may related to changes in food or season or anything else that may cause your cat to ingest more fur than usual. #bePetable
Author: Petable Team
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