my cat gets furballs ALOT

my cat brittany has been getting furballs atleast once a day...we have brushed her 3 times today and in just one brushing(the last one) its so much fur that im starting to worry..and im not talking a "lot", when i say alot i mean for her its ALOT....especially if you think of it all going into her stomach. right after we brushed her she was full of loose fur again within 5 or 10 minutes so i stuck her in the bath with just a little water so i could just rinse the loose fur off of her, but shes shedding like crazy again...but i did notice she wasn't so difficult once she was in the water today, i think maybe the cool water actually felt good for her(shes usually murder to bathe). i've tried the vasaline on her paw, she didn't even acknoledge it. i was buying a food thats good for furballs, plus she LOVES it, but i just cant afford it for a couple weeks. is there anything else i can try to do? in the middle of the night im constantly stepping in furballs when its pitch black and im trying to make my way to the bathroom...drives me crazy just as much as it worries me. i know theres this big heat wave, which im sure is the biggest reason because i dont remember her ever having to be brushed more then once a day, alot of times i could get away with every other day or 2...and we have 2 AC's in the house, i dont know if that makes a difference for her but yeah. hopefully someone has had personal experience with their cat and has some good advice.

[Jade59]

Hi Tiffie, first, I know you love your kitty and mean well; you're doing a Great job caring for her, but cats are self cleaning so they don't need to be bathed.  It dries their skin out and well, just not necessary.  I understand you're doing it to get the loose fur off, but again, not necessary.  If anything, it might be stressing her more which will in turn, cause her to shed more.  You're right, it's the heat and my cat is shedding like crazy also but all we can do is continue to brush several times a day like we are.  

There are furball products you can find at Petco/Petsmart that is basically vaseline with some flavoring, I believe.  I've never used it myself, but other members of the forum have with good results.  

[xxtiffiexx]

ok thanks and yeah but thats like all i could think of, i rarely bathe her...she gets less then 5 a year id estimate. but yeah i know its not good to do much. i didnt know they shed more from stress though so thanks for lettin me know that.

[LivingInHope]

You might try mixing some Libby's 100 percent pumpkin (no spices added) with some wet food when your cat is hungry... I believe it's cheaper than a lot of those hairball foods you find in the cat aisle of the market.  We've used this for out cat more than once when she is blowing like she has a hairball and isn't defecating much if at all.  It seems to help.  The pumpkin has quite a bit of fiber in it.

  Also, a vet I go to recommends them shaving a cat when they are shedding a lot- like a couple times a year or something.   While we have a long-haired cat, I have balked some at this idea, thinking how much my cat likes to groom and concerned she might chew at her skin too much, but he actually thought it could help with itching or something.  And with hot weather, it would be cooler.  Of course, I like to pet her silky fur.  But since your situation is really bad, you might consider it.  

That's so true about shedding under stress- our cat has done that in the vet's office with the stress there!  I wonder too, if you ought to watch for signs of weight loss if it's massive amounts of fur, because I don't know if it's the same with cats as in humans, but thinning hair in humans can be one of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism.  I mentioned to the vet wondering if our cat has hypothyroidism (weight issue- trying to keep her under 12 pounds) & he said if a cat gets a thyroid problem, it's typically hyper and would be rare for a cat to have hypo-thyroidism.

If you have carpet in your house, you might try making a place the cat can lay with something like VCT tile squares (like they have in grocery stores), because it is cooler than carpet- maybe that's a crazy idea, I don't know, but that the kind of floor covering we have down in our basement and they feel cooler to the feet than even the wood upstairs, I think.

[margypops]

I am glad I read this jade as I was wondering if cats got bathed, Tweety gets grubby, and then is washing herself a lot..she would freak out if I put her in water I am sure, so I wont do it, if I put out a paddling pool would she hop in do you think ,I mean by herself ?

[Jade59]

Hey Marg, I seriously doubt Tweety would hop in a little pool. Cats normally do not enjoy water At All.  I suppose there is the rare cat that likes it, but generally not.  There are *wipes* made especially for cats you can buy at Petco/Petsmart.  Jade being white, I bought some once, but really, a waste of money IMO.  It's best just to brush as much as you can (or as much as kitty will tolerate) then let them clean themselves : )

LivingInHope...nice to see you posting!  You are so right about stress during a vet visit.  The shedding is incredible!