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740516 tn?1360942486

Petroleun jelly/vaseline for fur balls:more info about,please

As I commented here girls are facing fur ball problems again.They just vomit the stuff
The commercial product specific for them is, just checked, made of malt plus vitamines, it seems to be great but its a little expensive for who has 3 cats.
No one at the humane drugstore ever heard about using vaseline for,and the product comes with the instruction!" for external use".Maybe is just because no one there is cat specialist as the ones here.
Here we have ones working with rescue and shelters and it means lots of experience :-)
Is the vaseline really oK? Do the cat licks that or you have to "convince" her/him? Amount and frequence?
17 Responses
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874521 tn?1424116797
hi.....Pika sounds like a king all right, my himmie Opus was much the same...he ruled and wouldn't put up with any brushing or petting either...
I now have another himmie named Sami, he can be very 'offensive' too, he does like to get held and petted...but only on 'his' time otherwise I'm on guard....lol.
He also is two faced and well behaved at the Vet's, just can't second guess a cat can we!

What do you mean by restricting what he eats...you mean a crf (chronic renal failure)...I suggest you go to this site and follow all the links on the left hand side too...its full of info for crf cats and their care...

www.felinecrf.org
Helpful - 0
88793 tn?1290227177
Hi Opus88, I learn a new term today: HAIR MATT.  I give Pika (has kidney diease) wet food twice a day.  A small bowl of dry food and water stays outside all the time.  I find out recently, he likes dry food more than wet food.  He's very very skinny.  I told him to eat that tablet and he'll eat.  He knows what I say to him.

Don't say brush him, touch him also not allow.  He's very offensive, scratches me a lot.  He said, he wants to go out.  I must walk quickly to open the door for him.  On the way, I passed him, he warned and scratched me again.  He just like a king in the house.  I just don't know if he got pains in his body or not?  I asked the vet, he said Pika didn't has swelling.  Pika likes the vet, he behaved and performed a very very good boy there.  Cat also can pretend and has 2 faces!

At the moment, I just give him what he likes... He is 12 already, an "Old Man".  Do I still need to restrict him not to eat this or not to eat that?  
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
Pika, what you are referring to is a HAIR MATT....thats dead hair that accumulates on their coats, esp. with long haired cats. Cats need to be brushed frequently inorder to stop hair matts from forming, cutting them off can lead to many problems as you have seen.

hairballs are something that collects in the tummies of cats caused from them licking their fur, it forms a ball inside their tummies and won't dissolve, they also have a hard time passing in out in their stools without some lubrication.

Butter is better for cats than margarine, I also give one of mine some occasionally, he too has long hair and besides he loves the taste, a little in moderation is fine.
I hope you also have your kitties on WET food only....this is very important for all cats but ESPECIALLY for ones with kidney or urinary tract problems.....

best to you all, nice to see you posting again.♥
Helpful - 0
88793 tn?1290227177
I would like to share this info with you all.  My Pika also has a big problem with hairballs.  His hairballs were hanging around at his skin. As huge like a medium apricot.

I mentioned few times to the vet.  We only concentrated on his kidney disease.  He is 12 years old, long hair.

One day, I cut his hairball and accidently cut his skin as well.  Of couse, he screamed like a thunderstorm!  Next day, I took him to the vet.  He cannot be stitched because it has a big risk to put a kidney disease cat to sleep.  Given 2 injections and oral antibiotic for a week.   3 days later, I took him back to have another antibiotic injection.  The vet said, it healed quite good.  

The vet said, don't need to cut the hairball because the new hair will push the old hair off.  Just give him a teaspoon of margerine each day.  I found out Pika only eat certain brand of margerine.  When I buy the lactose free milk, I accidently saw the lactose free thicken cream.  They (Pika & Eiva) likes it very much.   Also, seldem I'll feed Pika with butter (he loves it very much).  Now I can see Pika's hair starts shinning again!  Only the old hairballs were coming off.  NO new hairball grow!  
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
3cm is just a bit under an inch...so thats about right, try for a day or two if they bring up a hairball I wouldn't continue to give it 'everyday for a week' just give until they bring a good hunk up...than once a week after!!

sorry no news about the job, must be stressful looking...are you just finished with a college or training institute?...........just wish you tons of luck with all the new interviews that you will find something you like and suitable too...♥
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
Vaseline is about 2 reais a tube.I will find courage to try someday, no doubt...
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
Product instrutions say you have to give 3cm ( i'm not good with inches...) daily for 2 week and them reduce for once a week, if Im not mistaken - just pay attention to the first weeks info..

No knews about the job yet - Sniff... No mails from there
I 've 2 without answers at this moment.And some new enterviews tomorrow ( but those arent things exactly related to my area, if I got would be just for money -some at least.)
TOO Much holidays here make things even worse to happen.Just had one day 15 (= Republic day)
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
hi Apple, yes most cats really llike the taste of the hairball treatments....my Nemo will run up to me when he even sees the tube in my hand.....but Sami is like Loreena, he won't eat it off my finger and I too have to put a dab on his paw, gets prettty messy because he will walk around b4 licking it off....glad I don't have to use very often.
You can get some 'white' petroleum jelly and mix 50/50...it will still have enough of the malt taste so they will still like, and that way will cut the cost down for you by a long way...yes the tubes are quite expensive esp. for 3 cats....but remember you only need to give about an inch in length on your finger(or half the size of your baby finger) maybe 2x a week should take care of the hairball issues.
HEY you didn't tell us did you get the job that you went for an interview for a couple weeks ago? I sure hope you did.
love to the 'girls' from my 'boys'...lol ♥
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486

News :Had no courage to try that yet :-(
Bought the MaltPast instead - and for sure it wont last time enough ( price =20 reais)
Lets see how it works.
Girla are so funny: Joy and Lucky loved the product, they beg for when they see the tube.But while Lucky gladly licks that from her paw, Joy doesnt accept me putting that there!!! She only licks that from my finger...
Loreena, on the other hand, didnt like it!! I put in her mouth, she spit.In my fingers, she ignores. In her paw - she licks, but something tell me shes just trying to get rid of that "oily dirty".
I've been keeping an eye on her cos Im not sure she wont clean that any other way - as rubbing against something or even washing her paws on the drinker, maybe :-)

Today it raining a lot ,she stayed inside by the moment I left home by option.Just hope rain do not stop at night and she decide for not coming back to sleep ...
Helpful - 0
242912 tn?1660619837
COMMUNITY LEADER
Oh no, Apple.  What a worry!  I hope you're able to find the dead roach and dispose of it and if that doesn't happen, I'm sure the roach is dead and the girls won't find it interesting if it's not moving.  Good luck with that! :(

Well all this talk of using white petroleum jelly - I think I'll try it!  I have some, but it's in a light yellow container and looks translucent, but I'd better buy some that actually says "White" before I try it.  
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
heya,I was really missing your comments!
Hope girls like that like yours do, if I decide for trying...
Have something to ask you about another matter but I will do it when possible

Thank you all for the input !

This night I barely sleep - but it was not for fur balls.Just a coachroach that entered bedroom,I sprayed it but it didnt fall dead and I 've got afraid she could run for the place girls were, soaked in poison.No doubt they will try grab that ...
Helpful - 0
506791 tn?1439842983
Heya...we've always given our kitties white petrolatum for hairball prevention (going on over 40 years experience).  Just a 1/4 teaspoon or so once a week, which they lick off our finger.

Our cat Calamity Jane (11/82 - 03/04), we had to hide the jar as she absolutely loved "Vaseline" like other kitties love tuna.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Petromalt and other brands of hair ball gels are predominantly flavored vaseline so it is fine to give them vaseline in the same amount and frequency as the gels marketed specifically as hairball remedies.  As Opus said, they lubricate the intestinal track making it easier for the hairballs to pass through or be spit up.  The purpose of flavoring it with malt is to make it smell since cats generally won't eat anything that doesn't have an appealing smell, so you may need to add some flavoring to the vaseline to have them take it willingly.  Just a very small amount of tuna juice maybe.  You don't want to make it too watery because them it loses the ability coat the intestinal track.  

The dry food hairball aids that Linda mentioned work as an emulisifier as Opus talked about.   The are high fiber and often fortified with lecithin and do about the same thing as the egg yoke/pumpkin mix.  
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
I'm checking the comments both places, thank you for the tips.
And dont worry about the sort of canned pumpkin - I dont think we have any canned here , canned food is typicaly American Way of life ( no offense at all!  )
You know, pumpkin pie is not habit here :-)
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
hi Apple, I made some comments on this on the thread about 'girls are now 1 yo'

My Vet has told me that yes giving vaseline....(..WHITE petroleum jelly, make sure its states WHITE on the jar.) is safe, however I still wouldn't want to be giving it all the time, perhaps once a week or so??? remember its petroleum based.
most of the hairball remedies have this as an ingredient and flavored with malt.

I will give you another idea that I will copy from my cat book

"hairball are ingestible protein, made up of 15-30% fat. enzymes can't penetrate the coating around the hairballs to have much effect on them(can't dissolve). most over the counter hairball products GREASE the intestinal tract, but do little else.  LECITHIN works as an emulsifier and fights the fat in the hairball to break it up......add a small amount of lecithin from EGG YOLKS and small amount of fiber to the diet....these work well together to prevent hairballs from forming.

its SAFE to give RAW EGG YOLKS.....my Nemo eats this regularly in his homemade food....I would only use 1/4 of a yolk and divide this among the girls once a week. for fiber I would give pumpkin (if you are using canned pumpkin get the PLAIN not the spiced for pies)....you can give this in their food daily...just a small amount about 1/4 teas. cats like the taste of pumpkin(most do)
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
Btw, I just hope no one vomit a ball today cos I just gave then the 2nd dosis of  dewormer (8:30 am)
For the ones inside, no signs of til 12AM - Loreena is on the backyard,not ate much...
Helpful - 0
996946 tn?1503249112
Vaseline is petroleum based.  I would think something like mineral oil might be more appropriate but, Apple I've only used the stuff in the tube meant only to give to cats for hairballs.  Lately I've bought some dry food that is specifically hairball formula.
Helpful - 0
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