by Maxwell Kozlov

Created on: November 07, 2009

Cats can be very lovable, they're cute and awesome but sometimes cats get hairballs. Hairballs are very common in cats and other pets. Of course you don't like cleaning up after your cat, when she/he throws up because of a hairball.

A hairball is caused by excess fur and when the cat grooms itself the fur tries to get in the cat's digestive system, but instead gets stuck in the esophagus causing the cat to throw up. There are various ways to prevent this, and one of the most effective ones without any chemicals or medicine is simply brushing your cat's hair with a cat brush. Be sure to brush all over his/her fur especially on the neck. Be careful of your cat - don't press down the brush too hard. Do this daily and your cat will not only be hairball free but will also have a beautiful pelt.

There are other ways as in putting medicine on your cats food, but that isn't always the safest way and has may have some bad chemicals in it. Medicine may work but there are safer ways may be even better. This one isn't as safe but it usually works.

Another cause of hairballs is, if your cat sheds a lot of fur it may leave it on rugs, carpets etc. and then your cat may accidentally eat it.

I'm sure there are other ways, but those are the ways I use on my cat. If you have a short fur cat, or a cat without any fur, and if she/he throws up it is probably not because of a hairball.

Throwing up is the main symptom of a hairball. Other symptoms may be, your cat may be "coughing" or "sneezing" or making sounds as if it were choking.

Maintaining safety for your cat is a priority. If you ignore this minor issue, it may get worse by swallowing the hairball or getting another hairball at the same time therefore having a risk of completely clogging up your cat's esophagus. Remember if it happens to get worse you should consult a veterinarian immediately.

WARNING: Do not try to get the hairball out by hitting your cat on your back, or reaching in your cats mouth (I don't think anyone can do that) because your cat will get aggressive and may try to bite or scratch you causing you more pain than the cat.

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