Furball question for cat people!

[Flaxbee]

One of my cats seems to be having a hard time dislodging a furball. He's been making this horrible, hacking furball-coughing-up sound for days, and he just can't seem to get rid of the damn thing. Poor guy, if I pat him on the back he starts his wheezy-furball cough.

I honestly do not think it is anything else - sounds like classic furball to me (I have 6 cats now, and have lived with at least one cat for the last 20 years. I am very confident this is a furball cough).

But - I haven't come across a cat with such a hard time getting rid of a furball. He's fine otherwise, appetite, litterbox activity, etc.

Any suggestions how to help the guy? Some fish oil? He'd probably be happier if he could cough it up, rather than have me help lubricate it downward, so to speak.

:shrug: Helpful input appreciated.

[RoyGBiv]

1. Is it possible he got into some chicken bones?

My Franky tore into a trash bag I had stupidly left in a location where he could find it, and he dug out the previous evening's chicken bones and tried to eat them. A splinter lodged in his throat, and it created the same symptom. It just sounded like he was trying to up a furball, but it went on for days.

[Flaxbee]

3. nope. This is a tofu / tuna fish house.

How'd your Franky take care of it? Just finally went on its way into his belly, or did he cough it up?

[RoyGBiv]

5. I pulled it out ...

He got into a horrible hacking fit one day, and I finally realized something was wrong. I opened up his mouth and looked down his throat (he was very unhappy about this naturally) and it was clearly visible lodged in his throat. So, I just pulled it out.

I took him to the vet to make sure no other pieces were in there. He's been fine since.

[Arugula Latte]

2. I'd say at this point fish oil is worth a try.

Who knows, maybe it will lubricate it enough that it does come up instead of going down.

[Flaxbee]

4. yeah, I guess we'll be stopping at the health food store tomorrow.

Poor fella, he coughs, then does that exaggerated swallow, then coughs. Must be really irritating.
Thanks.

[LeftyMom]

6. You can rub any kind of cooking oil on his fur and he'll ingest it trying to lick it off.

A dab on the paws works really, really well.

Most of the commercial hairball stuff is just vaseline mixed with fish flavor.

[Flaxbee]

11. thanks! duh ... not thinking very clearly. I have some olive oil,

will give him a does in a minute here. :hi:

WalMart (evil, I know, but we're very rural & ain't much else around here open after 5 pm) used to have fish oil in a container in with its vitamins but then they started carrying it with 'citrus' flavor. Gak. We were giving fish oil regularly to one of our older feline fellas, and when they switched to citrus, he flat-out refused and we had to get the capsules and cut each one up. But it's worth it for my babies.

[Flaxbee]

12. replying to myself, I know. But I just poured some olive oil on his paws

and he looked at me like I was crazy, shook his paws, and walked off. Hopefully he's grooming himself downstairs...

[Bertha Venation]

7. Good advice about the oil. Here's something else to consider:

For a very long time we thought Daddy was trying to yak up a hairball. We gave him Petromalt,* and put oil on his paws. But it went on for weeks, so we took him to the vet. Turns out he has asthma. There's nothing we can do for it because he refuses to tolerate an inhaler. All we can do is, if he has a really bad attack, take him to the e-vet for treatment.

I really hope that's not what it is! But if your guy doesn't hork it up after a few more days, think about seeing the vet.

:hug:

* Petromalt, available at the pet store. Goopy stuff in a tube. Some cats eat it like candy; others, you have to put it on their paws.

[TZ]

8. I think the petromalt stuff works well...if it is a hairball.

One of my cats doesn't like it but almost every cat I've used it on goes NUTS for it.

[DeepBlueC]

10. mine just got a combo steroid shot

which should last him through the season. I think it's tied to allergies. The shot contains two steroids, one which acts within 20 minutes and lasts for 12 hours and one which takes effect in 24 hours and lasts for about 3 months. I could do that once a year if necessary. I hope it won't be any more than that.

I had one cat before who seemed to have the same problem but she said there wasn't much you could do about it so I don't know if these long-acting steroids are new or what. One day later and he is a new cat. He is not as logy (though I wasn't sure if that was illness or age or grief ... we just lost our senior cat here a few weeks ago) and his appetite is really vigorous. Again I hadn't seen that he was off his food but the diff is really noticeable.

[Flaxbee]

13. hi Bertha! Poor Daddy!

Our Novi (MommaKitty) has asthma, and occasionally has a bout of wheezing / coughing. The vets almost lost her after she was spayed (she was a stray who brought us her girls - we kept all of them - and I had no idea she had asthma) b/c she went into severe respiratory distress coming out of the anesthesia.

I'll check out Petromalt, too. Thanks!

[DeepBlueC]

9. My cat has a cough which proved to be asthma

I thought it was a furball cough. I guess the difference is: is he standing with his back rippling like he is going to puke? Or does he do this sometimes in other positions like sitting up? I became concerned about my cat's persistent cough which I have seen him to with his neck stretched forward while sitting and that's not the way to dislodge a furball although really I wasn't at all sure. I called my vet and reproduced the sound for her (not the *best* diagnostic, but...) and she instantly said "oh, an asthma cough". Two days ago she came by to give him a combo steroid shot and he is much better. No more cough. You can try the hairball remedy (do you really think your cat would rather puke than poop?) If he is trying for days he needs help of some kind.

I had noticed that he wasn't going outside as much lately as well. Then I remembered that every spring he starts getting one teary eye - allergies - so I figured he was avoiding the garden in full bloom. It was hard to determine that the allergies really bothered him and impossible to get a pill into him (half a chlor-tripolon for allergic rhinitis but not useful for asthma). Anyway that's my experience ...might be worth getting a vet to listen to his lungs if you really want peace of mind. That word "wheezy" you used concerns me. Asthma is serious business. You don't necessarily have to see allergies first before asthma either.