Prevent Hairballs in Your Cat

A cat is prone to hairballs because it will always clean itself by licking its fur incessantly and for long periods at a time. It is upsetting to see a cat throw up a slime of hairball confirming ones fears that the cat has hairballs in its stomach. How can you teach a cat not to groom itself when it’s instinctive? Hairballs can be prevented or avoided to quite an extent. Here is how:

• Develop a regular grooming time for your cat. If you regularly brush your cat’s fur and help get rid of its shedding fur, the less it will remove during personal grooming. Many cats’ toys are specially designed to help with your cats self grooming and some toys even have small nubbins to massage the cat and therefore help in its shedding.
• Buy your cat special food formulated to prevent hairballs. That food usually has a higher fat content than normal cat food which means better lubrication for the cats’ intestinal tract. Also add 3 teaspoons olive oil to your cats’ dry food once a week. This will help keep the cats’ fur soft and its intestines lubricated.
• Usually a cat resorts to grooming when it is bored or unhealthy. Keep your cat entertained and in good health and spirits and it will not need to groom himself all the time.