When you have a cat, you know about hairballs, we dare to say. We have all experienced these “yucky” spots on the carpet or floor and the frightening sounding hacking noises a cat uses to get rid of them. By looking at my cats I can tell that they do not like their hairballs and it’s a rather disgusting chore for them to throw up.

Cats are grooming themselves - almost - excessively. A cat’s tongue is built to catch the hair and once it is there, it can only be swallowed, not spit out. Hair cannot be digested that means it will sit in the cat’s stomach, collecting until it’s a bundle saturated with mucous and acids. When it gets too big, your cat has to throw up. Generally long or thick haired cats have more hairballs, though shorthaired animals have them also. If hairballs are getting too big and cannot be thrown up anymore, they can become deadly. In that case a cat will have difficulties breathing and the hairball needs to be removed by a vet.

You can’t really prevent hairballs, but help the cat from swallowing too much hair by brushing it daily. (Recommended brush: Groomax for Cats Slicker with Soft Grip Handle). Whatever dead hair the brush takes off the coat your cat can’t swallow.

An additional remedy is to give the cat hairball treats. These treats prevent the formation of hairballs in the digestive system. Two treats have been tested by us and proven to be effective Laxatone Hairball Remedy and Kitty Care Hairball Remedy Treat 3oz.

Cat grass is an absolute must, especially for indoor cats. Most cats will throw up after eating cat grass but that means they are also getting rid of hair sitting in their stomach before large hairballs can form. (In addition, cats will stay off your - sometimes poisonous - houseplants when you offer cat grass. See our article about >> Cats & Plants ).

Our cats love to use the Cat Hair Magnet, that is an arched brush mounted on a carpeted surface for stability and is designed to attract and hold loose hair. Before we got this brush, and we have one long haired cat and one with a fur you could make a coat out of it, both had problems with hairballs, especially since both are rather reluctant to getting brushed. On this “toy” brush they rub themselves with great pleasure and the hairball problem is almost non-existent anymore. To introduce this tool, we added some catnip to the bottom of the base and both cats immediately loved it.