How to prevent hairballs in cats

Cats lick their coats to cool themselves, calm their emotions, regulate anxiety, and remove dead hair. The rough texture of a cat’s tongue contains hook-shaped structures – called conical dermal papillae – that work like a brush, picking up dead hair and debris from their coat.

Cats spend two to four hours daily grooming themselves. When licking their coat, they can ingest 60-120g of hair yearly (1.5-3 liters). And when shedding, they may swallow more than 100mg of hair per lbs of body weight daily!

Ingested hair can clump together in the esophagus and stomach, creating cat furballs. The medical term for these masses is “trichobezoars”, and they are usually around 4cm long and 1cm wide in shape. Once formed, hairballs in cats are either regurgitated or digested.

If digested, cat furballs can cause issues including constipation, diarrhea, frequent vomiting, and loss of appetite. If your cat is showing signs of discomfort or any of the above symptoms, speak to your veterinarian.

There are a few simple steps that you can take to protect your cat both inside and out. Here’s what to do.

1. Help your cat exercise

Indoor and older cats are more likely to develop hairballs, as their lack of physical activity slows digestion. Some become anxious because they can’t run, climb, or hunt, and may lick more to reduce anxiety, which also makes them more prone to hairballs. Here are some ways to increase your cat’s activity:

• Provide hiding spaces in high places to encourage climbing.
• Offer toys and play with them often.
• Use active food puzzles, such as placing dry food in a ball that must be rolled to release.
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2. Switch to a cat hairball diet

Give your cat a high-fiber diet to help them pass hairballs naturally and prevent hair from clumping and sticking together in the stomach or intestine. Especially for indoor cats who don’t eat as much grass as outdoor cats, a high-fiber diet can help to prevent hair-induced constipation. To effectively combat the formation of hairballs, fiber content should be at least double that of standard food. Fiber-enriched diets can increase hair elimination in feces by more than 70% compared with standard food.

Fiber quality is essential

When searching for the right cat hairball diet, it’s important to remember that not all fibers are equal! Fibers differ in chemical composition, digestibility by intestinal bacteria, and water-binding capacity – this changes their effectiveness in stimulating digestion and preventing constipation.

• Some fibers act as laxatives. They form water-binding gels that improve transit and elimination. Psyllium fibers, common in human medicine, provide a lubricating effect for cats with slow bowel movements.
• Fiber that feeds beneficial intestinal bacteria keeps digestive flora balanced. These fibers include fructo-oligosaccharides and inulin and are called prebiotics because they “give life” to micro-organisms.
• Viscous fibers work with insoluble fibers such as beet pulp and psyllium to increase stool moisture content and texture. Both viscous and insoluble cellulose fiber help prevent constipation.

Royal Canin’s dry hairball diet and wet food combine a specific blend of natural dietary fibers such as psyllium to help stimulate the intestinal transit.

3. Brush your cat regularly

Brushing is essential to rid your cat’s coat of dead hairs and limit the amount they swallow. For long-haired breeds such as the Persian, Himalayan, and Birman, daily grooming is needed to prevent matting and minimize shedding.

When your cat is molting in spring and autumn, it’s recommended to brush them every day. Don’t forget to treat your cat for fleas, even in winter. If your cat has itchy skin due to parasites, they will tend to lick themselves even more than usual and ingest even more hair, increasing the chance of cat furballs.

Cats groom themselves for hygiene, anxiety relief, and temperature control. Hairballs from cats are a normal part of pet ownership, and by providing a supportive diet with the right nutrients and fibers, and regularly grooming and playing with your cat, you can help them be healthy and comfortable.