My cat crouches low and sticks his neck forward and coughs or gags, I am not sure which. The other night it was like he had something stuck in his throat. We did made him gag and patted him on the back and he spit it up (whatever it was). Do you think this is hairballs and what would you do for them?

-- Carole Kington (kington@duo-county.com), March 12, 2002

Answers

is this your first cat? yep,, its a hairball,,, vasaline on the paws,, mineral oil on the paws,, they make a goop that you put on the paws,, let it eat some grass,, which will make it easier for it to expell the hairballs. You put that stuff on the paws,, it will lick them clean,, and help it to pass the hairballs

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 12, 2002.

Yep, vaseline works well. You can give it to your cat every month and you shouldn't have that problem anymore. Lacey

-- Lacey (cddllt@webtv.net), March 12, 2002.

They make catfood now that help with hairballs. I'm not sure what it does but if you call your local petstore they might have an idea for helping. Plus I have also heard about Vasoline. But on a kitchen floor vasoline can be a mess. Jennifer

-- Jennifer (jenniferthf@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

I just put a small dab of butter on the cat's nose, which they lick off. Less messy than vasoline on the paws. They also sell over the counter a tube of paste for hairballs, use this the same way. When my cat is shedding a lot, I spend a few minutes daily brushing him. He loves the attention and it cuts down on loose hair on the furniture and in his gut.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), March 12, 2002.

Product called Petromalt works for our cats. They love the taste so its not spread around the house.

-- jz (oz49us@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.

I buy Hartz hairball treatment at the local Walmart for a couple of dollars.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.

Carole,

Our vet sells a tube of gel called Catlax and it helps with hairballs and the cats like the taste. Maybe it's mousie flavored.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhillfarm@yahoo.com), March 12, 2002.

I'm with Kate. In addition to feeding them something oily or greasy, a regular brushing helps - particularly if they're long-haired. You'd be amazed how much cat hair you can get with one of those double-sided brushes - bristles on one side and steel prongs on the other. In no time at all you'll collect enough hair to be able to knit another two cats.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 12, 2002.

This is not directed at hairballs but since we are on the subject of cats, do any of you have a cat who loves to eat rubber bands? I have some in a container on my desk & my cat is always trying to take the top off, & then seems to relish her treasure. Any ideas why? Layne

-- Layne Rielly-Cosgrove (adirondackwoman@westelcom.com), March 12, 2002.

We had the same trouble with our cat, but the hairball remedy didn't do anything. He gagged several times a day and nothing came out. The vet put him on antibiotics thinking it might be a respiratory infection and the problem cleared up. He does still get hairballs but the goop once a week or so takes care of it.

-- Rod Perrino (redjouster@aol.com), March 12, 2002.

Is your cat long or short haired ??? I had a similar problem recently in my young short haired cat - coughing/gagging and waking us up at night. Being just a "cowvet" and not a "catvet" I started to doubt and looked into my hairball assumption a bit further. Lungworm.... not well covered by our traditional wormers. A problem in cats that are real hunters (mine is!). I treated him with an injectible wormer (Dectomax - off label)and with antibiotics for a secondary infection, and a little bit of steroid as an anti-infalmmatory for a few days. Coughing/gagging gone - now getting a good nights sleep. By all means do the "Furlax"/mineral oil treatment - but if it doesn't work then get to the vet for the recommended treatments for the other diseases that cause similar symptoms.

Good Luck!

-- Cowvet (cowvet_nz@hotmail.com), March 12, 2002.

Every now and then, my cat does the neck out, head swinging back and forth, wheezing and coughing - but nothing ever comes out. It seems to just come over him all of a sudden. After a while, he just shakes his head and it's over. What gives.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), March 13, 2002.

I took the cat to the vet today. His soft palate is more flexible than it should be. This could be from an injury. The wheezing and coughing could be from allergies. Vet gave me some non-steriod pills. He said that should clear it up or we will just have to live with the sneezing and coughing during allergy season (which in Kentucky is 365 days a year. Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

-- Carole Kington (kington@duo-county.com), March 13, 2002.