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Vomiting with hair in it

JaneS

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my 15-year-old cat will vomit every 1 to 2 weeks. Sometimes there is a hard packed bullet size wad of hair. Other times when I wipe up the vomit you can see an undercoating of fur in it. I give her Laxatone every day but this doesn’t seem to be helping. Why does she have so much far I don’t see her licking herself she sleeps most of the day. I brush her every day and do get fur from her. She’s thin, starting into early kidney disease, and I’m trying to keep weight on her so vomiting doesn’t help. My vet knows of this problem and suggested in abdominal sonogram just to be sure everything is all right. Please give me some holistic guidance on this
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hi Jane-

The hairball vomiting that you describe happens for one of two reasons. First is excessive grooming, but you're not seeing this.

The second and most frequent reason is slow intestinal digestion and passage of the hair.

This occurs due to an internal imbalance that can be helped in a few ways. The first way is by optimizing balance of your kitty's microbiome using probiotics like Rx Biotic from Rx Vitamins. The second, and deeper-acting method, is by working with a vet trained in homeopathy or TCM.

In the meantime, start today by increasing your brushing and wiping her down with a wet (with warm water) washcloth, to twice/day.

Papaya enzymes, such as those from Now Foods or any that don't contain Xylitol, will also help by digest the hair so it doesn't accumulate and eventually get vomited.

Her hairballs and vomiting will improve as you address the underlying cause for her weight loss and early kidney dis-ease.
 

HannahS

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Hi Jane-

The hairball vomiting that you describe happens for one of two reasons. First is excessive grooming, but you're not seeing this.

The second and most frequent reason is slow intestinal digestion and passage of the hair.

This occurs due to an internal imbalance that can be helped in a few ways. The first way is by optimizing balance of your kitty's microbiome using probiotics like Rx Biotic from Rx Vitamins. The second, and deeper-acting method, is by working with a vet trained in homeopathy or TCM.

In the meantime, start today by increasing your brushing and wiping her down with a wet (with warm water) washcloth, to twice/day.

Papaya enzymes, such as those from Now Foods or any that don't contain Xylitol, will also help by digest the hair so it doesn't accumulate and eventually get vomited.

Her hairballs and vomiting will improve as you address the underlying cause for her weight loss and early kidney dis-ease.
Hi Dr Jeff,

Thank you for the above.

My cat Moses has started vomiting more frequently recently (four times in the last two months compared to never) and he is also excessively grooming, for a few months now, which I have put down to possible dry skin after stopping Nordic Naturals (which I am ordering today, along with Now Foods enzymes and a probiotic mix for pets).

I will increase the brushing and try wiping him down with the warm water you mentioned above.

There has been a massive hairball in two of the vomits.

It seems like each time he has vomited has been because he was hungry and ate his food really fast.

He isn't due a homeopathic worm treatment for another couple of months so I'm not sure what to do there.

Time for me to consult my homeopathic vet? And I'll book in for an HMDM call with you too :)

Warm regards,

Hannah and Moses
 

Dr. Jeff

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Thanks Hannah for sharing about Moses' vomiting.

Yes, the excess grooming is likely to be related to the large amount of hair building up.

In addition to the Nordic Naturals and Now enzymes, you may want to add some papaya enzymes (which you can also get from NOW) to help digest and dissolve the hair.

Also, do you have a wood stove, to warm up the chilly winter weather, going and possibly drying out the air? If the humidity is <40% it may be contributing to the over grooming (and excess hair).

Yes, the wet wipes will help as would a humidifier or other way to increase moisture.

Adding ~ 1/4 tsp. of organic wheat germ or chia seed oil to each meal can also be helpful.

Do you mean a holistic herbal dewormer, or does it contain a mix of homeopathically-prepared remedies (which isn't really homeopathic)? What's the name of the product?

Also, are you still diffusing the great Pet Remedy essential oil that had been working so well for other issues? If not, you may want to re-start it.
 

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