The information in this article was reviewed and approved by registered veterinary nurse, Beth Walker

Hairballs are a natural occurrence, but they’re not always pleasant! Understandably, many owners are keen to reduce or prevent hairballs in their cat, particularly if their cat tends to get a lot of them. Long-haired breeds often cough up hairballs more frequently, as do cats that groom themselves a lot or are prone to shedding. This is because they will swallow more fur, which increases the likelihood that not all of it will be passed through the digestive system. In this blog, we’ll look at some ways you can prevent hairballs in cats naturally, including grooming techniques and natural cat food diets you can try. While hairballs every now and then are nothing to worry about, we’ll also explain when hairballs might be a problem for your cat, and when you should seek veterinary advice.

What Do Hairballs in Cats Look Like?

Contrary to the name, hairballs actually look more like tubes than balls. This is because they pass through the oesophagus (the tube that passes food along the throat to the stomach) and get compressed into sausage-like shapes. If we could see into our cats’ stomachs though, hairballs would look more rounded in there.

Hairballs are usually about an inch long but this can vary a lot. In colour, your cat’s hairballs will largely match that of their coat. They might also be coloured by other things such as food and stomach secretions.

When expelling a hairball, cats will usually make coughing, retching and/or gagging sounds. This is your cat responding to an uncomfortable tickling sensation in their stomach, and trying to regurgitate the fur.

When Are Hairballs a Problem?

Hairballs every now and then are nothing to worry about. They develop naturally as a result of your cat’s grooming efforts. A cat’s tongue is rough and has very small ‘hooks’ that collect loose and dead hair as they lick their coat, which is usually swallowed. The majority of this fur will progress through the digestive system normally and end up in their poo. Some will will get stuck in the stomach and form a hairball to be vomited up instead.

Sometimes however, hairballs can get stuck and cause a blockage in the intestines. Or, your cat might be bringing up a larger number of hairballs than normal, which could indicate another health problem.

You should speak to a vet if your cat is:

• Coughing up hairballs more than once a week
• Retching repeatedly for more than 48 hours or visibly struggling to bring up a hairball
• Bringing up vomit or bile as well as fur
• Over-grooming themselves, or you notice bald spots on their body
• Struggling to go to the toilet
• Suffering from a hard or swollen belly
• Lacking appetite
• Lethargic

How to Prevent Hairballs in Cats Naturally

If you are concerned about your cat’s hairballs, always speak to your vet first. There may be an underlying condition that needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, your vet will be able to recommend suitable cat food for hairball issues as well as supplements that could help reduce the number of hairballs your cat is bringing up.

Along with following your vet’s advice, you can also try the following methods to prevent hairballs in cats naturally.

Regularly Groom Your Cat

Cats get hairballs as a result of swallowing fur while they groom themselves. If you reduce the amount of loose fur on their bodies by grooming them regularly yourself, this is an easy, natural way to reduce the number of hairballs your cat produces.

Brush your cat as often as you can, ideally once a day to keep dead fur to a minimum. Daily brushing might not be necessary for short hair breeds; once a week may be sufficient.

As you may already be aware, not all cats are keen on being brushed! For more advice on grooming even the most reticent of felines, read our blog ‘How to Brush a Cat that Hates it.’

You can also use a damp cloth or baby wipe. Simply running your hand across your cat’s body with something damp can be an effective way to remove excess fur. Doing this after brushing your cat will collect up any last loose hairs to help you cover all bases. Just make sure any baby wipes you use are fragrance free and hypoallergenic.

Keep Your Cat Hydrated

Just like in humans, drinking plenty of water is essential for a whole host of body functions in cats, digestion included. Making sure that your cat stays well hydrated will help to ensure their digestive system can do its job properly. This may help to reduce the number of hairballs they cough up.

For more advice on keeping your cat hydrated, read our blog ‘How to Encourage Your Cat to Drink More Water’.

Try Cat Food for Hairball Problems

You could also try feeding a special hairball cat food.

Fibre is essential for helping fur to move through the digestive system. A hairball cat food is a great way to ensure your cat is getting the right amount of fibre. It’s best not to feed your cat too many extra vegetables in an attempt to increase their fibre intake, as you might risk unbalancing their diet. Too much fibre can also stop cats from absorbing nutrients effectively, so it’s best to introduce more fibre through a complete and balanced cat food, specifically formulated for hairball reduction.

As well as fibre and plenty of minerals and vitamins, hairball cat food also tends to contain increased amounts of oil. This can help to lubricate the intestines, helping hairballs to move naturally through the digestive system.

James Wellbeloved is a natural cat food brand that offers a hairball diet within their range, which contains plenty of natural pea fibres to help reduce hairballs.

Other hairball diets available include:

Try Anti-hairball Cat Treats

Along with a hairball cat food, you could also try anti-hairball cat treats. Like hairball cat food, these tend to be rich in oils to help lubricate your cat’s intestines, to help ingested fur to move smoothly through the digestive system.

Try Hairball Paste

A hairball paste or gel supplement could also provide relief for your cat. As well as lubricating the digestive system, hairball pastes and gels sometimes also provide a mild laxative effect to help expel hairballs.

If you struggle to get your cat to eat anti-hairball cat treats, hairball paste is a great alternative. Cats will lick it off when applied to their paws.

Address Over-Grooming

Cats are well-known for their meticulous grooming habits, but sometimes they will over-groom themselves. This can be a response to stress, boredom, pain, or an underlying illness. Over-grooming can lead to more hairballs than normal, since more fur is being ingested.

Getting to the bottom of and tackling what is behind your cat’s excessive grooming is key for reducing hairballs. Discuss your cat’s behaviour with your vet, and read our blog ‘Why is my Cat Over-grooming?’ for more information.

Can Dogs Get Hairballs?

If you have a dog as well as a cat, you might be wondering whether hairballs are exclusive to our feline friends, or whether pups can get them to. The answer is yes, they can! It’s much less common in dogs than in cats, but dogs can still get hairballs.

Like cats, dogs usually get hairballs from grooming themselves and being unable to pass the fur through their digestive system normally. Instead, they vomit the fur up.

Dogs can also get hairballs from chewing at their skin due to skin irritation or fleas and ingesting fur that way. This is particularly likely if they have long fur. Puppies might also get hairballs from nursing from their mum if she is shedding hair near her teats.

Wrapping Up

Hairballs are never too pleasant for owners, especially if they end up on your lovely clean carpet! While it’s completely normal for a cat to cough up hairballs every now and then, always see your vet if you think your cat is producing rather a lot of them, or they are struggling to bring them up at all. One of the best ways to prevent hairballs in cats naturally is to regularly groom them to help reduce the amount of loose fur they ingest while grooming themselves. Specially formulated cat food for hairball problems are also available, along with anti-hairball cat treats and hairball paste. But, always check with your vet first before introducing a new diet or supplement!