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The greatest hairball diet is one that is high in nutrients and low in junk. Yes, that is correct. Cats, like people, are prone to acquiring a variety of health issues as a result of malnutrition. And when it comes to hairball issues, food is really important. Diet is vital not only for addressing the condition, but also for preventing it. If you see your cat ingesting hairballs and vomiting as a result, you may be certain that the condition is manageable. All you need to do is some trial and error and pay careful attention to your cat's response to therapy. Diet For Hairball Control Options There are many approaches to treating your cat's hairball issue. Dietary solutions are used in certain ways. Other external or behavioural solutions are used in certain ways. In this post, we will only discuss nutritional remedies to the issue. The idea is to stop your cat from throwing hairballs. That is the most clear sign that your cat has consumed too much hair, causing this issue. To cure the issue, we must first determine what is causing the problem in the first place. The Hairball Problem So, let's take a step back and clarify what the "issue" with hairballs is. What exactly is a "hairball"? (And why isn't it referred to as a "furball" rather than a "hairball?" That's a discussion for another day.) Any knowledgeable cat owner is aware that cats have an inherent habit of licking themselves. They seem to lick themselves multiple times each day, if not several times per hour. What motivates them to do this? Cats are built to "groom" themselves, that is, to clean themselves with their own saliva. This is genetically encoded in their DNA. This is a natural habit in all cats. Side Effects Of Natural Instinct While this is all well and good, there is one unintended consequence of all of this: Unfortunately, all of their grooming to stay clean comes at a cost: When a cat licks itself, part of the hair that comes into touch with its tongue may get dislodged from its body and become attached to its tongue. This is clearly not occurring on a large scale, otherwise your cat would soon grow bald patches! Individual strands of fur, on the other hand, may be extracted from the cat's body in minute, trace quantities. Maybe just one fur follicle at a time. This may seem to be a minor inconvenience. That is correct. Even we humans lose hair and skin in minute quantities all the time and are unaware of it. But what if a cat constantly licks itself, and over time, individual trace quantities of hair follicles gather somewhere inside the cat's digestive tract? Individual strands of fur may gather and interweave to form a solid mass of fur. Of course, this would develop gradually over time, maybe over many days. And guess what happens when this furball forms? It causes a blockage in your cat's digestive tract? This might make it difficult for your cat to digest and ingest more food. Why Do Hairballs Form? However, this raises the issue of why hairballs arise in the first place. Why doesn't the hair merely travel through the cat's digestive system and expel itself normally? Why is the cat's hair becoming trapped in its digestive system? The solution to this topic requires a thorough understanding of animal biology, which is beyond the scope of this debate. To put it simply, certain particle materials may be "resistant to the digestive process," to use a layman's definition. Fur may get "caught" in the cat's stomach and prevent it from passing through. The reason for this might be due to your cat's intestinal condition. If your cat isn't eating well and receiving enough nourishment, it may have stomach issues. Another issue that might be a contributing factor is a health disease or sickness of the oesophagus, stomach, intestines, or any other component of the digestive system. Because your cat is unable to digest the fur correctly, it becomes trapped and begins to pile. What Are The Adverse Effects of Hairballs? When hairballs reach a particular size, attempting to consume more may cause a gag response, resulting in your cat vomiting up the hairball. On the other hand, in certain severe circumstances, your cat's hairball is so large or trapped so deeply inside its digestive track that it cannot be vomited out. It causes a blockage in the digestive system. This is quite troubling. Your cat will vomit, but the hairball will not pass… Worse, your cat may lose its appetite entirely. How Do I Know If My Cat Has Swallowed Hairballs? Observing your cat's vomit is the most obvious evidence that he or she has hairballs. If the vomit comes out in a tube-like form, this is one sign that hairballs are embedded inside the vomited substance. The most visible evidence will be strands of fur coiled around this cylindrical mass. Apart from these apparent indicators, if you can't tell from your cat's vomit, or if your cat isn't vomiting, another sign might be that your cat is losing weight. The Best Diet For Hairball Control If you believe that your cat has hairballs, the best thing to do right away is to start limiting its food consumption. Reduce the amount of food you give your cat at each meal. Make your cat's meals more often. Giving your cat this pause from feeding allows it to digest whatever food it has previously ingested, which may be taking longer to digest than normal owing to the presence of an obstructive hairball. This also has the additional advantage of lowering the probability and frequency of vomiting. In terms of what to feed your cat, the greatest diet for hairball management would include foods rich in fibre, improve digestive health, and may aid the breakdown of fur follicles and help them move along. You should provide your cat with hairball control cat food or hairball control cat treats. When in doubt, take your cat to the veterinarian. But first, you should experiment with a DIY hairball cure for cats.

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