Cats and Hair Balls

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

Get yer hair ball articles here

Hmm. Well, Cecil, I certainly agree that cats sometimes bring up “sausages” of hair, but in six years as a vet (in the UK) I’ve yet to have to operate on an animal due to a blockage due to hair - or known anybody else do so. In fact the only reference for feline hairballs I’ve come across is James Herriot. Maybe I’ve just been lucky.

Humans, in contrast, do sometimes get trichobezoars* large enough to necessitate surgery - I believe they’re often associated with trichtilomania (habitual hair pulling, frequently with chewing) in young girls.

In terms of problems to the cat, I’ve seen quite a few cats which are off food and have a sore throat after vomiting hairballs - my own theory is that pushing the equivalent of an acid soaked sponge up the oesophagus is going to make it kinda sore; a local colleague reckons the whole hairball thing is a side effect of IBD and that the only reason the hair builds up is due to abnormal gut motility.

*the technical term, although whether something that squishy is really a true bezoar is debatable.

2

I’ve had cats my whole life, and only rarely ever seen one (or seen evidence of one) hacking up a hairball.

The very idea that without humans around to provide edible lubricants or perform surgery cats would long ago have perished from the planet is ridiculous, imo.

But then, most of the cats I’ve known have been short-hairs; perhaps the practice of selective breeding to produce longer haired varieties might complicate matters more.

3

I bet it depends on the kinda cat.

A sphynx is bound to have less hairballs than a persian or birman.

4

Had several cats in the past. The only one that really seemed to be an issue was the one that lived to 19 years old. She didn’t start having hairball issues until around year 17. Don’t think that’s particularly an evolutionary disadvantage.