Conference misery::feline_v1

    PHILEM::WOODS
      HI THERE, MY NAME IS POOKIE THE  PERSIAN-MCCURDY- MCGRATH... I
    AM 11 YEARS LD.. MY MOTHER'S NAME IS KATE.. AND MY DADDYS NMAE IS
    DON.. AND I AHVE ALWAYS HAD FURBALLS.. AS A MATTER OF FAT MY DADDY
    CALL ME FURBALL.. ANY WAY,, MY MUMMY PUTS A LITTLE BIT OF MINERAL
    OIL IN MY WATER.. JUST ABOUT A 1/2 OF EYE DROPPER  FULL.. SHE THINKS
    I DONT KNOW... SHE DOES THAT BUT I DO... MEOWR YOU CANT FOOL ME...
    AND WHEN I FEEL LIKE BEING A GOOD LITTLE GIRL.. I LET HET PUT
    THAT"STUFF FROM THE PET STORE ON MY FRONT PAWS... YUCK..!!! AND
    I WILL LICK IT OFF... AND NOW I VERY RARELY IF EVR HAVE  FURBALL
    -ITIS... ALSO MY MUMMY COMBS ME 2 -3 TIMES PER DAY.. THAT HELPS
    AND MAKES ME OH SOO PRETTY..... HOPE THIS HELPS..... I  HAVE TO
    GO NOW.. MEOWR.. I THINK MY MUMMY WANTS HER TERMINAL BACK..
    MY MUMMY IS ON NODE PSGMKG::MCCURDY... MY DADDY IS NOT A DECCIE...
    HES A MASON...  NICE TO MEET YOU ALL..  REGARDS POOKIE THE PERSIAN

    Hi Kim--
    
    Yuck is right!  My cat has very long silky fur, and this time of
    year she produces some amazing furballs.  I give her a little Lactone
    (lactase?) every other day--it's a petroleum-based goo with a "flavor
    cats love!" (Hmm!).  It helps, but doesn't eliminate them.  In addition
    to this, I brush her daily (and sometimes there is enough fur to
    make another cat!).  I also have her groomed twice a year (for those
    hard-to-get places).
    
    Check with your vet on what kind of oil or ointment to give your
    cat, and brush, brush, BRUSH!  It all helps--you'll feel like you
    are doing all you can, and your cat will love the attention.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Jane

    I was very surprised to get 2 responses so quickly.
    
    re: 603.1 
    
    Thanks for your suggestions.  Unforturnatly putting the mineral
    oil in Obi's water will be difficult.  You see she does not like
    her water dish.  She has to have her own paper cup in the bathroom
    (she does not know she is a cat, she thinks she is a person, my
    fault).
    
    I also tried the "stuff" on her paws but she squirms around so
    much that it ends up all over me instead of her (she thinks that
    it's a game).
    
    As far as brushing her she have very short hair and to her the
    brush is a toy.
    
    
    Kimberley

    re: 603.2
    
    Hi Jane,
    
    When you give your cat the lactose how do you give her?
    
    Also, if it works where can I obtain some.
    
    Kimberley
    

    My Pip is an extra-long hair so my biggest problem in giving her
    furball medicne is not getting it on her ruff. I've solved this
    in two ways. First, she wears an infants bib (she is used to wearing
    this when ever she has mushy or messy food. Second, I let her lick
    it off a spoon.
    
    Deb
    

    I administer the oil a little bit differently. I feed my cats SOME
    canned food every day, and leave dry food out all the time. When
    I give them their canned food rations, I poke a hole in the center
    of the food, pour the oil in, and then cover it up. No problems;
    since they think the canned food is a treat, they gobble down every
    bit, including the hidden oil.
    
    Good luck!
    
    Marleen
    

    on a shorthair, you might try rubbing the cat with a chamois cloth,
    or just barely dampen your hands and pet your cat.  You'll end up
    with enough fur on your hands to to qualify as a mutation, but it
    might help.  My shorthairs shed more than my longhairs (but the
    longhairs do get more furballs. 
    
    Dave

    Greetings to all the new folks! Now that you've discovered VAXnotes,
    you too can spend entirely too much time playing with the Enet!
    (If you haven't found note 2 yet, take a look - many, many of the
    DEC-cats and their people are introduced there.)
    
    Regarding hair balls - you might find other useful suggestions,
    or at least some commiseration, at notes 268, 271, 483, or 555.
    (I'm sure there are others - hairball questions come up at least
    once a year - but those should get you started.)
    
    -b 

    YOU ARE WELCOME..... MY POOKIE IS A PERSON TOO.. SHE IS ALITTLE
    PERSON WHO HAPPENS TO WEAR A FUR COAT ALL YEAR LONG..... POOKIE
    IS ALSO ON A SPECIAL DIET,, IT IS C/D DRY AND YOU CAN BUY IT FROM
    THE VETS.. PPOKIE IS A FORMER SHOW CAT.. I OBTAINEED HER A FROM
    A BREEDER.. ALISON VON STRY.. IN NASHUA.. SO POOKIE IS USED TO A
    CERATIN REGIME.. COMBED 3 TIMES A DAY ETC... SPECIAL DIET.....
    THIS FOOD IS VERY GOOD FOT THEIR COATS.. AND IT JUST TAKES ALILTTE
    PATIENCE AND CONVERSATION WITH OUR SCHILDREN TO MAKE THEM  UNDERSTAND
    THAT MOTHER KNOWS BEST...I WOULD TRY TO PUT IT IN THE PAPER CUP..
    LACTOSE IS ALSO GOOD.... MORE LATER.. 
    REGARDS
    POOKIES MOTHER.. KATE... 

    Hi Kimberley--
    
    Sorry not to get back to you sooner--I was at a woods meeting most
    of the day.
    
    When I give Billie the Lactose (just see your vet for some), I do
    it one of three ways.  When we have lots of time, I put a glob of
    it on my finger (about the size of pea), and she licks it off--if
    she's in the mood.  If not, I leave the glob on the floor, and she'll
    take it from there.  But when I don't have much time, and I want
    her to have it, I hold her firmly, and put the Lactose way back
    on her tongue so she swallows it.  It HAS made a difference, and
    when she does vomit up a furball, it's easier on her.
    
    Her grooming's next week--thank God!!
    
    Good luck, 
    
    Jane

    
    Another Alison kitty!!  Such nice cats, huh??  Ashley Van Grayson
    and Skyler Van Grayson, two friends of mine (who's Mom is fellow
    noter Paula Daley).  Talk about yuck-o, wait until you step on one
    of them...DOUBLE YUCK!!
    
    My two guys are Himalayans.  Persians may have invented hairballs
    but Himmies raised them to an art form!!  I use Femalt that I get
    in the local pet shop.  Chauncey will take it out of the tube. 
    Honey will take it with much distress and pain (on my part!).
    
    Good luck (and welcome you new noters!)
    Mary

    As I gave Billie her furball medicine, I FINALLY looked at the
    tube--I've been saying all along "Lactose" or Lactase".  So sorry--it
    is LAXATONE!  Anyhow, your vet should know what you mean.
    
    Also, thanks to this file, I've "seen the error of my ways," and
    I now brush Billie at least once (often twice) a day.  The results
    are BEAUTIFUL, and she has grown to love "brushtime"--her motor
    really runs high when she sees "her" brush!
    
    ..and by the way, funny you should mention stepping on a furball--just
    the other day I stumbled out of bed, and *SQUISH*!  Yuck, yuck,
    yuck--I wanted to boil my feet.
    
    Anyway, keep noting!
    
    Jane

CLUSTR::TAMIR..
    hi .. noce to meet you.. oh yes.. allison's kittys are so nice.......
    pookie was 9 when i go her from allison.. what little love.. sh
    is a smked tortsoise with copper eyes.. i found out about allison
    through dr clough's office in merrimack.. i was looking for an older
    puddy-tat to goive a home to.. and allison was lloking to find put-put
    (her name for pookie..) a home.. the best thing i ever did..  pookies
    call name whwn allison owned her was the countess portifiole of
    valleyvue kennels... pookie is very smart.. and i love her to pieces..
    she has a nana, 2 godmothers, 2 uncles.... and her daddy adores
    her.. well nice to meet .. i love himmys as well.. i almost got
    a himmy.. but i meet my precious pookie and it was love at 1st sight..
    well i could go on for hours about pookie,, but i really should
    do some work.. nice to meet you!!!
    regards
    pookies mom.. kate

    HI Kate & Jane,
    
    Thank you both for your suggestions.  I have been reading other
    note files on hair balls and a good portion of them seem to use
    the same remedies.  One suggestion was to use Vaseline.  So, when
    I went home yesterday I figured why not try it.  I put some vaseline
    on my finger and put it in front of Obi and to my surprise she licked
    it all off my finger (unbelievable she would not take the remedy
    from the pet store that have flavoring but, she ate the vaseline.
    I wonder sometimes about her).
    
    Anyway thanks to all for your input and suggestions I greatly
    appreciated them.
    
    
    Kimberley Woods

     YOU ARE VERY WELCOME... POOKIE AND I ARE GLAD WE COULD OF ASSISTANCE
    

    Furballs are yucky...
    Vaseline seems to help and a lot of cats like it - maybe they figure
    we got something stuck on our fingers and they'll 'help' and take
    it off.  Maybe they figure it doesn't taste like much, and they
    know we don't lick ourselves clean - so maybe we can't figure out
    how to get rid of it?
    
    Anyway it helps!
    
    \sjm

	We used to have a Foreign White who had very long dense fur,
	he was constantly getting fur-balls, which as he got older
	used to make him very ill.  By much trial and error we got
	a long way down the road towards prevention.

	Any substance that is oil based (not poisonous) will help
	to shift hair-balls.  Cod-liver oil, sardine oil, tuna oil,
	vegetable oil (but not in large quantities, it's not really
	good for them - emergencies only), vaseline, olive oil just 
	to name a few.

	What worked best with our cat was a weekly dose of cod-liver-
	oil in milk (about a table spoon), he adored milk and his greed 
	overcame the taste ! especially when he was moulting. It is
	not much good waiting for the symptoms of a hair-ball it's 
	really too late then.  

	If your cat doesn't like normal milk, try evaporate/condensed
	milk (some cats go wild about it), gravy, liquidised fish/stock
	mixture, basically anything liquid that your cat cann't resist.

	This along with regular brushing goes a long way to prevent
	the problem.  Unfortunately the cat will very occasionally still
	develop a jammed hair-ball with all the inflamation and discomfort
	that goes with it and need a trip to the vet, but even here a
	massive dose, between 3-5 tablespoons of neat cod-liver-oil
	poured down the cats throat using a syringe (be careful it goes
	down the right way - you don't want to drown it) will shift a
	jammed hair-ball.

	One warning - never use regular doses of oil of any kind on 
	a kitten, it reeks havoc with their digestive system and can
	in a weak kitten - kill - take your vet's advice.

	Another last ditch method is to put the cat somewhere that
	doesn't matter if it gets covered in oil and cover the cat's
	coat with the dose of oil, it will, after a while, lick it off
	- a "soiled" coat is worse to any cat than the taste of the oil.

	CJA

    i bought a tube of malt flavored fur ball stuff (i think it was
    Hartz) in the local grocery store.  At first my cat wasn't interested
    in it at all, but once she got a taste - every morning she wants
    at least a taste of it.
    
    Amazing stuff, no coughing or fur balls anymore.
    
    -dave

    I hope someone goes back to this "Hairball" column and reads this.
     
    I have a 10 year old Siamese (neutered male) who coughs quite a
    lot.  I've read all the gory descriptions of the horrible vomit
    sound that cats make, and he does that too!  However, he is coughing
    a lot lately and this sound is very different from the vomit sound.
    He scrunches down, elongates his neck and coughs.  The vet gave
    me Laxatone, on the premise that it is caused by hairballs - he
    hates it - we fight it down - and still the dying TB ward sounds
    go on.
    
    He's soon to go back to the vet - however - anyone know what I'm
    talking about?

    Re: .19
    
    This is sounds like what Sweetie did when he had a difficult hairball
    problem a few weeks ago.  But, are you sure your cat hasn't swallowed
    something that might be causing this?  I'm glad he's going to the
    vet soon.
    

    Yes, I do know the sound - if the laxatone doesn't work - either
    go right back to your vet or GET A NEW VET!
    
    Maybe try spreading it on his front paw from the toes up and sort
    of rubbing it in - he will then lick it off - he will look at
    you with hate, but it's better than stuffing!  Also, maybe
    try Femault(sp??) it's got a fish flavor that he may like
    better.

According to my vet, it's better for the cat if you stuff it down their throat
(actually, one should try to put a glob of it on the roof of their mouth)
than to spread it on their fur.  Reason being that they are forced to ingest
more hair when licking it off which is clearly counter-productive.  This is, 
of course, easier said than done.

My cats used to love Petromalt or Femalt - they would lick it off a spoon
weekly.  Now they won't willingly take the stuff.  Once I get some down them,
they will then lick some more off a spoon.  Fickle little creatures.

Pam

    Our siamese, Eskimo, has this same coughing problem and has had
    it for a long time. The Vet sais it is not a hairball but probably
    an allergic reaction to something. He has given us pills to give
    to her and they seem to help. However as soon as she goes off the
    pills the symptoms return. If you find something that works permanently
    please let us know.
    
    							Geoff

    Honey started to refuse Laxatone a couple years ago and was having
    constant coughing bouts like the one you mention.  I took him to
    the vet and told him how Honey used to like Laxatone, but now wouldn't
    touch it.  He put a big glop of the stuff on his finger, opened
    Honey's mouth, and plastered the stuff to the roof of the poor kitty's
    mouth.  Honey was appalled!  But, it worked!  He taught me how to do it
    and now, when Honey balks, he gets it the hard way.  Fortunately,
    I found that fish flavored Femalt, which he seems to like.
    
    The person who finds a cure for hairballs will have a place in heaven!
    
    Mary

    Mine like the Femalt better also - they will lick it from the
    tube - one or two of them won't do that - that's when I get
    mean and spread it on one of their front paws!  Boy, KoKo
    sure give me a VERY dirty look and hops away on 3 paws when
    I do that!

    Fuzzles not only give me *VERY* diry looks when I put Femalt on
    her paws, she also hops around and shakes the "affected" paw like
    you wouldn't believe.  She always looks so funny when she does that,
    it's hard not to laugh at her.  Also the look on her face when she
    finally comes to terms with licking it off is precious!

    Just wanted you all to know that Mao and I went to the vet again.  He
    seems to have either an allergy or asthma.  He is on predisone and
    an antibiotic for 10 days and then we'll see what happens.  It is
    possible that he may have to be on medication permanently.  Not
    long term prednisone - however - I won't allow it.  He has not been
    coughing but is very annoyed with me.  After all - he had to have
    blood tests, a chest x-ray AND worst of all - his temperature taken.
    What indignities!!
    
    The point is - it was not caused by hairballs.

    Please keep us up to date on how he's doing....
    

    It has been almost two months now and I thought I would let you
    all know what has happened. 
    
    Mao was on the antibiotic and prednisone daily for 10 days.  Then
    switched to prednisone every other day for another week.  Now we
    are on one prednisone tablet once a week.  This was fine until last
    week when he started coughing again.  On the vet's advice, we have
    gone to prednisone twice a week.  Hopefully this will keep the asthma
    (this is her final diagnosis) under control.  Otherwise, he is fine,
    maintaining his weight, beautiful sealpoint coat and loudmouth!!