Cat Illnesses - Hairballs

Hairballs are a very common cat illness, caused by grooming. Cats spend about a third of their waking hours grooming, and a lot of hair gets swallowed. This collects in the GI tract and forms hairballs.

Usually a cat will vomit the hairball up, and may also wretch and be constipated. If the hairball is too large to come back up, the latter two symptoms will be all the cat displays.

Treatments for hairballs usually involve lubricating the cat's intestine with a flavoured oil so that the hairball can pass with faeces. If the hairball is too large, surgery may be necessary.