Hairball Gastritis Symptoms in Cats

Cats with hairball gastritis exhibit some uncomfortable phenomena, with typical symptoms including frequent dry heaving, occasionally vomiting hair-containing vomit, and sometimes nothing at all. There may be constipation, unable to defecate for multiple days. The stool is dry, hard, and sometimes contains hair. The cat may appear lethargic, loss of appetite, rough and dull fur, bloated belly, and other negative phenomena.

Causes of Hairball Vomiting

Cats usually have the habit of licking and grooming their fur. With normal metabolic hair loss, the cat swallows the hair while licking, which is brought into the stomach. However, hair cannot be digested normally, and over time, a large amount of hair tangles in the stomach or duodenum, stimulating the stomach wall and causing vomiting reflex, resulting in the phenomenon of hairball vomiting we see.

How to Judge Hairballs

It can be observed through symptoms. If there is too much hair accumulation in the cat's stomach, it will affect its digestion, stimulating the stomach to contract and vomit to expel the hair. Generally, the vomit can be seen with hair, and the cat's spirit and diet are basically not affected, the vomiting frequency is not high, usually once or twice a week. If the cat's spirit and appetite decline significantly, vomiting more frequently, it may not be hairball syndrome but illness.

Hairball Removal Methods

Cats' hairballs usually refer to the difficult-to-digest hairballs formed by the cat's tongue spines pulling hair into the gastrointestinal tract while licking. Owners can buy hairball gel on the market to help cats digest hairballs, or feed cats with catnip to induce vomiting and help them expel hairballs. Cat liver oil can also be given to aid in the elimination of hairballs.