Thread: Hairballs

I hated the furminator only tried it once on the eldest cat & thought brilliant but when her coat started coming through again it felt awful so in the bin it went......
I have never known such a bad year for the cats loosing their coats & don't normally have to groom them like I have this year,my theory is the more you groom the more loose hair you lift & the more they lick into themselves & the more furballs you get chucked at you,have never had as many as this year either,when I used to groom about once a week I would always use a piece of damp kitchen roll & stroke down to pick up loose hairs on them but because of the amount of times they have been groomed I haven't bothered,don't know if that would have helped or not but annoyed that I didn't do it as we have had mammoth clearing up sessions,I give them a few RC hairball bikkies as that seems to tighten the furball up & make it easier for them to chuck them out at us just doesn't help where they choose to do it,oh joys.....x

So am i making it worse by brushing/combing them everyday??
Should i just try the damp tissue and remove loose fur that way??
These are my 1st maines, i have 2 normal shorthair cats that only require love cuddles feeding watering they look after there own fur lol
but these boys are so fluffy and constantly play ruff n tumble that they tangle there fur thus me brushing them daily lol

ah that's good to know Jackie! thanks! I only brushed Neevie once this year, she doesn't seem to be shedding too much - she had a bit of a tangle, so I cut it off and gave her a once over. She seems to be taking care of her stuff ;-)

Originally Posted by Clairiscrazy

So am i making it worse by brushing/combing them everyday??
Should i just try the damp tissue and remove loose fur that way??
These are my 1st maines, i have 2 normal shorthair cats that only require love cuddles feeding watering they look after there own fur lol
but these boys are so fluffy and constantly play ruff n tumble that they tangle there fur thus me brushing them daily lol

MC's seem to have different types of coats,my red & white boy I only normally show him the comb on the very odd occasion or just do his bib as he likes it ,Merlyn RIP in between showing I never had to touch him but the others it varied between very little & as required,what I did do though to keep the bonding going was always have a slicker brush close by to "fluff" them up a bit & stimulate the old skin & they luv that as they don't associate it with a good grooming but more of a relaxing stimulation {just shows how thick a MC can be sometimes bless them},plus it does help lift out some of the dead coat so I would say try doing as little as you have too but if it is like most of us at the moment it is still quite a lot & then yes afterwards just take a damp piece of paper & remove the hair that is still sitting on top,unlike cats such as a persian that are very high to maintain coat wise a MC can be unbelievably low key & if you are lucky it is only the knickers & sometimes belly fur that needs the most attention once they grow up a bit & don't ruffle that coat quite so much....xxx

Could not resist posting this video

Frazer is just a babe just now and i am bonding with him using a sliker brush, he seems to like it, so so far so good !! lol

Whiskey has a love hate relationship with the brush. He hates the process. But he'll tolerate being brushed for the treat payout afterward. He even knows the routine of being brushed after he spent time outside. When he comes in he immediately lays down & rolls about for me to brush him so he can't get his treat. I use a slicker brush 1st and finish up with a boars hair bristle brush to soften & silken his coat. He is 2 and just coughed up his 1st hairball the other day.

Originally Posted by CatsMom

Whiskey has a love hate relationship with the brush. He hates the process. But he'll tolerate being brushed for the treat payout afterward. He even knows the routine of being brushed after he spent time outside. When he comes in he immediately lays down & rolls about for me to brush him so he can't get his treat. I use a slicker brush 1st and finish up with a boars hair bristle brush to soften & silken his coat. He is 2 and just coughed up his 1st hairball the other day.

omg that is so great! I wish I could train Neevie to do... anything! :-D

Little Pyggie has already been introduced to the brush, I think, as when he saw it coming he flopped over and purred like a ferrari for the entire process. He hasn't had the hairball problem, (yet), but he does get his whiskers caught in his mouth which make him cough and heave like a hairball until it un-bends back out of his throat. I am not entirely sure how he manages to do that! I have heard of a hairball paste that you can mix with food that apparently works, but I've not seen any in the store or used it myself.