CAT HAIRBALLS

  Hairballs can be a moment of stress for cat owners and cats alike. 

There are some actions you as a pet owner can take to minimize them in cats. A good start is the diagram below.  #HealthThroughNutrition #ABetterWorldForPets

From my experience as a pet owner with the education of a Veterinary Technician and Groomer, I will share the story of my oldest cat who is now a 17 years old girl and still going strong. I practice regular brushing with a comb as she doesn't  like/never liked the brush, the fishtail metal pet comb works even better then the brush anyway to remove the little tuffs she gets.

I am always checking both my cats fur for dandruff, fur loss/patching, their poop to make sure their digestion is good, weight and observing their behavior for excessive itching, licking, lack of energy, or discouragement in eating. Also I know my pet's very well even if a behavior seems wacky I am always attentive to see if there is a root to it.  

When looking at their poop I make sure its not rock hard or tiny little balls everywhere, or soup liquid in the litter, this is a sign that their food is difficult to digest hence they are constipated or have diarrhea. When checking their weight I make sure its healthy no too thin and not overweight either. Too thin or sudden weight loss is a sign of disease. In my senior 17 year old cat the dandruff and weight loss  was due to kidney failure diagnosed by our family vet.  She is currently on a variety of foods but not medication, except for her arthritis. which foods you may wonder, this is where owners try to I am sorry to say cheap out or brand focus on. I tried a variety of foods as she was "picky" everything from packets wet food, too grain free, none of them worked and she was deteriorating. 

She has had constipation problems since she was little, I did not know any better at time she was eating the Dental focused food and Presidents choice. She lasted a long time with this diet until her age catched up, and her body expressed the reality of her nutrition: First sign was constipation, in addition to anal gland blockages, in addition to chronic kidney failure although her teeth looked great. Throughout her life she lacked fiber and a variety of omega's and vitamins. 

every time I switched her food or tried a new one I would buy the small bag or 1-2 cans in case she didn't like it, or in case i would have to stop it because it was constipating her. I was sure of the flavors she liked and didn't like before adventuring into any other flavor. 

Currently she is on all prescribed vet food, why because it is what works, and it has proven its self . No more anal gland blockage, hairballs are under control, she is at a healthy weight, and no more constipation. 

Also These Why? because her kidney levels are stable without medication. She is enthusiastic about wanting to eat and is not picky about her food anymore.

Her fur has no more dandruff either. The wet food is interchanged between days, so she doesn't get bored of just one all the time. The gastro is the basis of her body's ability to digest the other foods or to improve the texture, so the gastro is mixed with either the renal or Urinary SO/ calm. She can only handle half a can in the morning and the other half at night or else she throws up, because in between she eats the kibble.. she over eats. 

Our life's have adjusted to her needs, although it took sometime for my dad to get on board. As I needed to put a litter box upstairs in my bathroom. I was able to make this adjustment thanks to Pretty Litter, surprisingly its the only online product I am impressed by, I only use it for her, she loves the texture and we can keep tract of her kidney's or even if she is about to get UTI which was more common with the clay litter, so far it has been a while since her last UTI. Her bed is closer  to the ground there is a cat tree in between the couch and the table where she eats because usually by late afternoon she will be hoping around or climbing. She is not active like when she was young, but she still moves around going up and downstairs attempting to climb the couch at a slow senior pace. The hairballs used to be more often when she was younger, now they happen sparingly. 

The little changes make a huge difference in a pet's life. She always goes for a yearly checkup with her family vet, as well as gets a urinalysis before her vet visit, so that her vet has all the information needed to make an accurate diagnosis. Along with Blood work at the main stages of life 6 Months, 3 Years, 7years, 15 years, 20 years etc.. to keep track of her inner system. 

Now was it always easy and straight forward? even as a vet tech I can say oh no, it took time, patience, sacrifice, and adaptation to her new life on her part and my part in order to help her body stabilize. We started her out on k/d kibble but she didn't like the smell, then I placed her on the gastro because I figure maybe if she is not constipated she will love the food. I placed her on the Gastrobiome he loved it,  had her get a urinalysis test and with the vet evaluation this allowed me to check if the kibble was harmful to her kidney's; so far everything looked good. After that the wet food was a bit of a chore, however slowly but surely her puzzling behavior led us to what she liked and needed. watching her eating routine she told us what worked for her. She liked stews for a while but hated the carrots eventually she didn't like them anymore so we stopped, we knew she loved the gastrointestinal but the texture she didn't enjoy so we used to the processor to break it down, however when I found there mousse in sauce version  we gave it a try and she loved it. same thing happened with the other wet foods, 

I hope this story inspires other owners to not give up on their pet's rather to find solutions and have a faith in the medical field. Especially when it can make a huge difference in their pet's life's. 

I am more responsible with my other pet's and I have come to distrust the majority of pet store products no matter how fancy the store is or expensive the food is. If the hills on the shelf doesn't work I immediately go to a prescribed diet. 

Another major change was the water fountain. originally we got it for the dog but noticed that she liked it more then the bowl. So that is also a change we made for her. 

Her routine starts whenever someone wakes up. It can be anywhere from 6:30am - 9 am. Rarely she will sleep in until 12 pm.