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This year, World Vet Day and Hairball Awareness Day (24th April) follow each other closely. Now, hairballs can lead at the veterinarian’s !
By licking us, we swallow our hairs ; they agglutinate in our digestive system but are not digested.
If we’re lucky, our hairs don’t go farther than our stomach, and we vomit them in a characteristic sausage shape. Provision of grass to be chewed helps to regurgitate the ingested hairs.
If we have less luck, the swallowed hairs pass in the bowel ; they can then cause a constipation, an intestinal obstruction requiring a surgical operation, or in the worst case an intestinal obstruction.
To avoid all these inconveniences, we must be regularly brushed to eliminate the dead hairs and avoid that we swallow it too much. The long-haired cat breeds must be brushed every day, and the old cats two-three times a week.
Having heard about this “magic” tool at least a million times, Claire finally bought us a FURminator. She took time to be convinced that it was not a gadget, but seeing the price of the object (40 CHF !), we can understand that she took time to get her opinion made.
She’s thrilled, and us too : we purr every time she uses it. It’s a purchase that is really worth of it : the ergonomic shape of the tool allows to have it well in hand, hairs are collected without any trouble, no need to press or to pull excessively, it’s very effective. A 10 minutes session a week is amply enough for us who have short hairs.
We shall not thus go to the Cabinet du Molage for that reason : moreover, we don’t like that the veterinarians make us injections and that they stick us a thermometer in the ***, that they inspect us ears and teeth, even if we know that it’s for our good. Claire nevertheless likes this office, because all the staff is very nice. The three veterinarians are competent and say clearly things : certain people don’t appreciate this frankness, but that suits our human very well. They have a big package of handkerchiefs for difficult times, and always have a small word kind to us. They watch our health, and Claire trusts them: finally, maybe although we like them… just a little !
PS: we were very sad and very angry to hear that a young veterinarian had made dirty and dishonored this beautiful profession by a useless, cruel, and stupid act of which she boasted on social networks. Shame on her. #JusticeforTiger on Twitter and on Facebook.
That furminator looks great and so do you 🙂 That story of the cat being killed by a vet is heart breaking.
All my cats hate to be brushed ! Fortunately they are short haired only one has long hairs and I have to take her to the groomer. We can’t even approach her with a brush ! But they eat grass and then barf the hairball plus grass on the best rug !
Would you believe Waffles has never had a hairball?! …maybe it’s a boy thing.
Katie does have trouble sometimes. We have to step up our brushing schedule!
: )
We have all tossed up hairballs at one point or another. Fortunately, not often!
What a brush/comb….look at the furs! The furminator eh? Hey mom. lets look on Amazon.ca for this.
Big hugs,
Shoko
I love to be brushed and mum is now getting the furminator for me. I don’t have too many hairballs but I do cough up sometimes! Very important post!! 🙂
We’ve got 2 furminators and the mom doesn’t use them on us nearly as much as she should.
We love to be furminated. We all have hairballs from time to time.
The Florida Furkids
we love our furminator too!! It’s amazing!!!!!
I’ve to read more about this topic. One of my cats has quite long hair, but she’s normally let’s me brush it. I’m a total newbie (they’ve been only living with me for 3 days), and I’m a bit worried about hair balls.
I use the furminator as well, it is a very nice tool to have 🙂
Ugh…Truffles has bi-weekly hairballs 🙁
Gweat posty. Ya be lookin’ just gawjus. And we agwee wiff you ’bout da nasty VET. Have a gweat week.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
We used the furminator on our foster cats and they loved it. Our cats have a different type of coat that wouldn’t work with the furminator but they do get brushed regularly .The girls love it…Levon , not so much! 🙂
We hadn’t heard about the vet in Texas…what a senseless and cruel act but especially shocking by someone who pursued a veterinary career out of a love and respect for animals or so one would presume…
the critters in the cottage xo
Callie doesn’t seem to like being brushed very much 🙁 I try to sneak some in when I can though. Good thing her furs are not too long!
We recently got a Furminator too. I get terrible hairballs and we’re trying everything to reduce them. I had my hair trimmer shorter and mom uses the Furminator very gently once a week. It is not my favorite grooming tool, but it helps get some of the loose fur out.
As for that awful person, I’m hoping the veterinary board revokes her license. I read last week that the civil authorities are charging her with felony animal cruelty. I hope she is found guilty and convicted. She is a disgrace to humanity.