We love how clean our cats keep themselves, but the price cat's pay for their squeaky clean grooming habits is the formation of hairballs, medically known as trichobezoars (pronounced TRIK-o-BEE-zors). Although hairballs usually aren't a serious problem, they are very common and can be hazardous when they get caught somewhere in the cat's gut.
Hairballs are common in cats because their barbed tongues efficiently clean the coat and sweep away loose fur. Since cats can't efficiently remove the hairs from their mouths, the indigestible hairs go down their throats. "Usually the hair passes inconsequentially through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and out in the cat's feces. Sometimes it doesn't get through all the way and collects into a mat of hair usually in the stomach where it gets churned around the mucous and digestive juices," says James Richards, DVM, director of the Cornell Feline Health Center at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. "The wad of accumulated hair forms hairballs, and after some repeated hacking the cat usually can bring them up."
Problems possible
Occasionally hairballs lodge in the stomach or the intestines and can block the passage of food, causing vomiting after eating. Sometimes the passage of large quantities of hair irritates the large intestine, resulting in blood or mucus in the stool and painful defecation.
"In rare instances, untreated hairballs can cause serious problems," Richards notes. "In these rare instances, the cat may require surgery to remove the hairball or hairballs."
Though more common in long-haired breeds, hairballs can develop in an cat with fur. But good grooming isn't the only cause of hairballs. Sometimes a cat will lick excessively because of an itchy skin problem.
