A Thorough Guide to Hairball Prevention for Long-Haired Cats | Brushing, Hairball Care Food, and Our Practical Methods

🐾① Introduction

Long-haired cats have long, thick fur, making them prone to hairball issues.
My cat, Kojiro, is also a long-haired cat with a double coat.
I have actually experienced a decrease in appetite and vomiting that I believe were caused by hairballs, so daily coat care is essential.

Now, by combining brushing, hydration, and wet food containing psyllium, Kojiro is able to live without hairball troubles.
In this article, I will introduce the hairball prevention methods that I have found to be truly effective.

🐾② Kojiro's Experience with Hairball Troubles

I introduced the hairball troubles he experienced as a kitten here, but
even after he became an adult cat, he had an episode where he vomited hairballs for three consecutive days
and because his appetite dropped, I took him to the veterinary clinic.

The hairball he vomited was about as thick and long as two index fingers, and it was tightly packed.
I was truly surprised, thinking, "Had this much hair really accumulated in his stomach?"

He used to vomit a hairball clump about once a month, but since he had never done it for three days in a row or had his appetite drop,
I was very worried.

They performed an ultrasound and X-ray of his abdomen
fortunately, there didn't seem to be any major illness,
but they said it was likely caused by hairballs clogging his stomach and hard stool accumulating in his abdomen.
I continued giving him anti-nausea medication, stomach medicine, and a digestive support therapeutic diet
for about a week, and his condition recovered.

I had been brushing him and was conscious of his water intake on a daily basis,
but this experience made me realize that those things alone are not always enough.

🐾③ There are Two Types of "Hairballs" in Cats

※Contains a photo of a hairball vomited by a cat

Hairballs that accumulate in the stomach or intestines
・Hair swallowed during grooming accumulates in the digestive tract
・Usually expelled through stool or vomiting
・If they cannot be fully expelled, they continue to accumulate in the stomach or intestines
　→ Risk of causing loss of appetite, vomiting, and constipation
　→ Risk of the intestines becoming blocked by hairballs, requiring treatment such as endoscopy or surgery

Mats formed by tangled fur
・Particularly common in long-haired cats
・Loose hair that cannot be removed gets tangled and turns into felt
　→ Pulls on the skin, causingpain　→ Reduces breathability, causing
skin stuffiness and inflammation　→ Can lead to
skin problems under the matIn this way, both hairballs that accumulate inside the stomach and mats that form on the surface of the skin can be a risk for cat diseases.

That is why daily prevention is so important, rather than "dealing with them after they form."

🐾④ General Hairball Prevention Measures

🐱Brushing
・Reduces the amount of hair swallowed
・Prevents hairballs by detangling the fur
・The most important measure for long-haired cats

💧Stay well hydrated
・Makes it easier to expel hair along with stool
・Wet food is effective in addition to drinking water

🍚Utilize hairball care food
・Supports expulsion with dietary fiber
・Typical ingredients
・Psyllium
・Beet pulp
・Cellulose
・Other dietary fibers

However, hairball care food is not medicine,
so it is only a supplement for daily care.

💇Trimming the hair
There is also a method of cutting the hair short at a grooming salon.
However, for cats, fur plays a role in regulating body temperature and protecting the body, so there is a risk that they may feel stressed or their body balance may change due to the change from their usual state.
It is effective if felt-like mats cannot be removed no matter what, or if mats form repeatedly, but
I think careful judgment is necessary.

🐾⑤ Hairball Prevention Methods We Practice at Home

🐱 Daily Brushing

・Once a day, for about 5 minutes
(Kojiro doesn't like brushing, so I keep the brushing time under 5 minutes)
The brushes I use are a slicker brush and a comb.


・Brushing procedure Back → Right side → Left side → Tail (back side) → Under the chin
→ Chest → Left and right armpits → Belly → Tail (belly side)
・Brush each area about 5 to 10 times

I also introduce detailed brushing methods in this article.
Please feel free to read it if you'd like.

・Recommended brush
Petio Preciante Soft Slicker Brush for Long Hair, Size S
It's a bit small for Kojiro's build, but perhaps because the area of skin being pulled at once is small, he lets me brush him relatively without complaint.
I spray this with

skin and coat moisturizing spray before brushing. It makes it easier to catch loose hair, and when removing the hair from the brush at the end, the hair clumps together and is easier to take off.

🚿 Regular shampooing

・Care I've continued since we brought him home
・In our home, we do it once every 2–3 months
・It allows for the removal of loose hair remaining on the skin
・It keeps the coat and skin clean

I have summarized the shampooing method in this article below↓

🍚 Incorporating hairball care food

Many hairball care foods use dietary fiber, and among them, I choose wet food containing psyllium.

Psyllium is expected to work by retaining moisture in the stool, making it easier to pass swallowed hair along with the stool.

Also, since Kojiro's poop tends to be firm, I also love using food containing Faecalis bacteria (lactic acid bacteria) to support his intestinal environment.

⚫︎ Recommended wet food containing psyllium is here

・Tama no Densetsu: Eat and Hydrate

It has a texture that is quite close to a thick soup.
It comes in tuna, bonito, chicken tender, mackerel, and salmon flavors.
Since the moisture and oil separate, I recommend shaking the bag well or stirring it with a spoon to make it thick.

・Tama no Densetsu: Yasashisa Plus

It has a texture of fish flakes coated in a thick sauce.
The 'plantain' listed in the ingredients is psyllium.

・Tama no Densetsu: Complete Nutritional Food

It is a rare wet food that contains plantain (psyllium) and is a complete nutritional food.
This has a texture like finer flakes than Yasashisa Plus, coated in a thick sauce.

As you may have noticed by now,
Sanyo Foods' Tama no Densetsu series has a rich lineup of products that contain plantain (psyllium).
There are several other products containing plantain besides the ones listed here, so if you are interested, please take a look at their website.

⚫︎ Recommended wet food containing Faecalis bacteria is here↓

・Inaba CIAO Amazing Lactic Acid Bacteria

It has a texture where flakes are mixed into a paste-like food.
Although 'lactic acid bacteria' is listed on the ingredient list, this refers to Enterococcus faecalis.

From the official website ↓
E-18 lactic acid cocci = Enterococcus faecalis.

・Inaba CIAO Sugoi Nyusankin (Amazing Lactic Acid Bacteria) Dashi Soup

This is also a soup-type food from the Amazing Lactic Acid Bacteria series.
It has a texture where flakes are mixed into a thick, soup-like food.
It is also low in calories, so it is recommended for cats that need to go on a diet.

・AIXIA i CARE Hydration Series

It has a smooth, paste-like texture and is Kojiro's favorite.
There are two types: tuna and bonito.

※Preferences and physical constitutions vary by cat. When giving it for the first time, we recommend starting with a small amount and introducing it while monitoring their physical condition.

🤚🏻Check for hairballs by touching their body

I touch Kojiro's body every day to check if there are any hairballs on the surface of his fur.
This also serves as a check for any physical abnormalities, not just hairballs.
Especially for long-haired cats,
・Underarms
・Belly
・Base of the hind legs
・Around the tail
are areas where fur tends to tangle and form hairballs.
I make sure to check these areas intensively.

🐾⑥ Conclusion

For hairballs, prevention 'before they form' is more important than dealing with them 'after they form'.

If a hairball stuck to the skin grows large, it can cause skin problems, and you may need to seek professional help from a veterinary clinic or grooming salon to remove it.

Also, if hairballs in the gastrointestinal tract are not properly expelled, it can lead to poor physical condition, loss of appetite, and repeated vomiting.

Daily small care, such as brushing, diet, and checking by touching your cat's body, leads to the prevention of major problems.

And if you feel like something is different than usual, please visit a veterinary clinic as soon as possible.

I hope this article is helpful for those living with long-haired cats.