If you own a cat chances are you’ve had to clean up your pets hairball or recently eaten food. As if that’s not bad enough our pet cats tend to leave their calling card in the oddest of places. On the bed or at the edge of the bed so said projectile drips down to the floor. Let’s not forget our favorite pair of shoes! Many a cat owner and pet sitter have encountered interior decorating via kitty.
While me may never know why they choose to release stomach contents in places we humans call sacred; it may just be pure laziness. They are not ones to run to a kitchen or bathroom floor so we can have easy cleanup. What is known is pet cats throw up hairballs because they cannot digest, nor can hair pass through their digestive system after it hits the stomach. It’s like a ball of yarn, it starts off small and gradually increases in size. Once said hairball is big enough to have a known presence kitty brings it up to prevent blockage to the small intestine.
While it is not at all glamorous for the pet cat, owner, or pet sitter, eliminating a hairball is a natural behavior. There are some things you can do to help prevent a multitude of hairballs from appearing. The more you and your pet sitter brush your cat to get rid of loose hair the better. There are also treats by a variety of companies specific for treatment of hairballs which can be given daily. You can also give your pet cat a once to twice a week treatment with a hairball remedy. You and your pet sitter will find far less hairballs lurking about.
There are also times when the offending hairball is replaced with mostly undigested food. Usually found in close proximity to the food dish or in the food dish. Why does this happen? Well our pet cats can have a gluttony problem, especially if there is more than one cat in the household. Pet sitters have been whiteness to such eating, like a vacuum sucking up dirt, cats will do the same with their food. Which is often followed by rejection, their stomach simply can’t hold that much food shoveled in so quickly. While cat owners and pet sitters are left with the cleanup kitty will, at times, go straight back to the food dish. After all an empty stomach must not stay empty for long!
While hairballs and throwing up due to eating to quickly is one thing, repetitive vomiting that lasts for more than 24hrs is a medical concern and an appointment should be made with a veterinarian.
While no one loves the cleanup that often comes with being a pet cat owner or a pet sitter, one things for sure, we love them just the same!
By Jennifer Mikuta, WPC Team Member
