It’s evident that more often, you catch your cat licking itself. Cat grooms themselves by licking its body. The weird fact is, that cat swallows their body hairs while licking themselves and those hairs create hairballs eventually. Recently, one of my cats has had terrible diarrhea, which leads to the question of can cat hairball causes diarrhea?
I researched this topic, and here’s what I know from my research:
Can Cat Hairballs Cause Diarrhea?
Can Cat Hairballs Cause Diarrhea? When cats lick themself or other cats, they shallow their body hairs—those little chunks of fur that your cat swallow gets together and builds up a hairball. The hairball contains microscopic bacteria, which later on cause digestion problems resulting in diarrhea.
I give my cat “Purina FortiFlora Cat Probiotic Powder Supplement” when they have diarrhea or stomach upset.
Sometimes hairball is big enough to block the gastrointestinal pathway. So, your cat’s body gets rid of the hairball causing diarrhea or vomiting.
Cat breeds that shed more are more likely to have hairball problems. Read my recent article where I explain how to stop cat shedding.
Natural Hairball Remedy to Stop Diarrhea in Cats
There is a correlation between cat hairball formation and diarrhea. Here are a few tips on minimizing hairballs formation to stop diarrhea:
- Brush your cat hair regularly; this will make sure of less hair fall.
- Trim your cat’s hair weekly. When you trim the hair, there won’t be enough hair available to lick and swallow. Also, the excessive hair won’t irritate your cat as well.
- Use soft hairbrushes and brush off excessive and old hairs from its body.
- Feed your cat a fiber-based diet. Fiber can help to digest the hairs that your cat has already swallowed.
- Change the diet plan. You can make the diet will full of foods that can prevent the hair-fall from forming up.
- Let your cat lick some butter; it will be helpful for the bowel movement. You can rub some butter in its body or paw so that your cat can lick it.
- Get your cat rid of any flea or small creature to avoid it overgrooming itself. Overgrooming is another reason behind the formation of hairballs and diarrhea.
- You can take the help of medications and gels to remove the hairball from your cat’s intestine.
You can take some natural steps to prevent hairballs from stopping diarrhea. For instance, you can brush the hair regularly, so there will not be any excessive hair for your cat’s body to swallow. Also, you can do weekly hair trimming and grooming. Besides, add fiber-based cat foods to its diet to induce better digestion.
As hairballs can cause diarrhea in your cat frequently, it’s better to rely on natural steps to reduce hairballs’ formation. But it’s nearly impossible to prevent hairball formation because it’s like your cat’s instinct to lick its body.
A cat with a hairball obstruction in its stomach often shows unexplained weight loss, excessive coughing, and poor appetite. There are also instances when they gag or retch and suffer from diarrhea or constipation. https://t.co/rL6pkAB7yr
— Pets Care (@tonyslack11222) April 14, 2018
What Does Hairball Diarrhea Looks like?
Usually, a cat’s diarrhea looks like melted chocolate and smells very unpleasant no matter what’s the reason behind it. There is not any difference between hairball diarrhea and regular diarrhea. But you might notice some chunks of hair coming out with the poop if diarrhea is caused by hairballs.
If you notice that your cat is continuously pooping or has runny stool, there is a possibility that hairballs cause diarrhea. Generally, your little feline can face diarrhea because of a poor diet or consumption of dairy products.
As there is less possibility to point out the reason for diarrhea by looking at it, it’s best if you visit a veteran as soon as you notice your cat having a loose motion. The veteran will help you to figure out the reason accurately.
How to Naturally Reduce Hairball in Cats (Step By Step Guide)
Now you know, the formation of a cat hairball cannot be stopped but can be reduced. Reducing the formation of hairballs means there is less chance of diarrhea in cats.
The following steps are the natural ways to reduce hairballs in cats:
Step 1: Proper Grooming
As I am talking about prevention here, what I have noticed with my cats; is that if you can groom your cat well and be healthy, you can prevent the emergence of hairballs.
In this case, you have to be quite careful and sincere, as well as consistent. Grooming doesn’t indicate that you should take proper care once a week and then literally let it be for the rest of the days.
What you should do is, you have to brush the excessive and old hairs on your cat’s body regularly so that it doesn’t get any excess or old hair to swallow. For brushing, you have to choose soft brushes that are specially made for cats.
Also, grooming included regular baths using shampoos. Even though your cat might not want to bathe, you have to do it anyway.
Step 2: Getting Rid of Small Creatures
Small fleas and insects can irritate your cat’s skin, which may lead it to lick its body more. As a result, the more your cat will lick harshly to get rid of that irritation, the more it will swallow hairs. These hairs can be responsible for the development of hairballs.
To prevent fleas and small creatures from your cat’s body, you have to keep it clean. Also, you can use medications, shampoo, gels, and sprays to kill the existing creatures. Thus, your cat won’t be irritated anymore and will not be interested in licking its body.
Step 3: Get a Change in Diet.
As you can’t avoid the formation of hairballs entirely, you can make the bowel movement easy. As a result, your cat will be able to digest the hairballs easily.
You can make the diet filled with fiber and foods that help with bowel movements. It’s better to consult the veteran in this regard.
Step 4: Use Butter and Oils
Butter and oils can increase bowel movement and work as a lubricant inside the intestine. If the cat licks the butter/ oil, it will automatically consume it.
Otherwise, feeding the cat butter and oil is quite troublesome. As a result, even if there is any hairball formed, your cat can easily digest and get rid of that.
Step 5: Trim the Hair Weekly
Trimming your cat’s hair every week will get your cat rid of extra hair as well as old hair too.
There will be no excessive body hair to swallow, which means there is less chance of your cat getting infected with bacteria.
Did I Cover Everything That You Wanted to Know About, Can Cat Hairballs Cause Diarrhea?
Hopefully, I have been helpful to you with the answers on Can Cat Hairballs Cause Diarrhea?
To sum up, yes hairballs can cause diarrhea in cats but this problem is minimized by taking necessary precautions. Now you know how to prevent hairball diarrhea issues, you will be able to protect your little feline friend from this health issue.
To let you know again, you should seek your cat’s veteran’s suggestion if you want to make a change in the diet. Otherwise, any underlying issue can create great trouble for your pet. Besides, don’t forget to take care of your little furry friend consistently! Good luck!
Check out my Cat Dry Heaving No Hairball article for a more detailed explanation as to why your cat may be dry heaving or vomiting.