Hairball problem if i dont bathe my cat??

Question

i just posted a question about bathing a cat and most of ppl said no. but shouldnt that make a hairball problem worse??? even though, i'll brush my cat everyday??

Answer 1

You can give kitty Vaseline to prevent hair balls- it is safe-doesn't have harmful sugars in it- cats generally like it too- all you have to do is put some on the cats paws and he licks right off-  catteries

sweare by it and inexpensive-   remember, whatever you put on kitty- shampoo ect.. kitty is going to be ingesting it cause he cleans himself.  Vaseline will help kitty with hair balls- you don't need

to bath, brushing yes- bathing no

Answer 2

If you brush him, he should be fine.  Cats are pretty good about cleaning themselves.  I will occasionally wipe my kitty down with a warm damp washcloth, just to get any dirt, dander and loose hair off him.  You can try to bathe him, but trust me, you'll have a h**l of a time doing it.

Answer 3

I left a reply about bathing your cat on your earlier question. In my experience bathing a cat makes the hairball problem worse not better because they wind up l*****g even more hair up while they are drying themselves. Try a hairball remedy cat food (I use dry AND wet formulas, they have added fiber in them that helps hold moisture in a cat's intestines so the hair can pass through) as well a tube of hairball remedy on a 2x weekly basis. (Don't feed the whole tube at once  lol  a 1 inch strip on your finger is the usual dosage and the cat should l**k it off your finger; if they wont l**k it from your finger you can try giving it to them from the tube) I have also added a tsp of olive oil to my cat's wet food (on the suggestion of my vet) and that seems to help as well. Brushing is an absolute MUST to help with hairball control. Every other day minimum. If you find you aren't removing much hair when you brush then you need to consider the type of coat the cat has. If it's a thick coat then a slicker brush usually works best. If it's a thick undercoat with a long fine topcoat then you should consider a Furminator type brush. That works wonderfully on my Maine Coon male. Wal-Mart has a knock off of the Furminator (it's called a Fur Buster and has different width combs you can try)that's priced under $10.  

Answer 4

Cats do not need baths, as long as you brush them to remove the loose hair, he/she will be fine.  I brush my long haired cats every 2-3 days (unless they need it more, or I'm bored) - my short haired cat, maybe once a week (he hates to be brushed).  Make sure you are using the proper brush or comb for your cat based on whether is it long haired, short-haired or even it's breed.  The best thing is to go to PetCo or PetSmart and ask the groomer to show you what brush/comb is the best.  I used the wrong one for years, and couldn't figure out why my cats where still getting matted and hockin' up hairballs.  The groomer at PetSmart finally showed me the right one and the right way of brushing.  

I would have saved a lot of money on brushes/combs if I had done that first. I had about 10 brushes/combs I'll never used, and ended up donating them to the local shelter.

Answer 5

To make the hirballs pass give your cat som vasaline (petrolium jelly) this will make them go through the cat and not be horked up.

Washing your cat wont' affect the hairballs because the cat is constantly sheading.. and l*****g it's fur.

Brushing will help but you just have to get them out of the cat.

good luck

Answer 6

A bath isn't going to help the problem as much as regular brushing will. Regular brushing with those wire brushes will remove the dead hair that when they clean themselves are swallowing.  They also make hairball control food and snacks. You can also occasionally put a little vasaline on their paw.