09/05/2024
Autumn is in the air and with it comes the light Fall shedding period for our adult Birmans in the Northern hemisphere.
So here is my semi annual PSA about the importance of hairball prevention. Hairballs are the result of accumulated and compacted ingested hair from the cat grooming it's coat. Hair cannot be digested and is either regurgitated or passed through the stool.
Hairballs are not OK/normal and are a symptom of imbalance that can lead to more serious health issues.
Prevention is important:
1. Minimize the amount of ingested hair by increasing grooming using a comb or brush to remove dead hair daily during the shed and at least weekly at other times of the year.
2. Maintain your adult Birman on a high fibre diet. In our experience, all of the adult Birmans in pet homes that experienced impacted intestinal hairballs or secondary symptoms of IBS, acute pancreatitis or impacted a**l glands were on low fibre, ultra high protein boutique brands of food. We do not recommend these.
3. During periods of high shedding add Hairball treats or Petromalt/Laxitone type Hairball paste as needed to prevent accumulation of hair in the stomach.
Our 'Golden Girls and Boys' (ancestors of most of our pet Birmans) are very healthy in their teens and are maintained on a combination of Iams Indoor Hairball, ProPlan Hairball or Royal Canin Intense Hairball as well as canned pate style food every morning. If you need to consider changing foods, please do so very slowly to allow their bodies to adjust to the new elevated levels of fibre. Typically over 2 -3 weeks time.