how much hair

[franksolich]

How much hair can an average-sized, average-aged feline consume, and then cough up?

Admittedly, the air's been dry here on the eastern slope of the Sandhills of Nebraska, and I've been keeping the cats indoors as much as possible until more of the snow melts away.

The air's so dry petting a cat generates some kilowattage of electricity, it seems.

Anyway.

The cats--Abbie, Snow, Harold, Ellie, Gustav, and William--are okay and all that, but shampooing the carpets here has become an almost-daily chore. 

And then there's Murphy's Law as it applies to pets--the living room carpeting might cover half an acre, and the human foot a few square inches, but if there's a hairball on the carpet, one inevitably steps right on it.  Surely a 1-in-250,000 odds in other circumstances, but if there's a cat hairball involved, it's 1-in-1.

Damn.  I hope the weather outside gets cat-friendly soon.

By the way, I've heard that putting butter--real butter, the real stuff--on a cat's paws (after which the cat licks it off, of course) is conducive to fewer hairballs forming.  Anybody here ever try that?

[DumbAss Tanker]

Amazingly large amounts really.  And they can seemingly each shed cubic feet of it in a year, especially long-haired ones.

[debk]

Frank....I buy Iams Hairball Formula dry catfood for the girls. You will not believe the difference! There are two or three different ones: one is original in the orange bag, one is for indoor cats that is a weight control formula in a tourqoise bag, and one is for adult cats in a dark royal blue bag. You have to look on the bag to make sure it's says "hairball formula", because each one of those - in the same color bag ( ) - is not "hairball formula". You would think they would use different color bags to differentiate the formulas, but that would be too easy. They are also the same price regardless of formula.   

Even with 4 of them, inside all the time, I don't average even 1 hairball a week. When there is one, it's a different consistency... about the shape of my little finger, firm, and lifts right up with basically no mess, and I have light sand colored carpet.

I can always find it at Walmart. Sam's used to carry the big bags, of the plain and I would just mix a bag of hairball formula into it, which works, but not quite as well. They still carry Iams dog food but stopped the cat food.  KMart quit carrying it, Target usually has it, a couple grocery stores do - but it's a couple dollars more at the grocery, and about $4 more at Petsmart.

I have one of those feeder trough containers and it's out all the time. I fill the container about once a week, and it's $7something for the smallest bag and it fills the container full. The largest bag, when I can find it, is about $22, and it will fill the container 4 or 5 times.

Oh...it does make them drink a lot of water too, which is very good for their urinary tract. I've used Iams for over 20 years, ever since I almost lost one to a severe/kidney bladder infection that was so bad, the vet said if she had been a male cat, he couldn't have saved her. The vet told me then to use either Iams or Science Diet, and at the time I could only find them at the pet store. Iams was cheaper and it went into the grocery store first, so I just stayed with it.

[vesta111]

Frank, my carpets are a dark hunter green, worse color other then black one can get with pets.

Even my indoor cats are sheding at this time and this becomes a labor of love to vacuum twice a day, not to mention the hair balls that even with store bought stuff to prevent hairballs just wont do the trick.

The puppy and the cats who are bigger then her play together for hours and it is a sight to see the Puppy dragging a 25 pound Maine Coon Cat around by the tail.   For some reason the big cats have not killed the Puppy, The cats in fact will start the trouble when they get board and walk up to the Pup and smack him on the nose to get her attention and then all hell breaks out, cat hair flying in the air and on every flat surface in the room, or rooms.

Pup will come across a cat sleeping on the carpet, throw herself on her back and nip at the cats ears, big cat will just bat back, no claws involved and for the next ten minutes the cat will be chasing the Pup about the house, flying over chairs tables and all are having much fun, no blood, some hissing a  bark or two, and when both go to their corners I have a mess of cat hair to clean up.

Fact of life, had I no pets, then in the winter sand and salt tracked in on peoples shoes, twice a day, so I would have to vacuum every day due to people

Anyway you put it, be it cats, dogs or humans there is allways something or someone to clean up after.  Try to think of this as a blessing Frank, you have life's that depends on you for their survival, they need you, and there is allways someone there to talk to so you will never be alone---And they will not nag you except for food., or a belly rub now and then, a head butt to say scratch my ears.