Fur balls and house plants!

[Fire Fox]

I have ordered a Furminator, and spied slicker brushes in TK Maxx, thanks all. 

[Kay and Penny]

mine love being slicked - even bag of bones Trigger - and it's great for getting down to the undercoat, though JaneyK's tip is a good one

[Fire Fox]

Is a slicker brush the one with all the little metal pin bristles? They look painful .... 

[Janeyk]

One thing I found was sometimes when I've brushed mine they bring furballs up the day after, I sussed this was because brushing loosens the fur.  So now I often give them a second brush later the same day to get any loosened fur out which didn't get in the brush/comb first time and that seems to help stop that.

[paola]

I had a long haired cat who used to bring up furballs quite often; something that helped was grooming her every day, and at the end of the grooming passing wet hands over her fur a few times - amazing how much fur gets stuck to your hands that otherwise would be swallowed by the cat when they groom themself. Also, don't forget to brush the belly...

[Kay and Penny]

slicker brushes remove the most hair

but it is more complex I think than just excess hair - I get tons more of Tiffany with a slicker than I do off Trigger, yet he brings up fur balls  regularly, and she has never brought up one

perhaps some cats swallow more hair than others

[Fire Fox]

  I have a Draceana marginata ... currently perched on a ledge in the bathroom but can't stay there as no window. Methinks it needs rehoming!

Noah gets groomed regularly but it's more for massage than anything as the mitt does not really catch much hair: will try to get a better mitt/ brush.

[catwomyn]

eek, just saw this.

Some Dracaena plants are toxic to cats. Dracaena marginata - Madagascar Dragon tree - is poisonous. We found out the hard way when my cat ate some leaves of one and got very sick and hospitalised. She was fine in the end, but had to spend a night in Kitty Hospital on a drip.

It's not on all toxic plant lists but our vet found out it was toxic, when we told him what the cat had eaten.

Same cat also ate fragments of conkers and got sick, she was very greedy and obviously not very bright...

please keep the dragon plants out of Noah's way!

[MrsR]

Start grooming daily if you don't already hun and if it is simply furballs from grooming you brushing will help.

[Kay and Penny]

you could see if you can find any coarse grass growing outside FF - mine like the sort that cuts you if you're not careful

or you could try wheat seeds - (a lot of cat grass is oat seeds) - I have bought them on E-Bay as they sprout very easily and grow very straight, which will let you cut them around two inches and offer them to Noah - stroked across his mouth may well encourage him to try them, and they need their greens if they're indoor only

[Fire Fox]

Thank you both: the plants are both Dracaena species, and not on the danger list, phew! I don't mind if I have to get a new plant, but I would mind needing a new Noah. There isn't anywhere to put the plants in the flat that Noah can't go ... I don't want to stop him coming into the bedroom, even if he does do circuits round the room and over my pillow whilst it is still dark!

Noah isn't able to go outside and eat normal grass so maybe I should try the cat grass again, maybe he didn't have any need for it before? I have just looked on the Defurrum website and it says for the protect and removal of furballs so maybe get some of that as well?

[Kay and Penny]

I have it in my head that  defurrem paste is for hair blockages in the bowel rather than the stomach - though the only time I used it it was licked off the finger with enthusiasm so is worth a try

Trigger brings up fur balls and often eats grass to aid their transit upwards  

he is much keener on coarse couch grass plucked from the hedgerows and my herbaceous borders (!) than the cat grass I grow in pots, though none of it is in good nick at this time of year

best keep all houseplants away from cats, I think, if only for the plants' sake

[Janeyk]

Regarding the houseplants, here is some info on house plants and cats and a list which are toxic to cats from our cat care guides section:

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,4805.0.html:

[Fire Fox]

A couple of times recently Noah has tried to eat my house plants in the middle of the night, and I am not sure they are safe for him so he is now shut out of the bedroom. A couple of weeks ago he threw up two furballs overnight but his appetite and toileting habits have been completely normal. I grew some cat grass when he first arrived but he showed no interest and it went mouldy - should I try this again or get some furball paste or do I need to take him to the vets?

I know he grooms a lot, and this from the behaviour guide struck a chord when he plays with the laser, tho not with the Dragonfly which he can catch!

"This kind of behaviour is known as a displacement activity and you can often observe it in cats (watch for the times that your cat seems to want to do something and is thwarted: they will often stop and perform a vigorous licking of their fur in mid-activity, this is obviously nothing to do with real grooming but may be an expression of frustration.)"


  as always for your responses.