Cat vomiting

Question
Hello,

I volunteer with a cat rescue group and one of the cats in our adoption center has been vomiting, and the vet said she has hairballs. Clearly she needs to be groomed more, got that.

The vet recommended a petroleum jelly kind of remedy but I don't feel so good about putting anything petroleum based on the inside of any body. Also, that and every hairball remedy I've found seems to imply a constipation problem, which is at the opposite end of the digestive system than the one showing the symptom (vomiting), so I'm not I exactly understand that.

Questions - Besides grooming, is there another way to approach treating a hairball problem other than encouraging elimination? In other words, is there a way to break up hairballs in the digestive system before it leads to a constipation problem?  If not, which do you think would be the best and safest: Salmon oil, coconut oil, Metamucil (can that actually cause a blockage if the cat doesn't drink enough water?), petroleum jelly stuff, or...?

I think that's more than one question, but it's kind of a big subject with a lot of mysteries!

Thank you for your time!

Lyn

Answer
Hairball treatment you can add pumpkin to the diet, start off slowly so 2 tsp per meal then increase. Olive oil in the diet also helps, I find cats fed a drier diet have more hairballs.
Nux vom (30cH) You can also add to the diet psyllium nigram husk can also be used in the diet all these help prevent hairballs but also aid absolute digestion.Also slippery elm at 1/6 tspoon daily.
Good luck keep me updated