cats - kidneys - hairball remedy

Question
HI - I have heard several times lately from Vets that hairballs are more rare than it may seem -   My cat is having the typical symptoms associated with a hairball and I have been giving a lot of Laxatone.  I have actually found hair in her vomit, so I'm pretty sure it is a hairball.  Two questions: 1) is giving a lot of mineral oil or petrolatum hard on a cat's kidneys - can it cause or increase risk for pancreatitis or other fat-oil-grease related illnesses and, 2) is mineral oil better than petolatum (which seems likely to me)?  Thank you, Wendy

Answer
Wendy,
You didn't state what was actually wrong with your cat. You say she is having the typical symptoms associated with a hairball. There are no symptoms unless you are talking about your cat vomiting. In that case, if she does indeed have a hairball, she will vomit once or twice a glob of hair and be done with it.

On the other hand, the kind of hairball your vet is talking about is a bezoar,
and these are rather large, indigestible balls of hair. They are indeed quite rare in animals, not so much in people.

When it comes to giving hairball treatments, all vets have a different opinion about it. Laxatone, which is made from petroleum and flavorings, is by far the most used treatment for the occasional hairball. Mineral oil is not recommended as it can cause a sever imbalance of B-vitamins. It can cause them to not be absorbed into the system. It will also cause diarrhea, which not the goal with hairballs.

So you can give a dab of straight petroleum, (Vaseline is what most people use) or laxatone. Another preventitive measure is to put your at risk cat on a food that helps with hairballs regularly, such as Hill's Hairball food. It is a complete and balanced diet made with extra fiber for hairball removal.
All of Hill's cat food have a measure of the same ingredient in them for the same reason, but for long hair cats the actual hairball food is better. My 5 yr old long-haired cat is on Senior and she never has an issue with hairballs. None of my cats ever have because they all have eaten Hill's foods and have lived a very, very long time.My Floyd was 19 when he died.

If your cat is vomiting more often than not, a work-up at the vets is in order to test her liver and kidney function.
Don't be fooled into thinking it's just hairballs when it might not be. So keep that in mind.