Gag, gag, gag!

My, my, my! I cannot believe I let this one get by me yesterday. Perhaps it is because a specific date is not associated with its celebration but rather recognition being on the last Friday in April. Anyway, it is important since it pertains to our feline friends whom we love and adore as we make sure each is well taken care of. Even though a day of celebration is set aside, it's importance is awareness that definitely warrants merit and should be prevalent each and every day of the year!It is something that comes very naturally to cats and if they had the capability would definitely find the remedy!

The answer has to be here somewhere!

Question for You: Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night to a wet mushy feeling as something oozy squishes between your toes? If yes, then you have already been initiated, so...

The Last Friday in April is always...

National Hairball Awareness Day

  

The very nature of cats is to keep themselves and baby kittens groomed. In the process of preening, the collected hair must so somewhere. Gulp! Down the hatch! At some point in time, what went down must come back up. Hair accumulates in the cat's throat or stomach until it causes enough irritation to trigger a retching hacking sound...thus, here comes the hairball!

Cats clean their paws...

 Also getting between the toes

 When it comes to kitties, they even clean the nose

 

Then, gag, gag, gag - with all their might

What comes up - not a pretty sight!

Did you expect a picture of cat vomit complete with hairball? You can always Google it (haha). To minimize the amount of hair being swallowed, personal grooming invites human intervention...thus, the brushing!

Will you please brush the other direction?

Not all cats take to the brush very well. My experience with many cats is they either like it - love it! - or simply hate it. No in between. However, you want to make it a positive experience since it is a very important part of a cat's daily routine. Newborn kittens are groomed within inches of their lives by enthusiastic mother cats, and personal hygiene becomes ingrained ranking above everything except food. Look at it this way, every time a cat is brushed, the collected hair NEVER becomes a hairball!

With all these thoughts in mind, National Hairball Awareness Day is indeed a good thing! It is a time to consider the grooming challenges of our purr-fectly aristocratic pets. Being beautiful and regal comes naturally to felines, but lots of personal grooming is required to maintain that exquisite superior look.

A cat's own ferocious grooming causes ingestion of fur, and sooner or later, in a most unbecoming way, the haughty, dignified feline will hack up a hairball. National Hairball Awareness Day is an invitation to be aware and to practice preventative measures to help kitty through this nasty process. Practice regular grooming with a pet brush to reduce the amount of ingested fur, and offer a vet-recommended diet for hairball prevention. Be aware that occasional hairballs are to be expected, but frequent hairballs could indicate a problem.

Will I ever get through all this fur? Help, please.

YES! Bring on the soft, bristled brush and the grooming mitt...purr-r-r-r-r!

 

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