| UNDERSTANDING Hairballs |  | Cats swallow small amounts of hair when they groom themselves. Most of this ingested hair passes through their systems undetected. Sometimes, however, the hair accumulates with fat in the stomach until the resulting hairball becomes too big to pass through the system. This triggers a vomiting reflex, allowing the stomach to expel the hairball.
What are the signs?
At one time or another in their lives, nearly all cats get hairballs, which can cause them great discomfort. Signs that your cat may be suffering from hairballs include:
 | Gagging | | Deep, dry coughing, with muted sounds coming from the nose and throat | | Occasional vomiting | | Weight loss, or even a complete loss of appetite | | Constipation | | Regurgitation of undigested food right after it is eaten | | | |
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