The 6 Best Hairball Remedies for Cats of 2023

Amazon Tomlyn Laxatone Gel Hairball Control — Amazon

毛团块的部分消化的头发that occur when a cat grooms itself with their sandpaper-like tongue, creating a clump of dead hair that is expelled from their stomach by coughing and vomiting. Some cats can dispose of these hairballs with ease, while others need a bit of assistance. Certain mineral oils, petroleum jellies, and other products can be used safely to expel hairballs.

“When they can’t expel it, it can become really dangerous,” Cat Wellness and Behavior Expert Jackson Galaxy told The Spruce Pets. “Lubing up the system to help pass a hairball is the only predictable way to help in any way.”

Our favorite treatment for helping your cat pass hairballs is Tomlyn Laxatone Gel Hairball Control, which offers an inexpensive and delicious (for them anyway) method for reducing your cat’s hairballs and encouraging hair to pass through their digestive tract instead. The gel is easy to administer and can reduce problematic hairballs in just a few days.

Our Top Picks

Best Overall:

Tomlyn Laxatone Gel Hairball Control at Chewy

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Best Treats:

Greenies Feline SmartBites Hairball Control Cat Treats at Chewy

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Best Food:

Purina ONE +Plus Hairball Formula at Chewy

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Also Great:

Sentry Hairball Relief for Cats at Amazon

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Best Petroleum Alternative:

Nutri-Vet Cat Hairball Support Paw Gel at Chewy

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Best Brush:

Mars Coat King Boar Bristle Cat Hair Brush at Amazon

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In This Article

Our Picks
What Are Hairballs?
What to Look For
FAQ
Why Trust The Spruce Pets

Amazon

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What We Like

Simple Ingredients
Easy to administer
Laxative for easy hairball removal

What We Don't Like

Can be difficult getting your cat to ingest it

A great hairball remedy needs to allow your cat to be able to pass any ingested hair through their digestion system without hurting them. Tomlyn offers a simple-to-use but fantastic gel that when ingested by your cat, will help them clear out any serious hairball blockages.

Available in maple, tuna, or catnip flavors, you should give them half a teaspoon for two to three days to help with blockages. If the problem persists, you can give a quarter to half a teaspoon for two to three weeks. The easiest way to administer Tomlyn Laxatone is by applying it directly to the top of your cat’s paw, which they will subsequently lick off while grooming.

White Petrolatum is used in people to help dry or cracked skin, but when ingested by a cat it can act as a laxative. This gel can be used on kittens up to four weeks old and is safe for daily use. It also contains Omega-3, -6, and -9 Fatty Acids to help keep problematic hairballs away.

Price at time of publish: $11/2.5 ounces

_{Doses:½ teaspoon for two to three days|Primary Ingredients:White Petrolatum, Soybean Oil, Light Mineral Oil |Flavors:Tuna, Catnip, Maple |Sizes:2.5-, 4.5-ounces}

Amazon

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What We Like

Easy for your cat to eat
Prevents hairballs
Tasty chicken flavor

What We Don't Like

Only prevents hairballs that aren’t already problematic
Name change from “Hairball Control” to “Healthy Indoor” is a little confusing

Getting your cat to lick jelly might be a bit difficult, but a treat is always welcome. Greenies offer a unique chicken flavor treat that minimizes hairballs by supporting healthy digestion in your cat with beet pulp and cellulose. If a cat overlicks itself, the hair can accumulate in its stomach, causing major issues. These treats attempt to curb some of the hairy problems, allowing them to digest more easily.

Formerly called “Hairball Control,” Greenies has updated the name to “Healthy Indoor,” though it’s still the same formula—yes, we found it a little confusing too.

Price at time of publish: $6/4.6 ounce bag

_{Doses:一个治疗|Primary Ingredients:Chicken Meal, Animal Fat, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Wheat, Wheat Flour, Animal Plasma, Powdered Cellulose, Dried Plain Beet Pulp |Sizes:2.1-, 4.6-, 16-ounces}

Chewy

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What We Like

Includes real chicken as its first ingredient
Offers complete nutrition
Supplemented for a shinier coat

What We Don't Like

Only available in one flavor

Purine ONE offers a wide variety of foods (and often features on our roundups of the best cat foods), but this formula is high in fiber to improve digestion, so that your cat passes more of the material that would otherwise appear in the hairballs your cat throws up. Made with high-protein chicken, the fiber-rich formula promotes a healthy immune system and shiny coats.

Price at time of publish: $35/16-pound bag

_{Doses:⅓ to ¾ cup for a small-sized cat |Primary Ingredients:Chicken, corn gluten meal, brewers’ rice, Poultry By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat Preserved with Mixed-Tocopherols, Wheat Flour, Fish Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose |Flavors:Chicken | Sizes: 3.5-, 7-, 16-, 22-pound bags}

Amazon

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What We Like

Can be placed on paws to lick off
Helps relieve constipation and dry coughing
Lubricant-based gels

What We Don't Like

Can be difficult to administer

Lubricant-based gels are some of the most effective at solving your cat’s hairball problem. Sentry offers a unique Malt flavor formula that will help ease digestion, and cure constipation and dry coughing in your cat. Just apply it to your cat’s paws or have them lick it off when they clean to administer the medicine. To prevent hairballs, you can give them the formula once to twice a week. If your cat has a worse hairball problem that you want to eliminate, you can give them formula once a day. The paste is safe for cats four weeks and older.

Price at time of publish: $8

_{Doses:½ inch for every 4.4 pounds|Primary Ingredients:Mineral Oil, Petroleum|Flavors:Malt |Size:4.4 ounces}

Chewy

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What We Like

Cats can lick it off their paws
Uses natural oils
Chicken flavor

What We Don't Like

Can only be used for cats six weeks or older

Most hairball remedy pastes use petroleum jelly—sometimes called “petrolatum”—which is derived from fossil fuel hydrocarbons. Nutri-Vet Cat Hairball Support Paw Gel helps promote healthy skin while also helping hairballs move smoothly through your cat’s system. It’s simple to administer: just apply a quarter of a teaspoon on your cat’s paw once or twice a day, which they should be happy to lick up. The gel is made in the United States and also incorporates omega-3 fatty acids, which canenhance your cat’s coat.

Price at time of publish: $10

_{Doses:¼ teaspoon once or twice daily |Primary Ingredients:Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Soybean Oil, Corn Oil, Acid, Water, Xanthan Gum.|Flavors:Chicken, Salmon |Sizes:3-ounce tube}

Mars Coat King Boar Bristle Cat Hair Brush

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What We Like

Soft bristles that most cats will tolerate
Wood handle is comfortable to hold
Keeps coat smooth

What We Don't Like

Less effective for heavily matted fur

We tested 23 different cat hair brushes with real cats, and the Mars Coat King brush was our favorite. While slicker brushes and other dematting tools may be more effective at removing hair, the boar bristles on the Mars Coat King brush are soft enough that your cat won’t avoid the brush, making a brushing habit easier to maintain. Its birchwood handle is comfortable and easy to wield, which makes maintenance brushing easier on you too. By brushing your cat a few times a week, you can remove hair that might otherwise end up in their stomach, stopping hairballs before they form.

Price at time of publish: $13

_{Dimensions:7.25 x 1.25 x 2 inches| Weight:0.32 ounces| Material:Boar bristles, wood}

Final Verdict

Our favorite hairball remedy for most cats isTomlyn Laxatone Gel Hairball Control, an easy-to-administer laxative with multiple flavors. Just squirt a bit on your cat’s paws and let the gel get to work. Preventative maintenance of your cat’s coat is another helpful way to reduce hairballs. TheMars Coat King Boar Bristle Cat Hair Brushis soft enough for daily brushing, and will help keep your cat’s coat free of hairs, so that less ends up in their stomach.

Hairballs are partially digested hair that comes up through a cat’s mouth. A cat’s tongue is like sandpaper and when they lick themselves to groom, they stimulate oil production in their skin. The tongue also picks up pieces of dead hair, which is indigestible since it’s partially built of keratin. The hair can either pass through their digestive system and into the litter box, or it can come up through the mouth in the form of a hairball.

Common Active Ingredients

Most hairball remedies are strong laxatives that help a cat clean out their bowels. According to Galaxy, “they're all a combination of petroleum jelly and a lot of time, mineral oil and flavoring” and therefore all work according to a similar method—encouraging clumped hair to pass through your cat’s feces so your cat doesn’t have to cough it up. Some foods and treats help mitigate hairball creation by further easing digestion with omega fatty acids and other oils.

Serving Remedies to Your Cat

Getting your cat to take a laxative might prove difficult, but there are a few different methods. Since most are created with a flavor they enjoy, you can put some on your finger and have them lick it off. Another popular method is to apply the paste directly to your cat’s paw or nose, which will encourage them to clean off the substance with their tongue. You can also try mixing it into their food to try to trick them to ingest. You may also need to try an option other than a paste, such as a treat to tantalize their taste buds.

FAQ

Are hairball remedies safe?

Yes, most hairball remedies are safe. Different jellies or oils should just pass through your cat, allowing them to leave hairballs in their litter boxes.

This article was written bySteven Asarch, a freelance writer and product expert, for The Spruce. A devout cat dad of two, he has expert experience figuring out which products are perfect for them.

To get the best understanding of effective hairball remedies, he spoke to Jackson Galaxy, a cat expert who hosted the Animal Planet showMy Cat From Hellfor 11 seasons. He prioritized hairball remedies that helped stop the creation and aided digestion. He looked for hairball remedies that were a good value, tasty, and easy to administer.

Steven has previously analyzed testing data, tried out products at home, and provided recommendations for other categories of cat products, includingcatnip toys,wand toys,litter disposal systems, and also wrote anexhaustive list of the essentials you should have before welcoming a new kitten into your home.

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