My cat vomits a giant hairball every few weeks, then spirals into hours of vomiting. Has anyone dealt with this?
Looking for thoughts on my cat's recurring hairball/vomiting episodes and whether this sounds like "just hairballs" or something more.
My cat is a young adult cat (estimated around 1–2 years old from shelter/vet records). Since late 2024/early 2025 she has had chronic GI issues including soft stool. Multiple fecal tests have been negative for parasites. Bloodwork showed mild inflammation and mildly elevated ALT, but nothing strongly pointing toward cancer. The vet's working diagnosis was food-related colitis/chronic GI inflammation, and she was switched to Hill's z/d hydrolyzed diet. Her stool improved significantly on the hydrolyzed food.
However, she has another issue: recurring hairballs.
For months now, roughly every couple of weeks she will vomit up a large "log" hairball. Sometimes that's the end of it, but occasionally she seems to have a much bigger reaction afterward, aka throwing up more and more (liquid and pieces of hair).
A few days ago she vomited a large hairball, and then over the next ~12 hours vomited multiple additional times (about 5 episodes total). This also happened a couple of months ago, and I rushed her to the ER, but they didn't find anything obvious and I left without many answers. The vomit contained:
- Large hairball initially
- Hair + food
- Hair + liquid
- Additional hair pieces in later vomits
She was still alert, drinking water, urinating, and had a normal bowel movement during the episode. She became quieter than normal but was not hiding, collapsing, or unable to walk.
After the vomiting stopped, she went about 5+ hours without vomiting, started seeking attention again, jumping on the bed, playing with toys, checking her food bowl, and eventually eating a few kibbles.
The vet just recommended the following specifically for hairball management:
- Regular brushing
- Laxatone (hairball supplement/lubricant)
- Benefiber 1/8 teaspoon twice daily
One other potentially relevant piece of history: she has been on methimazole because previous veterinary records suggested hyperthyroidism. However, the vet I'm currently speaking with is somewhat skeptical and wants to review the records more closely because Nuggy appears quite young, and from what I've read hyperthyroidism is much more common in older cats. So I'm also trying to understand whether the hyperthyroidism diagnosis is truly confirmed or whether there could be some confusion in her prior records.
My questions are:
- Have any of you had cats that vomit a large hairball and then continue vomiting hair, food, and liquid for hours afterward?
- Does this sound consistent with severe hairball-related stomach irritation, or would you be pushing for more diagnostics (ultrasound, etc.)?
- Has anyone had success with Laxatone and/or Benefiber reducing these recurring hairball episodes? And is there any side effects I should know of?
- Is vomiting a large hairball every couple of weeks considered excessive, even in a cat that otherwise seems healthy?
- Has anyone had a younger cat diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and if so, was it ultimately confirmed with repeat testing?
I'm obviously following up with my vet, but I'm curious whether others with chronic hairball cats have seen a similar pattern.