National Hairball Awareness Day

I am the perfect choice to present today's subject. I'm Rusty, and my coat is the floofiest - longest and thickest - of all the Funny Farmers. I'm also uncooperative and won't stay still when Jan tries to brush me. She wants to keep me from swallowing my hair and hacking up hairballs. I prefer to hack up hairballs in unexpected places. I'm a hack cat. Being obstinate is natural to me. Enough said.

We joined with Romeo and FURminator for National Hairball Awareness Day -  Friday, April 30 - with a badge in our sidebar through the month of April.

To observe the day, we'd like to give you a few facts on the cat: feline wellness, aging, instincts and the dreaded hairball! *Provided by FURminator, Inc.

Did you know?:

• When a cat coughs up a hairball, it is actually choking. This hacking can be dangerous and can cause death in some cases. Cats will over-groom themselves, especially in the spring during peak shedding season. To reduce the amount of hair ingested, and the corresponding hack that follows, many veterinarians recommend the FURminator deLuxe deShedding Tool for cats; it’s a safe, natural and holistic way to lessen the amount of hair cats ingest.

• Cats have primal instincts and the location of their water bowl can prove it. In the wild a cat would never drag its kill to a watering hole to eat and drink at the same time. House cats have inherited this same instinct. Owners should keep a cat’s water bowl in a separate location than their food bowl. Cats will drink more water (and this increase will help their system clean itself of ingested hair).

• A cat’s age can affect how they shed. As a kitten matures their coat changes in several ways - texture, thickness, curl and coloring. This transition may take up to two years depending on the breed. Once a kitten’s coat has matured they will begin to shed more by dropping their “kitten coat”. Consult with a veterinarian or groomer on when a cat’s grooming needs change.

• Keep cats active to stay healthy; they’re athletes at heart. A healthy cat can jump as much as seven times its height and yet 21 percent of cats are considered obese or overweight by their veterinarians. Interactive toys with feathers on the end will encourage cats to leap, stretch and stay active. Keeping cats active will help them maintain a healthy skin and coat, as well as increase balance and coordination.

Even though Jan has a mind like a sieve, she's still doing something right. She keeps our food and water bowls separate. We have one cat food bowl hemmed in on the dryer so the dogs can't reach it and one high on a shelf. The giant water bowls sit on the floor.   Now she knows why we drink more water than some cats do.  Of course, she'll forget why this is a good thing before breakfast, but our water bowls will still remain on the floor.  Because except for Buddy, the dogs do not climb on the furniture - we're not talking couch here, we mean desk or washing machine type furniture.

For those of you on Twitter, Romeo's human will be conducting a Twitter interview “twitterview” with FURminator’s cat expert, Dr. Arnold Plotnik at 12:00 p.m. EST on Friday the 30th.  If you can make it, tune in.  Dr. Plotnik's twitter handle is @thecatexpert and the Twitterview hashtag will be #NHAD.  And when you get a chance, stop by Dr. Plotnik's feline blog, Cat Man Do.

And if you haven't already voted for Tivi, please pop over and vote for his photo. You won't need to sign up or to vote daily. If you don't know Tivi or why we're voting for him, we have a post on this here.


Have a purring and tail wagging day.