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Hairballs, also known as furballs, are very common problems in cats, particularly the longhaired breeds. They are an inevitable consequence of a cat's cleanliness. About 80 percent of cat owners report that their cats vomit furballs on a monthly basis.

Fur is very hard to digest. Usually it passes into the intestine if it doesn't first mat in the stomach. When fur mats in the stomach, it can fill this organ, causing food to be displaced. Because furballs are too large to pass into the small intestine, they are generally vomited up.

Have you ever looked at your cat's tongue? The top of a cat's tongue contains numerous hard barbs or spikes that point backward into the throat. These spikes are great for cleaning and grooming themselves; however, due to the direction of these spikes, the only way to get the fur off the tongue is to swallow it. Normally the non-digestible hair passes through the stomach into the intestines and is expelled in the cat's feces. Problems occur when the swallowed hair combines with fat (and sometimes food) forming a dense "hair ball" that usually stays in the stomach because of its size.

Hairballs are actually one of the most common reasons why cats vomit. The hacking or retching that you hear is the cat trying to vomit up the furballs. While it is normal for a cat to have them occasionally, large hairballs can be dangerous. Fortunately, most hairballs are eventually "coughed up" before they pass into the intestines and cause a serious digestive tract obstruction.

To reduce the frequency of hairballs, you should regularly comb or brush your cat. Long-haired cats and cats with thick coats particularly benefit from regular combing. In order for hairballs to pass more easily into the stool, an occasional dose of an oral lubricating agent is recommended.

For cats that are particularly prone to furballs, special high fiber diets are available. The extra fiber in these diets help move the excess fur through the cat's digestive system. The most up-to-date dietary technology uses a natural soy lecithin emulsifier in combination with fiber. The combined action of the emulsifier and fiber helps break down existing hairballs and allows them to pass more easily through the cat's digestive tract.

Being imaginative creatures, cats love to play with a variety of string-like objects. Shoelaces, sewing thread, ribbon, yarn and dental floss are most popular, but cats also find great pleasure in playing with curtain pulls, fishing line, rubber bands, and all forms of string. Unfortunately, cats are prone to swallowing these homemade toys and are faced with the potentially fatal consequence of what is medically termed a "linear foreign body".

Unless the object balls up, the digestive tract has a hard time moving along string-like object through its system, especially if one end is wrapped around the base of the tongue. The stretched out linear object causes the intestine to bunch up in a wavy accordion shape while it attempts to move the object out of the cat. However, the end of the "string" makes this impossible because it is anchored by the tongue or is moving more slowly.

As the intestine continues to pull on one end of the string, the string becomes tense, like the rope in a tug-of-war. This increasing tension causes the string to 'saw' through the intestines with fatal complications if not surgically removed in a timely fashion. Obviously, the earlier the surgery, the better the outcome.

Signs of a 'linear foreign body' can include gagging, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, lethargy, a painful abdomen, and perhaps a fever. You might even see a string-like object protruding from your cat's rectum or mouth. Call your veterinarian immediately. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to pull the object out. You will only be jeopardizing your cat's health.

Despite the dangers posed by string and string-like objects, this is a fairly rare problem. Most cats can live long and healthy lives playing with these types of things, since most pass without hanging up and damaging the intestines. However, the best prevention is to eliminate as many linear objects as possible from your cat's environment, especially loose objects that aren't attached to anything. Why take the risk?

Maintaining Digestive System Health

Maintaining a healthy digestive system is very important to your cat's overall health. Here are some easy things you can do to keep the digestive system as healthy as possible:

• Keep your cat free from intestinal parasites such as worms. Have your veterinarian perform routine fecal examinations.
• Feed a high quality, highly digestible diet.
• If hair balls are a persistent problem, feed a hairball-control formula diet.
• If giving snacks or treats, make sure they are not more than 5 percent of the total diet.
• Avoid feeding fatty snacks that can upset the digestive system.
• Don't tempt your cat by placing 'goodies' (especially chocolate) in easily accessible areas of the house during the holidays.
• Keep your cat's environment free of 'string-like' objects.
• If you suspect your cat may have a linear foreign body, do not delay in seeking veterinary care.

Children should help with the responsibilities and tasks that are associated with having a pet. As adults though, we need to remember that children are children and adolescents are adolescents. It's very important to assign tasks that are appropriate with the child's age.

Here are some of the things you can expect

Toddlers - A toddler can help parents with pet care simply by being involved — "helping" a parent fill food and water dishes, grooming, going with parents to take the pet for a walk, or to the veterinarian. The toddler and young child can accompany the parent when he or she purchases the food, grooming supplies and other essential elements involved in pet care. The toddler can also give the dog a treat for good behavior, i.e. gets in bed or crate before family leaves the house. This special job is rewarding and enjoyable for both the dog and the toddler.

The 5-7 Year Old - The children in this age group are capable of doing some of the tasks above (feeding, watering, grooming) without parental help. Don't assume that children will automatically assume these responsibilities and that they will always remember to do them. Very often, a nice friendly reminder from mom or dad is required.

The 8-12 Year Old - At this age, a child can feed, water and play with the pet alone (depending on the pet's temperament and area for exercising). Parents still need to supervise children in this age group for some tasks, like walking the dog. Before a child is 10-12 it's not advised that they walk a dog without adult supervision.

Teenagers - Depending on your teen's maturity, you can sometimes allow him/her to take full responsibility for the pet, including feeding, cleaning up after, driving to the vet and exercising the pet. Allowing the teen to take the dog to obedience classes can also be a good activity for both of them.

With warmer weather approaching, plenty of pet owners are thinking of getting into shape before hitting the beach. But what about pets? Obesity is a growing problem among both cats and dogs. And much like humans, too many extra pounds can have far-reaching consequences for our animal companions. In this report from the Veterinary News Network, Dr. Jim Humphries discusses the health problems that can occur if your pet is overweight and shares tips on how you can get your pet's weight under control.

Most people think that when a dog licks their face, the dog is giving kisses. In fact, dogs do not kiss. Although face licking can reasonably be interpreted as a compliment, it is not kissing as we understand it. Many dogs will lick whatever they can get their tongues on; hands, feet, faces, elbows and ears. In order to have a better understanding of the differences between what we consider kissing and our dogs consider licking, we need to know why dogs lick.

Types of Licking

Licking is seen first in the mother-infant situation when a bitch grooms her pups after birth. This helps clean the pups and also stimulates their breathing. This continues into puppyhood; the mother's licking not only cleans the pups but encourages them to eliminate. Human mothers bathe their infants and change diapers because they care, but no one would confuse the act of bathing or changing diapers with kissing. Because dogs can manipulate things better with their mouths than with their paws, it makes sense for them to use their tongues when it comes to cleaning. As a veterinary behaviorist so eloquently put it, a tongue is a dog's toilet paper.

Pups eventually groom themselves and also engage in a certain amount of grooming other dogs. Called allogrooming, this is a care-giving behavior that enhances bonding between individuals. It's very satisfying for dogs to have a buddy help out with those hard-to-reach places, and reciprocation increases the likelihood of future interactions. Allogrooming appears to be a gesture of goodwill and appeasement. It could be classified, along with rolling over and urination, as a sign of submission. Humans and other primates also groom and massage each other by way of pleasurable exchange. The significance of this behavior is similar, denoting friendly intentions and serving as a mechanism for reducing stress.

Pups lick their mother's face around the time they are making the transition from milk to solid food. This face licking is part of a greeting ritual in the wild when a bitch returns from hunting with a belly full of food. The purpose of face licking in this context is to get mom to regurgitate partly-digested stomach contents for the pups' dining pleasure. This type of face licking still occurs in domestic dogs, sometimes with the same result.

Another form of licking that dogs display is licking their own lips. Initially, this behavior may have evolved for the purpose of cleaning their lips after eating, but it now serves as an indicator of stress. It is similar to lip-biting in humans. Lip licking decreases as pups gain in confidence and feel more comfortable with their surroundings, but it doesn't disappear entirely, even in adult dogs. You might see a dog nervously licking his lips as he ponders his fate in a veterinary office.

Many animal scientists characterize face licking as submissive behavior. This is because face licking, like lip licking, is exhibited by dogs in situations of stress or conflict. Face licking is likely to occur when a subordinate dog has summoned up enough courage to approach a more dominant one. This brings up a possible parallel between face licking by dogs and kissing in non-human primates. Apparently, kissing is a common greeting behavior expressed when a subordinate chimpanzee greets a more dominant one. The dominant chimp may, in return, also kiss the subordinate during such meetings, though kissing by the more dominant chimp is only about half as likely. Could it be that when your dog greets you at the door with wagging tail and licks your face as you kneel to say "Hi" that he is actually acknowledging you as his leader?

Prevention of Unwanted Licking Behavior

Although some face licking is tolerable, "no lick" is a useful command to master. It should be incorporated into the training of all dogs that lick their owners excessively, preferably from an early age. No punishment should be employed during training; in fact, punishment is totally inappropriate and will teach the dog nothing except how to avoid the punishment. It is far better to reward the behavior that you want to promote. This can be achieved using a voice cue, "no lick", patient, motionless waiting on the part of the owner, and a valued reward (a treat, perhaps), delivered instantaneously, for stopping licking. If the licking continues, a veterinary behaviorist can be contacted to help provide additional recommendations.

While many of us enjoy our dog's "kisses", it is important to remember that what humans define as a voluntary act of affection may not be a dog's intention. Licking, in general, is harmless and can be considered normal dog-to-owner behavior. If the licking becomes obsessive, training your dog to only lick on command is a reasonable way to curb the unwanted behavior. Once a dog has been taught when licking is appropriate and how much is tolerated, receiving "kisses" from your dog is more appreciated. Understanding the behavior behind your dog's actions can only help you strengthen the bond between both of you.