Our goofy girl Marlee!
A hairball is a solid mass of cat hair that forms in a cat's stomach or intestines over time as the result of their daily grooming habits. If large enough, they can cause an intestinal blockage. Most cats are susceptible to hairball problems due to compulsive, and sometimes excessive, grooming. Long-haired cats tend to have even more problems due to their thicker coats.
Simply speaking, hairballs are a digestive problem, and a cat's hair is basically just dead protein. This is where digestive enzymes can theoretically help. Basically, they work by breaking down protein and therefore should help your cat to effectively digest the hairball instead of having to cough the darn thing up.
Enzymes are marketed as a better solution to hairballs because they are a natural product already used in the body, and they do not result in the side-effects common in other hairball treatments and remedies such as laxatives and pastes.
Another way to help your cat is to develop a grooming routine of brushing regularly. I have noticed a remarkable improvement in frequency of hairball upchucks since I started brushing on a regular basis (approximately 2 times a week). Daily would probably be better, and I am going to try to get up to every other day at least. Finding the right brush was also very helpful. Most brushes do not seem to pull the dead hair out thoroughly, or they pull too much making for an unpleasant experience. We have found the Kong rubber bristle brushes get the most hair out while giving our cat a nice massage that she seems to really enjoy.
As for the enzymes, we have not used them in many years since starting the brushing routine, which I believe is a testament to how effective regular grooming is for preventing hairballs. It is also a much cheaper and easier option, as you only need buy the brush once and you don't have to figure out how to get your cat to eat the enzymes. But at least there are options to help our kitties out with this awful problem.
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