You were kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me in the past and I was wondering if I could do a follow up- You are famous in our home - not just for being on Sirrius but also for making our cats happier after the dry to wet switch.

Question 1: Since we switched to wet food-after about a month – we did see a recurrence of hairballs - previously they were getting a Eukanuba product that supposedly was a hairball formula - and we did see fewer when they were eating that.  What should we do know to help with this - they are about 2 inches long - and occurring about weekly. I cannot determine which cat it is.

Question 2: We had a situation last summer - where we are away and had a cat sitter - all was well - but upon our return - the cats had peed on our 2 living room chairs and peed and pooped on our living room sofa. Obviously we got the message - now when we are away and even when we return for a few days - we leave the furniture covered in plastic sheeting. I am still wary of uncovering it- but is there anything else I can do? We used the Feliaway in the plug dispensers. Our 2 cats are a Siamese bluepoint mix - about 12 pounds each- litter mates.

Question 3: Teeth cleaning - is it necessary if the vet  advises it?

Thanks so much for your great tips and fun show!
Sigita C.

Dear Sigita,

Nice to hear from you again - I am honored to be a trusted Cat Advocate in your household and will always strive to live up to your confidence in my information and advice.

First the hairballs - as your cats' bodies get accustomed to the wet food, they will probably have less shedding and thus will be swallowing less hair. In order to get all that ingested hair through their system - rather than it coming back up - put a small pat of butter on their meal a couple of times a week. This will help ease it through their digestive tract - and is super delicious fro them too! I want to be sure you have removed ALL "kitty crack" from your house and that the cats are not being offered ANY dry food at all - that would undermine the good correct nutrition you are now offering them.

Secondly, the Pee Attack on the couch. Why did it happen in the first place?? I'd say that you didn't have a pet sitter come in at least once a day and clean the cat boxes very well. If the litter is not scooped minimum once a day and at preferably twice, some cats will get very picky about using them. Also, how many boxes do you have? As you may have read in THE CAT BIBLE, you need one per cat plus one for the house, for a total of three in your case. Otherwise, especially during the stress of your absence, "accidents" will happen. The biggest problem is that your couch now smells like urine to them so they are re-marking there. I want you to get the couch professionally steam cleaned and then order a box of large spray X-O Odor eliminator - it's linked on my website and the gal who sells it through the Internet is offering a 15% discount to my listeners she is so grateful fro the boost to her product! Once that couch is clean you must spray it all over - every inch of it - with X-O - after that it won't smell so inviting anymore!

So you need to reduce the stress of the cats when you go away by choosing a pet sitter they like who might even come twice a day - Siamese really need human company and interaction more than most other cats - and you have to forbid them from going in rooms with "furniture at risk" when you go out - because to relieve their stress they are relieving themselves inappropriately!

Thirdly, the teeth cleaning - please read the Q&A's posted on www.CatChatRadio.com on this subject and also look in the THE CAT BIBLE - dry food makes teeth dirtier, not cleaner, which is a myth promoted by dry cat food companies. How to keep teeth clean is covered in the book. But if a vet advises a teeth cleaning I would think it is needed – to avoid worsening the situation. This is done under anesthesia so it’s important to trust your vet’s opinion and his or her skills.

Good luck!
Tracie