National Hairball Awareness Day is an important occasion for all animal lovers, but especially cat owners. Since the evolution of the first cats over 6 million years ago, our feline companions have coughed up hairballs as a natural part of their hygiene.
National Hairball Awareness Day, observed on April 28 this year, occurs annually on the last Friday of April and seeks to raise awareness about the health and happiness of our pets. Hairballs, which are primarily a concern for cats, rabbits, and cattle, are a healthy part of animals’ regimens, but they can also indicate an underlying health issue. On this National Hairball Awareness Day, we have all the information you need to care for your pets.
National Hairball Awareness Day is an important occasion for all animal lovers, but especially cat owners. Since the evolution of the first cats over 6 million years ago, our feline companions have coughed up hairballs as a natural part of their hygiene.
A hairball is a small ball of hair that forms in the intestines of a cat. When cats groom themselves, the barbs on their tongues capture and swallow loose or dead hair. If any of this hair becomes lodged in the intestines, the cat will vomit it up in order to eliminate it from its system.
Around 7500 B.C., people in the Near East began domesticating cats as pets by bringing them into their homes, feeding them, and caring for them. Prior to this time, feral cats roamed the lands passing hairballs wherever they wished. No longer required to expend energy hunting for sustenance, cats could now live in opulence with every need met.
Approximately 4,000 years later, during the ancient Egyptian era, cats gained prominence due to the Egyptians’ belief in their divine qualities. Cats were revered and treated with great deference, similar to how we handle our feline companions today. Currently, 95 million cats are possessed in the United States alone. The National Museum of Health and Medicine established National Hairball Awareness Day in 2006 to remind cat owners to maintain their cats’ health and care for them properly.
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The largest hairball ever extracted from a cat weighed a staggering 7.4 ounces and measured 4.9 inches in diameter — that’s 1.9 inches larger than a Major League Baseball!
In order to regulate their body temperature, cats consume more hair during the milder months of spring and summer as their fur sheds more frequently.
Long-haired cat breeds, such as Persians and Maine Coons, are more likely to develop hairballs because their hair discharges and accumulates more frequently.
Any animal with fur, including humans, is capable of ingesting it, although rabbits and cows are most susceptible.
In contrast to their appellation, hairballs take on a tube-like shape as they travel through the oesophagus.
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | April 29 | Friday |
| 2023 | April 28 | Friday |
| 2024 | April 26 | Friday |
| 2025 | April 25 | Friday |
| 2026 | April 24 | Friday |
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