The hair balls are something specific for cats and the cat’s owners are familiar with them. It is common knowledge that they occur because the cats lick themselves to clean their fur coat and the hair they ingest becomes an oval shaped “ball†residing in their intestine.
The phenomena is more common to the cats with long fur but eventually all cats meet the problem at one point or the other. 
The hair balls are eliminated through cough or by throwing up but there are occasions when they can cause esophagus blockage and put the life of the cat in danger.
The problem cannot be fixed permanently but it can be ameliorated through several actions from the owner. The cat should be groomed regularly, more often for long coat cats, and after grooming their fur must be wiped with a wet cloth or wet hands to remove the rest of loose fur.
The food can influence the way cat eliminate the ingested fur. The owners should consider buying cat food that facilitates hair ball elimination through the cat’s feces.
The vet and only the vet can prescribe laxatives in case of emergency but you should know that under no circumstance should you give your cat treatment prescribed for humans.
