Gee, hope the hair ball has passed by now. Many good suggestions, (mineral oil, laxatone, cat grass, yougert...) Try differnt cat foods. We ended up using Purina hairball and weight mgnt. formula on our shorthair. Now we might only see a hairball when he is really stressed. If we are lucky, we see it before we step on it. The vet should also have good hairball products with no exam needed.

I also had a longhair cat that every once in a great while coughed up huge hairballs. Suprised one did not killer her, some were so big! Well, one day my mother was in the grooming and hair cuting mode and the cat walked by on a hot day. Mom gave the cat a quick hair cut thinking it would be cooler for her and it would grow back quick. Hahaha, it was cool for the cat ALL summer till she shed. This is the same cat that let my mother vacuum her very willingly. Cat had claws too.

best luck with the hair ball,