Tired of cleaning up hairballs? Add some fiber to your cat's diet.

A little bit of canned pumpkin -- plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling -- added to your pet's regular meals will help the fur ingested by grooming to pass through the digestive system, instead of being thrown up onto your carpets. Combine it with canned food for palatability, or mix it with a little water from canned tuna or clams.

Regular combing and brushing also helps, especially if your pet has long hair. The fur you catch when grooming your cat won't end up as a hairball, or as hair you'll be cleaning off your clothes.

Canned pumpkin has an advantage over oil-based hairball remedies: Overusing the latter can decrease the absorption of some essential nutrients.