Check Out the Biggest Hairball You've Ever Seen

Think your cat has

problems? Be glad you don't have a tiger.When 17-year-old tiger Ty stopped eating, his keepers at

* knew something was wrong. But everyone was surprised to find out that the cause was not just any hairball, but a

. The obstruction had to be removed by surgery. “I’m just extremely thankful for the help Dr. Woodman, Dr. Reems and the staff at BluePearl provided,” said Vernon Yates, the founder of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation.

A Hairy Problem

Hairballs form when cats groom themselves and ingest a bit of hair at a time. Usually, this hair passes through their digestive system or gets coughed up. Sometimes, though, a hairball can get too big or too stuck, and medical attention will be needed. Find out the

.*What's a tiger doing getting rescued in Florida, you ask? Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation is a non-profit organization that helps Florida law enforcement with animals that have been seized, so Ty may have been an illegal pet.