What Makes A Cat Food Hairball Control

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Hairballs—also known as trichobezoars (pronounced trike-oh-bee-zohrs)—are considered a normal quirk of being a true cat, just they say more about your cat'south digestive health than you might look.

Chronic hairballs occurring more than than once or twice a month are associated with poor nutrition and digestive problems. In this article, nosotros'll acquire nearly how hairballs relate to diet and which foods can help to lessen your cat'due south hairball bug.

At A Glance: Our Acme Picks For Best Cat Food For Hairball Command To Buy

Want a quick look at the products reviewed in this article? In the comparison tabular array below, we've highlighted some of the nigh important features of each product. You'll discover more detailed information most each production afterwards in the article.

Overall Best

x.0

Picked by 31 people today!

Smalls Cat Food

Fresh nutrient made with human-form ingredients
Real, loftier-quality creature protein
High in poly peptide and moisture, very low in carbs

Runner Up

9.8

Picked past 31 people today!

Are Hairballs Normal, And What Do They Have To Do With Diet?

Ingrid King, a veterinary journalist and creator of ConsciousCat.net, thought that regular hairballs were a normal occurrence until she saw the differences between her cats who were fed raw nutrient and those who ate vet-recommended kibble.

Her start true cat, Feebee, ate a vet-recommended dry cat food and hacked up hairballs a couple times a calendar week, despite regular doses of a petroleum-based hairball treatment. After learning more than about feline nutrition, Male monarch switched her two cats Amber and Buckley to a grain-free canned nutrition. After the transition, yakking up a hairball became a rare result.

And Ingrid's electric current cats, Allegra and Ruby? The two torties were raised on raw nutrient and, when Ingrid wrote on the topic in 2012, had never vomited a hairball.

This story might be a string of coincidences, but it might as well tell us something near the connection betwixt hairballs and digestive health.

Hairballs unremarkably pass through the intestines and leave your true cat'south torso through their stool. If this move is interrupted or delayed, the hairs may fuse together with fat in the stomach, forming a trichobezoar. Typically, this triggers retching, which forces the mass through the esophagus and up out of your cat'south mouth.

Once again, every time that a hairball "comes upward" in this manner, information technology's indicative of an bibelot in the digestive process. In a piece published in Veterinary Practise News, Dr. Gary D. Norsworthy, DVM makes the surprising assertion that:

"I am convinced that the vomiting of hairballs is a sign of chronic small bowel disease if information technology occurs twice a month or more than in any cat; or if it occurs once every two months or more in shorthaired cats; or if it occurs in cats that are not fastidious groomers, i.e., presented with many mats in their hair coats or with heavy dandruff."

In curt, a hairball one time a month or less is no reason for concern. Any more frequently suggests that something isn't right.

Practise Hairball Home Remedies And Supplements Really Piece of work?

Hairball treatments operate on i of two premises.

The start is the fiber theory, which dictates that cobweb supplementation helps to demark single strands of hair to food particles, which hasten them on their journey towards the colon and into the litter box. Call up that more fourth dimension spent in your cat's trunk translates to more opportunities for the hair to fuse into a hairball.
The 2d belief is that oils, waxes, or petroleum jelly lubricate the hairs and prevent them from fusing into a trichobezoar.

Pumpkin

Every bit a fiber source, pumpkin helps to conduct hairs through the trunk. Canned pureed pumpkin is the most pop fiber supplement for hairball-prone cats, but some use other fiber sources similar psyllium husk powder or coconut fiber.

Hairball-Specific Lubricants

These lubricants glaze the hair in the digestive tract, helping it to pass through the organisation. They're usually made from pharmaceutical-grade petroleum jelly, mineral oil, or a combination of the ii.

Butter And Oil

Instead of lubricating hairballs every bit some suggest, butter and oil are digested and absorbed by the body earlier they can have any outcome. Too much fat supplementation could bring your cat a whole new prepare of digestive problems.

Slippery Elm

This supplement lubricates the inner surfaces of the GI tract, helping to encourage hairballs to slide in the right direction.

Egg Yolks Or Egg Yolk Lecithin Supplements

Egg yolks contain two micronutrients that tin assist to minimize hairball problems. These are choline and lecithin. The choline component acetylcholine helps to increase contractions in the muscular layer of the GI tract, propelling food and hair down and out.

The other meaning micronutrient in egg yolk is lecithin, which emulsifies the fat that binds hairballs together.

Yous tin can provide these nutrients past adding egg yolks to your cat's food or by providing an egg yolk lecithin supplement. Remember to choose egg yolk lecithin rather than lecithin from other sources like sunflower or soy.

Qualities Of The Best Food For Hairballs

The Best True cat Nutrient For Hairballs Promotes Overall Digestive Wellness.

Knowing that hairballs tin can exist a symptom of digestive problems, feeding a cat with chronic hairballs is similar to feeding a cat with other symptoms of GI inflammation. Your goal is to give your cat food that's an organic match with their physiology. This ways feeding your carnivorous cat a diet consisting primarily of meat and as few plant ingredients as possible.

Hypoallergenic Foods May Help.

Like diarrhea or vomiting, hairballs are a sign of inflammation that may indicate food allergies. Consider switching to a limited-ingredient or hypoallergenic food that'south free from the potentially-allergenic ingredients your true cat eats most often.

Added Fiber Might Assistance.

Most foods sold for hairball control are high-cobweb products. Fiber additives assist food and hair movement through the GI tract.

While in that location'south evidence that boxy matter can aid in the feline digestive process, a daily regimen of pumpkin, beet pulp, and cellulose isn't necessarily what your true cat needs.

If your cat has been eating a typical commercial cat nutrient with ingredients like brewers yeast, wheat middlings, and dried beet pulp, they're already getting more than indigestible plant affair than any cat needs. Start by giving your cat an optimally-digestible diet. If the hairballs persist, and then you might endeavour adding a small corporeality of fiber.

In improver to performing our own qualitative analysis of the brands reviewed here, nosotros submitted samples for assay at an ISO 17025 certified food testing and analysis lab.

We bought the products at full retail cost, and the unabridged testing process was funded by All Most Cats without direct input or influence from the companies involved.

Belittling testing in a food chemistry lab gives us the exact macronutrient and micronutrient content of each recipe. The tests as well look at microbial content, yeast, mold, and heavy metals, helping you ensure that you lot're only putting the all-time in your cat'southward bowl.

To access the lab reports for each food reviewed here, click the "view lab study" link in the product review.

Top 5 All-time Cat Foods For Hairballs Reviewed

#ane Overall Best: Smalls True cat Food

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First 5 Ingredients: Chicken Thigh, Chicken Breast, Craven Liver, Dark-green Beans, Peas

Smalls is a fresh cat food commitment services that uses human-form ingredients including premium proteins like chicken, turkey, and fish. Choose from minced-way recipes or classic pate to provide your cat with protein-rich, low-carb true cat food formulated for cats in all life stages.

Though Smalls doesn't portion out your cat'due south meals for you, they do provide detailed feeding recommendations according to your true cat's calorie requirements. Each package of nutrient contains about 16 ounces of food with markings on the package at 50-calorie increments.

Smalls cat food is delivered frozen, then you'll demand to thaw the showtime package overnight in the refrigerator before feeding. Your subscription will be based on your cat's calorie needs, and you tin arrange it every bit needed past contacting the customer care team.

In addition to their fresh food, Smalls likewise offers a option of freeze-dried true cat foods, treats, and meal toppers. They also recently started selling millet and silica cat litter.

Featuring chicken thigh, breast, and liver as the tiptop three ingredients, this fresh food is packed with premium animal protein. Green beans, peas, and kale are the just carbohydrate ingredients and they are naturally grain-complimentary and rich in nutrients.

In addition to being high in protein and depression in carbohydrates, this formula is rich in wet which helps support digestion as well as healthy skin and coat. Overall, this minced chicken recipe is a high-quality source of balanced nutrition for cats in all life stages.

Ingredients:

Chicken Thigh, Chicken Breast, Craven Liver, Green Beans, Peas, Water sufficient for processing, Chicken Heart, Kale, Vegetable Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Bitartrate, Salt, Taurine, Magnesium Gluconate, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Gluconate, Ascorbic Acid, Copper Gluconate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Gluconate, Ferrous Gluconate, Niacin, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acrid, Selenium, Dried Kelp, Biotin, Vitamin B12.

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Poly peptide: 21.2%

Crude Fatty: viii.05%

Rough Fiber: 0.4%

Moisture: 66.1%

Ash: 2.25%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 62.54%

Fat: 23.75%

Cobweb: one.18%

Carbs: five.9%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 49.59%

Fat: 45.73%

Carbs: 4.68%

Why We Similar The Product:

Fresh food fabricated with homo-grade ingredients
Existent, high-quality animal poly peptide
High in protein and wet, very low in carbs
Boosts energy and supports skin and coat health

Why We Didn't Like The Product:

Not individually portioned for your cat
Limited protein options (craven, turkey, beef)

#2 Runner Up: Tiki Cat Koolina Luau Craven with Egg in Craven Consomme Grain-Gratuitous Canned Cat Nutrient Review

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First 5 Ingredients: Craven, Craven Broth, Sunflower Seed Oil, Dried Egg, Tricalcium Phosphate

This bare-bones recipe from Tiki Cat has several qualities that may aid your hairball-prone feline.

If your cat'south hairballs are caused past digestive issues, you lot might appreciate the simplicity and digestibility of this recipe. Unlike other foods that emphasize low-value plant protein, the recipe is all about the meat. Chicken takes center stage and dwarfs all other inclusions, offering a species-appropriate source of protein and nutrients.

Of class, chicken-based food always comes with a caveat. It'due south probably not a skillful choice for cats with suspected allergies and is out of the question for cats with a confirmed chicken allergy. Because it'southward so common in cat food, chicken is one of the top food allergens for cats.

Because this nutrient contains dried egg, it's a source of the choline and lecithin that help to forbid hairballs.

On the negative side, it's made with sunflower seed oil instead of animate being-sourced fats. Chicken fatty, fish oil, and other animal-sourced fats are optimally digestible for cats.

Ingredients:

Craven, Chicken Goop, Sunflower Seed Oil, Dried Egg, Tricalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Biotin, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Potassium Iodide, Folic Acrid, Vitamin K3 Supplement.

Guaranteed Assay

Crude Protein: 17%

Crude Fatty: 2.ix%

Moisture: 79%

Ash: 1%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 80.95%

Fatty: 13.81%

Carbs: 0.48%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: lxx.41%

Fatty: 29.17%

Carbs: 0.41%

Why We Like The Product:

Simple, highly-digestible recipe
Limited ingredient listing
Contains egg
Hydrating

Why We Didn't Similar The Product:

Contains plant-sourced fat
Expensive

#3 Value Selection: Nulo Freestyle Turkey & Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Canned Cat & Kitten Food Review

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Commencement 5 Ingredients: Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Liver, Turkey Broth, Tuna

Since chronic hairballs can point digestive bug, it's a practiced thought to cull foods with a positive reputation amongst cats with GI problems. This craven and turkey pate from Nulo has that kind of reputation.

Information technology's primarily made from turkey and chicken meat, along with tuna fish. This variety of protein sources might make this food a problematic pick for cats with allergies or sensitivities, merely for those who tin can handle it, this food does well in sense of taste tests and seems to soothe the digestive tract.

Along with pinches of other establish ingredients, the food contains pumpkin, which is a unremarkably-recommended treatment for hairballs.

Ingredients:

Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Liver, Turkey Goop, Tuna, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Agar Agar, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Cranberries, Pumpkin, Menhaden Fish Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols), Tomato, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Table salt, Iron Proteinate, Sodium Carbonate, Zinc Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin E Supplement, Magnesium Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acrid, Rosemary Extract.

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Poly peptide: 11%

Crude Fat: 6.5%

Crude Fiber: 0.75%

Moisture: 78%

Dry Affair Basis

Protein: fifty%

Fat: 29.55%

Cobweb: 3.41%

Carbs: 17.05%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 36.02%

Fat: 51.7%

Carbs: 12.28%

Why We Like The Product:

Hydrating canned food
Popular amongst cats with digestive issues
Contains pumpkin, which may help reduce hairballs
Less expensive than comparable foods

Why Nosotros Didn't Like The Product:

Contains some plant content
Multiple poly peptide sources

#4 Hound & Gatos Turkey & Turkey Liver Canned True cat Nutrient Review

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First 5 Ingredients: Turkey, Turkey Goop, Turkey Liver, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride

Because it'south built according to what the company calls a paleolithic feeding model, this food is peculiarly pop among cats with IBD and other digestive problems.

This limited-ingredient food is made with a single source of animal protein. Turkey isn't ane of the top allergens for cats and a skilful alternative to commonly-allergenic chicken.

The recipe is is one of the simplest on the market, containing turkey meat, organs, and goop, forth with binders and supplements. No fruits or vegetables were used in the making of this nutrient. For an obligate carnivore, this spells easy digestion and, hopefully, fewer hairballs.

While few reviewers contend the nutritional merit of this food, some say that the pate has a strange firm texture and that their cats didn't like eating it.

Ingredients:

Turkey, Turkey Broth, Turkey Liver, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Agar-Agar, Choline Chloride, Salmon Oil, Taurine, Salt, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Magnesium Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acrid.

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 10%

Crude Fat: 8.five%

Rough Cobweb: one%

Moisture: 78%

Ash: 2.5%

Dry Matter Basis

Poly peptide: 45.45%

Fat: 38.64%

Cobweb: 4.55%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: 32.63%

Fatty: 67.37%

Why Nosotros Like The Product:

Made from turkey, which is a skilful alternative to chicken
Free from commonly irritating ingredients
Limited ingredient list
Highly digestible

Why We Didn't Like The Product:

Some cats don't like the taste or texture
One of the most expensive foods on the market place

#v Stella & Chewy'southward Freeze-Stale Raw Admittedly Rabbit Dinner Morsels Cat Food Review

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First 5 Ingredients: Rabbit With Basis Bone, Olive Oil, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate Monobasic

Freeze-drying destroys pathogenic organisms without altering the nutritional and textural qualities of fresh raw meat, making this Stella and Chewy'due south recipe a highly-digestible option for cats.

The morsels are primarily composed of rabbit meat and basic. Since most cats don't eat rabbit on a regular basis, it'southward not one of the summit allergens and is unlikely to stir up whatever allergy problems.

It includes olive oil and pumpkin seed. These constitute-sourced ingredients aren't ideal for an obligate carnivore, but it's worth noting that pumpkin seeds are fiber-rich and may be able to help flush hairs through your cat'southward body.

The nutrient contains probiotics, which can improve overall digestive health. Handling, processing, and storage conditions could kill these microorganisms, then information technology's unclear how feasible they'll be past the fourth dimension they reach your true cat's food basin.

Ingredients:

Rabbit With Ground Bone, Rabbit Liver, Olive Oil, Pumpkin Seed, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Stale Ediococcus Acidilactici Fermentation Production, Stale Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Production, Dried Bifidobacterium Longum Fermentation Production, Stale Bacillus Coagulans Fermentation Product, Taurine, Tocopherols (Preservative), Dandelion, Dried Kelp, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Manganese Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 44%

Crude Fatty: 30%

Crude Cobweb: v%

Moisture: v%

Dry Matter Basis

Protein: 46.32%

Fat: 31.58%

Cobweb: 5.26%

Carbs: 16.84%

Caloric Weight Footing

Protein: 33.12%

Fatty: 54.84%

Carbs: 12.04%

Why We Like The Product:

Rabbit is a novel protein – ideal for allergic cats
Pumpkin seed may help minimize hairballs
Added probiotics
Highly digestible

Why We Didn't Like The Product:

Rehydration takes a few minutes

#6 Cardinal Turkey Formula Nuggets Grain-Free Raw Freeze-Dried Cat Nutrient Review

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Beginning 5 Ingredients: Turkey, Turkey Necks, Turkey Hearts, Turkey Livers, Organic Collard Greens

These freeze-dried nuggets are primarily composed of turkey muscle meat and organs. Turkey isn't a top allergen for cats, so it'southward a practiced alternative to chicken for cats who have a known or suspected nutrient allergy.

Because 96% of the protein in this recipe comes from animal sources, yous know that it'southward highly-digestible and nourishing for your cat. The food isn't all meat, though. It contains small amounts of organic collard greens, squash, celery, cranberries, and traces of other fruits and vegetables.

These depression-carbohydrate institute ingredients make the food nutritionally consummate in lieu of synthetic vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients:

Turkey, Turkey Necks, Turkey Hearts, Turkey Livers, Organic Collard Greens, Organic Squash, Organic Celery, Cranberries, Blueberries, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Sardine Oil, Taurine, Organic Quinoa Sprout Powder, Dried Organic Kelp, Organic Cilantro, Organic Coconut Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Organic Ginger, Vitamin E Supplement, Mixed Tocopherols (Natural Preservative).

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein: 48%

Crude Fat: 22%

Crude Fiber: 4%

Wet: 9%

Dry out Matter Ground

Protein: 52.75%

Fat: 24.xviii%

Fiber: 4.four%

Carbs: 18.68%

Caloric Weight Basis

Protein: twoscore.53%

Fat: 45.11%

Carbs: 14.35%

Why We Like The Product:

Limited ingredient food
Free from common allergens and irritants
Highly digestible

Why Nosotros Didn't Like The Product:

Demands rehydration
Contains some plant ingredients

Helpful Tips For Minimizing Hairballs

#1 Groom Your Cat Regularly.

Cats ingest hair during self-grooming, then 1 of the all-time ways to prevent hairballs is by brushing the hair off yourself. Instead of entering your true cat's GI tract where it will plow into a hairball, the hair will instead get straight into the trash.

Click Here For Our Guide To The Best Cat Brushes And Deshedding Tools

#ii Maintain A Salubrious Glaze To Prevent Excessive Shedding.

A vibrantly salubrious cat sheds less than their less-healthy counterpart. Hither are a few ways to keep your cat's coat stiff and good for you:

Place whatever food allergies or sensitivities and eliminate irritating ingredients.
Innovate an omega-three fatty acid supplement. Species-appropriate sources of omega-3s include krill, salmon, and other fish. Avoid flaxseed oil and other found-based sources of these fatty acids.
Feed a nourishing diet rich in beast-sourced protein.
Rule out any health conditions that could contribute to excessive shedding.

About the author

Mallory Crusta is a author and adventurecat enthusiast on a mission to make cats' lives extraordinary. She's one of the founders of Wildernesscat – a site for happy, healthy, and adventurous cats who are fueled by nature. Visit Wildernesscat for radically natural cat nutrition, home remedies, and lifestyle inspiration.