Science Diet Cat Food Hairball
Anyone tried Science Diet Hairball Control Light?
In addition to being extremely furry, my cat is…portly. I always bought him hairball food (O.N.E Hairball) but it’s so fatty which doesn’t help his weight control. Science Diet makes a lighter version of their hairball control, has anyone tried it? I’m curious if it prevents hairballs while still being tasty for him. Thanks!
I have not and I don’t recommend it.
Hairball control food typically has inferior ingredients. Science Diet in particular, in spite of its undeserved reputation, also has bad ingredients. One thing they do in hairball food is to increase the fiber, and that isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Diet cat food is also a joke. They may manage to bring the calories down, but they do it by adding a bunch of filler to the food. You don’t see good ingredients.
If kitty has hairballs, you’re better off grooming frequently (this is the key), treating with hairball remedies if needed, and possibly adding fish oil to the diet (not cod liver oil). According to my wonderful new vet, the oil will help with hairballs although the details of how have escaped me. Grooming will obviously cut down on the hair going in.
For weightloss, there’s a much better plan.
From my blog:
In a nutshell, most cats are fat because they’ve been fed too much (free-feeding or indulging them) and because they’re fed dry food which is NOT appropriate food for them due to the grain/carb/sugar content. Cats are obligate carnivores who need to eat a high meat-based protein diet, which is also high in fats and low in carbs.
Many vets, who are sadly ignorant on the topic of proper cat nutrition, will recommend prescription diet foods (usually dry). Cats are expected to lose weight on a starvation diet of 1/4 or 1/3 cup of food per day. Everyone is miserable in these situations.
The solution is to switch the fat cat (and any others in the household as well) to a good quality canned food. Because these foods are species appropriate, the cat will lose weight at a safe, slow pace (no more than 1 pound per month). Switching foods needs to occur slowly, and if you’re trying to get a kibble junkie to eat canned food, that will happen naturally.
How much should cats eat?
This varies. Average cats may eat between 20-30 calories per pound per day. But note that that is IDEAL pounds. Using 25 calories per day for example, an 8 pound cat could eat 200 calories per day. By the same token, a cat who weighs 20 pounds but should weigh 10 could eat 250 calories per day. You multiply the ideal weight by the calories to arrive at that figure. When working toward weight loss, it’s perhaps best to start at the lower end of the scale (20).
How do I find out how many calories are in cat food? See the link “Values in canned food.” If it’s not listed there, you’d need to contact the manufacturer…..I believe that link provides some help there as well.
That’s it. Easy as pie. Not only will fat cats lose weight, but it and any others in the home will reap many benefits of eating a speciies appropriate diet.
See the links below for detailed information on this topic.
UPDATE: Poppy lost 5 pounds and Sophie lost 2 following this plan (from October to October). Each cat gets one can (5.5oz) of Nature’s Variety Instincts per day. No one is starving or miserable. My vet is happy with her progress and so am I. Only 4 pounds to go!