How Nutrition Can Help Manage Your Cat’s Hairballs

• Most cats are susceptible to hairballs due to continual ingestion of hair during regular self-grooming.
• Cat owners have told us that hairballs are one of their top concerns.
• According to IAMS™ consumer research, a number of cat owners and their cats have found hairball treatments to be an unpleasant experience.

IAMS nutritionists were looking for a way to control hairball formation while maintaining optimal feline health and well-being. They evaluated risk factors for hairball formation in cats fed diets that varied in fiber source and content.

• 98 cats were studied.
• Nine groups were fed test diets and three were fed control diets.
• The test-feeding period was six to seven weeks, following a five-week control-feeding period.
• Total cat-days of testing = 9,968.

Researchers found that feeding diets that contained a blend of beet pulp and cellulose was more effective at moving hair through the digestive tract, compared with the same diets containing beet pulp as the only fiber source.

• There was an 80% to 100% increase in fecal hair excretion with beet pulp/cellulose-blend diets, compared with the beet-pulp-only diet.
• By promoting the passage of hair ingested by the cat during normal self-grooming, an important risk factor for hairball formation is minimized.
• Hairballs were not evident in cats fed the beet pulp/cellulose-blend diets.

• The fiber system (blend of beet pulp/cellulose) gently moves hair through the gastrointestinal tract while maintaining healthy digestion.
• Beet pulp, a moderately fermentable fiber, promotes optimal intestinal health.
• Cellulose helps to enhance the passage of ingested hair.
• An optimal fatty acid ratio enhances skin and coat health, which decreases the likelihood of excessive shedding, a factor related to hairball formation.

• High-quality nutrition for adult cats
• Optimal protein and fat levels
• Higher fiber content due to added cellulose
• Excellent stool quality, skin and coat condition, and taurine status
• Great taste
• Similar acceptability and palatability test results as other IAMS adult formulas