Does Hairball Control Food Change Eating and Elimination Habits?

Question: Does Hairball Control Food Change Eating and Elimination Habits?

Answer: The Rest of Your Question:
I was wondering if you have any info on the new hair ball control food that is newly on the market. I have been using it on my five cats with good results as far as the elimination of hair balls - I only get a few now and then compared to A LOT before.

But what I would like to know is: does this food increase their elimination in the litter box more and does it make them eat more?? I ran out of the hair ball food one day and used regular food on them and I noticed a little bit of a difference - is it my imagination?? Please let me know what you think. Thank you for listening.

This is the kind of question I like to see posted in my forums, so more people can offer input. I do not personally have any experience with the hairball control food as my two cats have unique dietary needs due to medical problems (CRF and FIV). I've read both good and bad about the hairball food as far as its nutritional value. Basically, they just add fiber to a basic food forumula, so, yes, it would tend to increase elimination. If your cats are eating more of it than they would their regular food, it may be that the particular brand you're using doesn't have the same nutritional makeup.

Whole Cat Journal did an excellent article on hairball formulas in their December 2000 issue. Because it's a print newsletter, I can't reproduce it here, but their resident expert on cat food (a veterinarian) seemed to be skeptical about the value of these foods. First, they have not been tested long-term. (Iams tested for seven weeks and Eagle for 50 days. She said that too much fiber can cause irritation to the GI tract, and she adds, "I don't know if piling fiber into a cat under any circumstances is such a great idea. It draws fluid into the intestines and sets the cat up for increased risk of cystitis because of the necessarily higher concentration of the urine."

Truthfully, in my opinion, the best preventative for hairballs is brushing-- daily, if you can manage it. Our 14 YO Bubba is brushed every day regularly, and I can't remember when he last had a hairball. I know it's harder with 3 cats, but once you've brushed out all the excess hair, it only needs a couple of minutes a day, and it's a great opportunity to get in some "bonding time."If you'd like to take a whirl with the forum members on this subject, you can join at http://cats.about.com/mpboards.htm