Best Cat Food For Hairballs In 2023 | Buyer’s Guide & Review

Updated: November 30, 2023 by CanCat Eat

Best cat food for hairballs and sensitive stomach: Yaak! Hairball. It’s an awful stench. You also feel the same. It is not a pleasant experience, either for your cat or for you. Because you have to clear up the mess. Cats swallow too much fur while grooming. They will throw up a hairball. A good hairball-preventing cat food will help your cat pass hair through the digestive system.

There are many brands that promise to solve hairball problems but don’t deliver on their promise. We have found a few healthy, high-protein fiber blend foods that will help your cat with hairballs.

We’re one of the only sites out there dedicated to buying cat food and thoroughly testing and reviewing it. And then making recommendations based on our experience with the cat food. You can find out more about us on our page.

Cat food made with dietary fiber and enough moisture is best for hairballs.

Many cat owners miss an important point. Would you replace high-fiber food with high-protein cat food? We also need to take care of the protein content of food when choosing the best hairball food for cats.

With our research and knowledge, we have made a list of the best cat food for hairballs. Check out our list below, which recommends cat food according to your cat’s needs and gives the best overall choice, Purina One Hairball Formula.

Best Cat Food For Hairballs Preventing Comparison

A recommendation for cat owners who feed dry cat food, consider providing a freshwater source to your cat. Dry food is not bad by any means. You should go for wet cat foods if your cat doesn’t drink much water. According to our research and experience with our cats, adequate moisture combined with dietary fiber is also necessary to prevent hairballs.

Note: Protein is important in the cat’s diet. We should never replace protein in cat food when choosing hairball cat food.

Top Picks By Category

Best Overall: Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control Canned Food

“Contains real chicken and is made with a natural fiber blend.”

Best For Indoor Cats:  Royal Canin Hairball Dry Cat Food

“Made with a unique fiber blend, especially for indoor cats.”

High Protein: Purina One Hairball Formula Dry Food

“Premium-quality cat food made with 34% protein and a special fiber blend.”

Affordable: Blue Buffalo Hairball Control Dry Food

“Little cheaper than other options listed here and contains no corn, no wheat, and no soy.”

Best Cat Food For Hairballs Prevention

Let’s look at our top picks for the best hairball food. Each food we have listed is high-protein with a dietary fiber blend that also provides enough moisture. These foods are a good replacement for your cat’s current diet. They contain all the other health benefits that you can normally get from other good-quality cat foods.

Sometimes, affording hairball cat food may get expensive. It is the main concern for many of us. So, we have done our research and found healthy hairball cat food in a few different price ranges. You will also find a cheaper option in our list, which also provides the same benefit with a high protein content.

Unlike any other medical formula, we feed our cats hairball food every other meal instead of every meal. You can try this approach to balance cost and effectiveness.

We always recommend that you do your research well when choosing medical cat food. Below, you will find our recommended best hairball cat food that is going to help pass hairballs through your cat’s digestive system safely.

Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control Canned Food

Hill’s Science Diet is one of our favorite cat foods. This food is recommended for adult cats from 1 to 6 years old.

The Science Diet Hairball Control Formula is made with all the important ingredients to reduce hairballs while also benefiting a cat’s urinary health. This food has a balanced amount of dietary fiber to pass hairballs through the cat’s system.

Why was this food on our list? It is made with natural ingredients and contains taurine for your cat’s overall health, vision, and heart function.

Royal Canin provides quality cat food. It is made with no artificial flavor or preservatives. We must say, it has a good mix of vitamins, minerals, and taurine.

We recommend you go for this food if you are looking for wet cat food for a hairball presentation. Hill’s Science is the #1 veterinarian-recommended brand; this is a good enough reason to consider this food.

Still, any doubt left, read the reviews from the above, and look at the opinions of our cat owners and success stories.

Royal Canin Hairball Dry Cat Food

We have Royal Canin. It is a reputed brand that delivers what it promises. We like this food because it is healthy high protein at the same time prevents hairball. This food is appropriate to feed adult cats (ages 1 to 10).

Cats get hairballs while they groom themselves. Here, Royal Canin plays a good role in preventing hairball with a variety of fiber-designed food. This formula helps the fur move through the cat’s digestive system easily.

Why do we recommend this food? Royal Canin made this formula specifically to prevent hairball while keeping other health benefits. This food helps to naturally reduce hairballs with the unique fiber blend. Same time it provides a balanced diet and all the nutrition your cats need daily.

It has a good kibble texture which promotes dental health.

The amount of protein content of any Royal Canin food is pretty reasonable. This food contains 32% minimum protein, which seems a good amount for an indoor cat.

If you are looking for a good brand of cat food for a hairball. You should try this food once. As per our experience, you will see the experience within weeks. We are not the only one who likes this food. Reviewers noted this food best for hairball prevention. Read the full review by clicking on the button above.

Purina One Hairball Formula Dry Food

This is another good hairball cat food, we recommend going to for. This cat food is for adult cats from 1 year of age.

Like any other healthy cat food listed here, this cat food is made with a natural fiber blend. But, what makes this food so special? It is made with 100% balanced nutrition with vitamins, minerals, taurine, and omega. So, you are getting all the health, you get from premium cat food.

This is the only hairball premium cat food that offers all other health benefits for a happy lifestyle. Also, provide real chicken as the first ingredient.

Purina One Hairball Formula is made with real chicken as the first ingredient. All the ingredients are in the food chosen for a specific purpose and benefit for your cat’s overall health. We have found no filler ingredient in this food.

The crunchy texture of this food is good for cats’ dental health and clears their teeth. In many health treatments cat food is not that tasty. This food has added enticement to make your cat enjoy this food. This is a plus point.

If you are looking for a premium cat food that provides all the health benefits to your cat with hairball prevention. This is the cat food for you. The price of this food is affordable compared to the other foods.

Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control Dry Food

This is another food from Hill’s Science Diet. This food is made of natural fiber to stop hair and contains high-quality protein to maintain a healthy weight. Unlike the previous Hill’s Science cat food, this is specifically made with Hairballs.

Why do we recommend this food? Along with a natural fiber blend for the hairball, it also contains all the natural ingredients cats need in their diet. It has Omega 6, and Vitamin E to work together to improve skin and coat.

This cat food is made with a proven antioxidant and vitamin blend for a healthy immune system. You will find food in wet food also.

We love this food for containing no artificial color and preservatives. Reviewers note this is best for cats with hairballs. So, we are not the only one who loves this food. You read the review from the button above.

Blue Buffalo Hairball Control Recipe Dry

Next, we have blue buffalo hairball dry cat food. This brand is popular for its natural ingredients and quality protein content.

This is an adult food (above 1 year) made with deboned chicken as the first ingredient. And, it contains no meat by-products. This is a good sign. We recommend going to a high-protein cat food while choosing a health treatment food for your cats.

This food is made with all the natural ingredients (branded as life source bit). It means the kibble is enhanced with antioxidant-rich ingredients and a unique blend of vitamins, and minerals to support the immune system and overall health.

You get all other important nutrients in this food like taurine, omega fatty oil, and dietary fiber to prevent hairball. This food is also good for maintaining healthy muscle as it is made with lean chicken.

This is a good option for cat owners who are looking for natural cat food for their cats. The reviewer mentioned this cat food is best suited for indoor cats.

Iams ProActive Health Hairball Care

This is one of our favorite cat foods for hairballs. Iams made this food taking care of hairball and healthy weight. It is made with real chicken ingredients with a balanced fiber blend to pass hairballs from cats’ digestive system.

We have already discussed this brand before.

This is recommended cat food for hairball prevention and maintaining a healthy weight. Why? Because, this formula is specifically made to maintain a healthy weight, and reduce hairball and litter box odors.

This is a dry cat food made for cats above 1 year, best for maintaining a healthy weight same time preventing hairball.

It has a huge positive review, The Reviewer rated this food 4.7 out of 5. This is the best cat food we’ve found offering a hairball solution with healthy weight formula.

Best Cat Food for Hairballs Buyer’s Guide

A high-fiber blend of cat food will help to control hairball problems. But, there are some factors you should consider before buying it. We made this guide with our experience with our cat is going to help you as well. Before going to that, let’s find out find your cat has a hairball.

What Causes Hairball in Cats?

Hairball in cats is abnormal, except if it happens occasionally. Breeds such as Persian or Ragdoll are long-haired so their grooming time is high. While grooming most cats ingest the fur and it accumulates in the cat’s stomach. As you know hair won’t be digested causing indigestion and ends up as a hairball in a cat’s bowl or vomit. It is a situation where the cat’s digestive system has been compromised and won’t work efficiently.

You will not notice your kitten having hairballs. But, as get grow up, they will develop hairballs. Hairball is quite normal for older cats. They are more adept at grooming themselves. They lose more dead fur from their coat with their tongues. Mean you have to clear more hairball.

All cats groom and ingest fur. Normally, fur passes through the cat’s digestive system. Sometimes fur gets stuck inside the cat’s stomach creating a layer or ball of hair. This can be very dangerous. The cat will vomit it out.

Symptoms of Hairball in Cats

It is not a pleasant experience to watch your cat eliminate a hairball. There is some common system of a hairball, you may notice like hacking, gagging, and retching. Your cat will vomit the hairball in a short period of time.

If you have noticed any of the following symptoms. We advise you to contact your veterinarian. They are the only person can tell you if that hairball is any potential threat to your cat’s life.

• Vomiting
• Nonstop gaggling, hacking, and retching either with hairball produce or without
• Lack of appetite
• Lethargy
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Less Vitamin C

In most cases, moving to optimal fiber blend cat food like lemon helps to pass hairball through the cat’s digestive system easily.

We will talk about it more in detail below. Some effective remedies that you could add with cat food to avoid hairball.

What to Consider When Buying Food for Hairball Control?

Picking the best food for your cat is very important for their overall health. This is a very important task for us as cat owners. While choosing cat food, we look for a high-protein food that provides other important ingredients for a cat’s healthy lifestyle.

While finding the best hairball control cat food, we also need to look for a high protein cat food that also provides a good fiber blend. This guide mentioned all the important ingredients to look for when choosing a hairball-preventing food.

What are The Important Ingredients to Considers in Hairball Food?

There are a few important ingredients we need to look for while choosing the best hairball food for cats. Here, the listed ingredient is important for hairball control and also for your overall cat’s health.

Fiber

Fiber is the easiest and most effective way to prevent hairballs in cats. There are different types of fiber that can help to pass hair through the cat’s digestive system. There is a very simple way to add fiber to your cat’s diet. You can mix canned pumpkin to your current diet.

There are many hairball cat foods available that have added fiber to their formula. Transitioning to one of these foods will help to prevent hairball.

Omega Fatty Oil

A good hairball-preventing formula should contain omega fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6). Fatty acid benefits healthy skin and coat and same time provide nutrient to keep your cat healthy.

Protein Content

Cats are carnivores. High-quality protein is important in their diet. So, you should not compromise on protein content while choosing a hairball control food for your cat. A good cat food brand never replaces protein with high fiber content.

A good hairball food provides balanced nutrition for your cat’s overall health. Also, provides natural fiber to prevent hairball. You should choose a food low in carbs, not a food that is low in protein content.

Grain / Grain Free

The grain is not always a bad thing for cats. And, not all cat needs a grain-free diet. You should consult with your vet to know if your cat requires a grain-free diet. But, you already know that your cat is sensitive toward grain. Then, you should go for a grain-free option. Grain-free cat food is good for sensitive stomachs.

You should avoid grains for kittens or young cats. Because their digestive system is not ready to process these ingredients. You can choose a suitable grain-free cat food for them.

Antioxidant

Fresh veggies, fruits like mango, and fiber-rich grains also help cat food be digested easily, as they are rich in antioxidants they improve your pet’s overall health, make skin, hair, and body strong, and decrease hair loss in turn minimize your cat’s ingest its fur while it licks its skin.

Taste

Choosing delicious cat food is also important. The food is no good if your cat doesn’t like the taste of it. There are plenty of flavors available. We recommend chicken, fish, and turkey flavors. You will find man hairball recipes in both wet and dry cat food.

If you prefer to feed wet food to your cat. There you can choose from pate, minced, shredded, sliced, etc. You can add some meat or pumpkin topping with dry food. Pumpkins have added fiber help to prevent hairball.

Choose food that your kitty will love to eat and also prevent hairball. You also add some topping to make it enjoyable for the cat.

If you know what your cat likes to eat. Then, you can plan it according. You can easily find a hairball control food that is delicious same time effective also.

Bag Size

Some fussy cats don’t accept leftover food. While buying cat food, you might have observed there are 2 types of sizes or weights that you find. 1. 3 oz, and 5.5 oz. Depending on cat size, one has to choose the right size bag or can for their cat.

Keeping the food fresh and healthy to eat is also important. We recommend going to small or medium packages to keep the food fresh and healthy. You can also get large packages or large cans of food. But, again you need to refrigerate them. Many cats don’t like to eat food that is cold.

Hairball control food is expensive. So, you should consider buying small packages. Otherwise, you may end up wasting it.

What Are Things to Avoid In Hairball Food?

You should avoid such ingredients as artificial color, flavoring, and preservatives in cat food. They add unhealthy chemicals to the food.

We highly recommend you avoid BHT, BHA, and Ethoxyquin additives in dry cat food. These cause many potential health diseases in cats.

Suppose, your cat food is full of by-product meat but no real meal content. Then, you choose a better cat food containing real meat. Also, avoid excessive amounts of carbohydrates or grain in cat food.

How to Prevent Hairball?

There are many hairball formulas from popular brands. These high-quality foods can help to control hairball. Let’s look at some factors that help to prevent hairballs in cats. Here, are some of the best hairball remedies for cats.

Brush Your Cat: The cat licks their hair for a few hours every day. Self-grooming is a natural cat behavior. Through this process, the cat ingests a lot of furs. And, sometimes results in a hairball. We can’t stop their natural grooming. But a brushing session is a good option. Brush your cat’s hair on a routine basis to avoid excess hair consumption while licking. Cat food rich in omega fatty oil also helps to improve skin and coat. Omega 3 supplements also help to reduce the volume of hair a cat sheds.

High Quality Food: High-quality cat food is important to avoid hairball. Choose food that contains healthy ingredients.

Enough Hydrated: Provide your cat with enough water if your cat is on dry cat food. Otherwise, choose a suitable wet cat food. You can also afford a small water fountain for your cat to improve her drinking habit.

A Healthy Diet: Cats are carnivorous animals. They can’t digest carbohydrate-rich food. We recommend feeding high-protein cat food to your cat. You need to look for a nutrition-rich food for your cat’s overall health.

A Petrolatum-based lubricant sometimes helps to move hair through the cat’s gastrointestinal system. Normally, cats often resist taking this. We don’t recommend it for your cat.

Dietary Fiber: Cat food specially made for hairball control contains dietary fiber. Fiber helps to move hairballs naturally through the cat’s system. A good hairball food contains a high level of fatty oil and also supplies all the healthy nutrients to keep your cat healthy.

FAQs

How Can I Help My Cat Pass a Hairball?

There are many different ways to help your cat to pass hairball. We have already discussed several ways to do it One of the home remedies you can try is canned pumpkin.  But, sometimes hairball could be very painful. If your cat is in trouble to pass hairball. Kindly take your cat to your veterinary doctor immediately.

How Do I Know If My Cat Has Hairball?

If you see one of the symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, nonstop gaggling, retching, diarrhea, and constipation. These are the signs of hairball. We have talked about this in detail above.

Can A Hairball Kill a Cat?

Hairballs are natural to cats. It is a way for cats to rid of the hair stuck in their stomachs. But, If it happens very often with your cat. Then, it could be dangerous. A vet visit is important if you notice it is happening very often.

What Dry Cat Food Is Best For Hairballs?

We recommend Royal Canin Hairball Dry Cat Food for hairball. You can complete this review above.

What Is The Best Cat Food for an Elderly Cat Who Has a Lot of Hairballs?

You can go for Hill’s Science Diet Dry Cat Food, Adult 7+ for your elderly cat.

What is Best Hairball Treats for Cats?

There are plenty of hairball treats available out there, you can choose from them. Greenies Feline SmartBites Hairball is one of them. This is rich in fiber blend, delicious dual-texture food. Also provide essential vitamin, and minerals, and contains other naturally healthy ingredients. It is recommended for cats one-year-old and above.

Kristen Torres

Kristen is a cat parent. Love to keep my cats happy always and playful. Also, It became my passion to help another cat owner with caring tips for their cats and kittens. Stay tuned with my personal blog to know more caring tips, review of cat food and feeding guides. I’d love to know about your cat. If you something to share with about your cat. I will be happy to read.