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Food For Thought™ Technical Bulletin No. 45R
Innovative Research in Dog and Cat Nutrition™ |
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Why Make a Hairball Management Formula?
- 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 said that they and their cats find hairball treatments to be an unpleasant experience
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How Were Our Hairball Management Formulas Developed?
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.
- 9 groups were fed test diets and 3 were fed control diets
- Test feeding period was 6 to 7 weeks, following a 5-week control-feeding period
- Total cat-days of testing = 9,968
These 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.
- 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
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How Do Our Hairball Management Formulas Work?
The patent-pending 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
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How Do Our Hairball Management Formulas Compare With Our Other Cat Formulas?
Our hairball management formulas provide the same high-quality nutrition and taste as our other adult formulas with the added benefit of reducing the risk of hairballs.
Both provide high-quality nutrition for adult cats
- Similar feeding amounts as our other adult formulas
- Excellent stool quality, skin and coat condition, and taurine status
Great taste
- Similar acceptability and palatability test results as our other adult formulas
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