Just like humans, your feline friends shed dead hair. Naturally, cats lose their undercoats twice every year — usually at the onset of spring and fall. But if you notice that your cats are shedding excessively throughout the entire year, their diets could be the culprit. The quality of food you give to your cats can significantly affect their skin and coat health.
If you feel like your daily routine has become a never-ending cycle of removing your cats’ hair at home, switch up their diets. Changing what you usually feed to your feline friends can become key to reducing their shedding and making sure that you finally get to enjoy a hair-free home.
Clueless on what cat foods to give to reduce shedding? We’ve got you covered!
Looking for dry cat food to feed your feline friends? The Purina ONE Hairball Adult Formula Dry Cat Food could be the answer. This cat food uses a vet-approved recipe known to minimize hairballs and contains a special blend of dietary fiber to prevent hair build-up in your cats’ digestive systems.
Most cat owners love the ingredients listed on the label of this product — its first ingredient is real chicken. High-quality chicken meat is packed with omega-6, which helps maintain cats’ skin, coats, and muscles. Chicken also has the essential vitamins and minerals that improve or maintain your cats’ immune systems.
Pros:
- Has the right blend of fiber to reduce hairballs
- Contains real chicken
- Contains different essential omega fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals
Con:
- Its texture is hard, which some cats might dislike
Rating: 4.8 stars with 7,745 reviews
Check the ingredient list of the Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball Control Natural Adult Dry Cat Food, and you’ll probably be happy with what you’ll see. Unlike other cat foods, this one uses deboned chicken. This means that feeding your cats with this food will not cause them to choke due to bone shards.
Indoor cats have different needs, and this brand obviously took care of it. This cat food is packed with dietary fibers that can reduce hairballs and improve the quality of your cats’ fur and skin. It also has omega fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that work together to boost the immune functions of your feline friends. The blend of natural ingredients in this cat food helps your cats maintain healthy weights.
And the best part? This cat food doesn’t contain any by-products, fillers, artificial flavorings, preservatives, wheat, and soy. This is one of the biggest reasons why Blue Buffalo Indoor Hairball Control Natural Adult Dry Cat Food is a must-buy for cat owners who have pets with sensitive stomachs.
Pros:
- Contains necessary vitamins and minerals to meet the nutritional requirements of indoor cats
- Contains real-meat
- No artificial flavoring, by-products, and fillers
Con:
- Picky eaters might not like the texture and smell of this cat food
Rating: 4.7 stars with 6,519 reviews
Reducing shedding when you have a senior cat is difficult because aside from making sure that they attain healthier hair and skin, you also have to consider their overall health. Fortunately, this responsibility will come off easier when you choose Hill’s Science Diet Dry Cat Food.
This dog food ticks all the right boxes when it comes to caring for senior cats. For one, it contains natural fibers that don’t put a strain or cause diarrhea in senior cats who have sensitive stomachs. Its recipe also uses taurine, a compound necessary to maintain healthy hearts.
Hill’s Science Diet Dry Cat Food has omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that support senior cats’ healthy coats and skin. Thanks to its vitamin E content, feeding this food to your feline friends can effectively treat eczema, mites, and flea allergies.
Pros:
- Uses ingredients beneficial for senior cats
- Easier to chew because it comes in smaller kibbles
- Contains vitamins, minerals, and omega fatty acids that promote healthier coat and skin
Con:
- Contains corn gluten, wheat gluten, and grain wheat that can trigger allergies in some cats
Rating: 4.7 stars with 3,263 reviews
While some cats love to nibble on dry food, others show more appetite when being fed with paté. If your cats are one of the latter, then consider feeding them the Wellness Complete Health Natural Grain Free Paté. This one’s made from high-quality protein and is grain-free. It contains all of the essential vitamins and minerals to boost your pets’ hair and skin health.
You’ll love this cat food more because it doesn’t use any meat by-products, artificial flavors, or preservatives. Incorporating this cat food into your pets’ diets can also help improve their urinary health because it has high levels of cranberries that can prevent the build-up of harmful bacteria. This cat food comes in four flavors: chicken, tuna, turkey, and salmon.
Pros:
- No fillers and grains
- Contains a natural blend of all essential vitamins, minerals, and various fatty acids
- Uses high-quality lean protein
Con:
- Expensive
Rating: 4.5 stars with 5,353 reviews
This product from Hill’s Science Diet is specifically formulated to cater to the nutritional needs of adult cats. Aging cats are prone to shedding because they can develop several health issues that can cause their fur to become brittle and dry and eventually fall off.
Aside from promoting healthier skin and coat, the vitamin E and antioxidants in this wet cat food can also help improve your cats’ urinary tracts, support immune functions, and fight off infections. It also has high-quality lean protein that helps maintain muscle mass.
Pros:
- Formulated especially for aging or senior cats
- Helps boost immunity
- Comes in three different flavors
Con:
- Contains wheat and corn, which can trigger allergies in some cats
Rating: 4.5 stars with 5,259 reviews
Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein is one of the best cat foods available in the market today because it has everything a cat owner needs to keep their pets healthy. For one, this cat food contains various ingredients — such as chicken, dried egg products, chicken fat, and pork protein isolate — known to mitigate and manage shedding.
This dry kibble also features protein and fats from high-quality ingredients. This nutrient is crucial to your cats’ hair and fur health because it expedites their ability to grow hair continuously. Protein is also necessary to ensure a functioning immune system.
Pros:
- Contains 67% protein, which helps cats meet their daily protein requirements
- High-fat content (20.4%)
- Zero recalls history
Con:
- Expensive
Rating: 4.4 stars with 2,282 reviews
Stella & Chewy’s Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels Freeze-Dried Raw Cat Food is an excellent option if you want your feline friends to have variety in their meals. Although packaged as dry cat food, you can rehydrate this cat food to mimic wet food. This will make it easier for your cats to transition from eating dry food to wet food while helping improve their hydration.
This cat food contains high-quality ingredients that can help manage excessive shedding and improve your cats’ coat health. Some of these ingredients include chicken (ground with bone), pumpkin seed, chicken gizzard, and chicken liver.
What makes this cat food different from others is its high fat (25%) and high protein (45%) content. This recipe also uses several probiotics that can help with digestion in felines.
Pros:
- High protein and high-fat content
- Can be used as wet or dry food
- Made without any artificial preservatives, flavors, and colors
Con:
- Might contain too much bone that can cause choking, especially among kittens
Rating: 4.3 stars with 5,795 reviews
If you’ve been feeding your cat with wet food, try adding Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain-Free to their diets. This product comes in two sizes: 3 oz and 5.5 oz, which means you can easily buy one based on your cats’ sizes and eating habits.
As the name suggests, this cat food is grain-free and doesn’t contain any fillers. It’s made from cage-free chicken, chicken liver, and turkey, all of which make up about 95% of your cats’ nutritional requirements. The remaining 5% consists of different fruits, vegetables, and other wholesome ingredients. So if you’re looking for well-balanced cat food, you know what to get.
Pros:
- Contains high-quality ingredients
- Uses the best sources of omega fatty acids, such as artichokes, kale, and broccoli
- All-natural ingredients
Con:
- Some cats might not like its pate texture
Rating: 4.3 stars with 3,366 reviews
Who says you have to break the bank just to reduce shedding? With the American Journey Salmon Recipe, you can easily achieve that goal without spending too much. This budget-friendly cat food contains 44.4% protein and 16.6% fat and uses ingredients from animal-based sources.
One of the major ingredients of the American Journey Salmon Recipe is deboned salmon. Aside from being a great source of protein, deboned salmon contains healthy fats that can drastically improve your cats’ skin and coats. It also has Menhaden fish meal, a great source of omega-3 fatty acids that promotes a shiny coat and healthy brain function.
Pros:
- Cheaper than its competitors but contains excellent ingredients
- The brand has zero recalls
- Packed with antioxidants that support cats’ immune health
Con:
- Has lower protein and fat content than other cat food on this list
Rating: 4.3 stars with 994 reviews
Reach Out To A Vet
And while all the cat foods mentioned here seem like great choices for your feline friends, it’s still important to consult your vet before buying any. Cats have unique nutritional requirements depending on their age and breed, and feeding them the wrong food can cause health issues.
If you think changing your cats’ food is the best solution to reduce shedding, work with your vet. They can recommend the ideal cat food based on your cats’ needs. With their help, you can finally give your cats the healthiest food that’s sure to minimize their excessive shedding!