Best Cat Food for Shedding: What To Look For & Options To Consider

Cats shed.

Yep – it is a fact of life.

While there are options for reducing shedding in cats – there is no one “best cat food for shedding” that you should be looking for.

It does not exist!

Every cat is different – and there is no perfect food for every cat in any scenario. Things like health, age, environment all play a part in how a cat responds to a food – so there is just no way you can expect a food that works for your friend’s cat to work for yours.

What we hope to do in this post is let you know what to look for to help your cat have a healthier coat and reduce shedding – as well as offer a few options we have found that consumers seem to love and have worked for them.

Our Recommendations of Best Cat Food For Shedding & Coat Problems

These recommendations are being made based on what we found during our research – we took a look at what customers were saying all around the web and what people shared as being good or bad about the food.

The three products that we reviewed today are:

• Taste of the Wild Protein Cat Food (The clear winner)
• Blue Wilderness High Protein Cat Food
• Royal Canin Long Hair Feline Cat Food

Blue Wilderness High Protein Cat Food

This cat food formula was inspired by the lynx – a descendant of your cat whose eating habits and nutritional requirements are very close. The food is a mixture of protein-rich chicken and a variety of fruits and vegetables that will keep your kitty happy and healthy.

An included balance of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids is the magic that makes this a top pick by consumers and helps kitty’s coat look better than ever.

THE GOOD

The high protein content in this cat food is what helps improve coats. Blue Buffalo is also an all-natural cat food that is grain free which is a healthier option for your cat as well making it a double bonus for a food option. Many customers have reported healthier looking coats as well as other health improvements after starting their cat on this brand.

We also like the addition of better ingredients like potatoes and peas and the added fatty acids which is what makes this food one of our top picks.

THE BAD

The only downside to this food is that there are more people reporting bladder stones with their cats after beginning to feed them this brand. So be sure to monitor your cat carefully and make sure you are balancing their diets with supplements that may help reduce the chance of them getting stones.

Check Today’s Price on Amazon

 

Royal Canin Long Hair Feline Cat Food

 

A specially designed cat food formula that will help your long hair cat have a more luxurious coat. This formula does a great job of managing cats hairballs and uses a combination of fibers to help your cat eliminate the hair more easily.

The addition of fatty acids like EPA and DHA help give your cats coat a beautiful shine and clean coat. This food does claim to help reduce shedding in cats and promote a more vibrant coat color.

While most of the comments about this cat food are great there were a few complaints. The biggest issue we see is the ingredients used are not top notch – but it does seem that the product does do what it says it does, so you have to weight the good vs.the not so good!

THE GOOD

This food has a lot of happy customers that report a lot of success with a reduction in the amount of shedding in their cats. Also noted are the reduction of hairballs, elimination of dandruff and even a “boost” in the vibrancy of fur color.

THE BAD

We are not thrilled that the food includes a chicken meal and corn gluten which are not really top of the line ingredients, but the results seem to be good so you have to decide if the reduction in shedding and hair issues is worth the lack of great quality ingredients.

Check Today’s Price on Amazon Here

How Much Shedding Is Normal In Cats?

This is one of the most important considerations that you have to keep in mind when choosing the type of cat you want to adopt. It is vital to think about the breed of the cat since there are some cat breeds that shed more than others.

The season can also affect your cat’s shedding since they tend to lose more fur during the fall and the spring than in the winter season.

While shedding will not threaten your cat’s health in any way, there is such thing as excessive shedding. This is not good for cats since this could lead to bald spots.

Causes of Excessive Shedding

Have you noticed that your cat is losing its hair more than usual?

Then, it may not in fact be normal and the excessive shedding may be a problem. By now, you are probably asking yourself, what could have caused this excessive shedding?

Here are some of the main reasons why your cat is losing too much of its coat. The cause is mainly dietary but it could also be due to stress or to medical conditions.

Some of these reasons include:

• Hormonal imbalance including hyperthyroidism.
• Intestinal worms like ringworms.
• Allergic reaction.
• Flea infestation.
• Sunburn.
• Poor grooming habits.
• Having a poor diet.

These are just some of the most common reasons why your feline is shedding more.

If you are looking for telltale signs that your cat is shedding in excess, you can refer to this list:

• Too much licking.
• Biting and scratching a lot.
• The cat loses a patch of coat.
• Focuses on biting the same spot in persistence.

When you are unsure if there is a reason for you to worry about – make sure that you take your cat to your vet to make sure that everything is alright by getting a thorough exam.

It’s important to address shedding since it can pose certain issues. For one, you may have more hairball problems at your hand if the shedding goes untended. If your cat is already prone to hairballs then you need to be concerned about it.

Another reason that you should be concerned is the fact that it could make a room full of hair. If you have an allergy to cat hair then you can have more personal problems. One problem that your cat can also face when you have a cat with excess shedding is matted hair. This can be painful to your feline.

How to Reduce Shedding

When it comes to shedding, your cat needs to have good grooming habits. If you have a long hair cat you need to make sure you brush your cat’s coat regularly. Aside from that, you should remove matted hair right away before it can cause damage to your cat’s coat. Giving your cat a bath at least once a month could also yield good results and help it avoid excessive shedding.

Inspecting your cat’s skin and fur on a regular basis is good practice. You want to make sure that your kitty has no ticks, fleas, or other parasites that can be causing major problems to its wellbeing.

All of those factors aside, you should also make sure that your cat has a healthy diet. What you cat eats is one of the most important things that you have to bear in mind. Some cat owners don’t know it but your cat’s shedding could be due to a poor habit.

Choosing A Cat Food That Helps Prevent Shedding

When you are having problems with excess shedding with your felines, you need to make sure that the food they eat is healthy enough. If it lacks the necessary vitamins and minerals it can cause or increase shedding.

Here are some of the considerations when shopping for cat food.

Sufficient Protein Content

When dealing with shedding problems, it is important to make sure that your cats are getting the right nutrition and because cats are carnivores they need more protein in their diets than other animals. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to compromise when it comes to protein. You should make sure that your kitties are getting sufficient amounts of protein since this is necessary for their diet and it should be the primary consideration when it comes to cat food.

Protein from animal sources are preferred for cats and a high-quality protein is key. Remember hair is actually made from keratin, which is a protein so by adding this to their diet you are increasing the chances of their skin and hair being healthier.

Look for cat foods that have animal-based protein sources in the first couple of ingredients to ensure you are getting a top-notch food for your cat.

Contains Omega 3 and 6

If there is one ingredient that could help your cat recover from a terrible phase of shedding, it would be Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. You need to make sure that your cat’s commercial food contains these ingredients to enhance their skin and coat.

When choosing a food look for ones that have these fatty acids or some type of added oil like salmon oil or any other cold water fish.

Cat Allergies and Medical Condition

Cats are picky eaters. In fact, some of these felines will refuse to eat some food for no reason. Hence, they can be hard to deal with. Aside from that, there are some felines who have food sensitivities.

Some cats cannot tolerate grains in their diet and this should be one of your concerns because these cats can be seriously sick if you ignore their needs.

How Long Will It Take To See Improvement In Their Coat

This will of course range based on your cat’s severity of shedding or coat issues. But an average time frame that people seem to suggest they are seeing results is about 1 month. So make sure you allow time for your cat to acclimate to the food and for it to do what it needs to improve their coat.

Also, make sure you are introducing the food slowly – going from one foot to another too quickly can make your cat quite uncomfortable.

Which Cat Food is the Best for Excess Shedding?

Based on the ingredients and the reviews for all three products, the winner seems to be Blue Buffalo Life Protection Dry Adult Cat Food. This is undoubtedly the Best Cat Food for Shedding.

This product contains Omega 3 among other vitamins and minerals that can ensure that your kitty is strong and that its coat will shine better than before. While there are some complaints that it caused UTI and other issues with their kidneys, there will always be threats to your cat’s health no matter what food choice you make.

Another reason why this product stands out is because there are many people who use it on their felines and did not encounter any problems. Reported cases of issues and cat disease complaints are less than raving reviews on how it changed their cat’s coat and health, in general.

Did you ever have a cat that seems to be shedding more than it should? What changes did you make to its diet to solve the problem? Share your tips in the comment box and hit share to let more people realize that their cat’s shedding problems may be due to a poor diet.