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Does your feline friend frequently develop hairballs? You can reduce hairballs drastically by choosing cat formulas that help to alleviate this issue. Eukanuba is a popular pet food company that manufactures pet formulas for cats and they have a few different hairball specific foods. This Eukanuba Weight Control & Hairball Relief Dry Cat Food review will help you determine if this is the blend you’d like to try.
Eukanuba is owned by Procter & Gamble and manufactured in their Leipsic, Ohio plant which makes both dog and cat food. In 1969, Paul Iams wanted to find a name to differentiate the new formula from other Iams pet food products. Iams chose to name this new formula “Eukanuba”, a term originated by jazz era personality Hoagy Carmichael, meaning “the tops” or “something supreme” (read more on Wikipedia).
Ingredients in Eukanuba Weight Control and Hairball Relief Dry Cat Food Formula
Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken, Corn Grits, Corn Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Powdered Cellulose, Dried Egg Product, Sodium Bisulfate, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Choline Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Vitamins (Niacin, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Inositol, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Calcium Carbonate, Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), L-Carnitine, Taurine, Rosemary Extract.
Whenever you are reviewing a commercial cat food blend, it is good practice to pay special attention to the first 5 ingredients listed. These ingredients make up the vast majority of the nutritional content in the food. Let’s take a look at the top 5 ingredients in this cat food.
Top 5 Ingredients Analysis
Chicken By-Product Meal
While this ingredient does provide a high amount of meat protein, this meat source is considered to be of lower quality than many other meat sources. Chicken By-Product Meal is produced through a process of cooking, drying and separation of fats and proteins from animal carcasses. It contains a dehydrated combination of meat (or cuts or parts) including lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, necks, undeveloped eggs and intestines. Usually, by-products are the “left overs” that can’t be used for human food consumption. The greatest fault of this ingredient is the same trait that makes it so affordable and so commonly found in pet foods. The unpredictability of what might (or might not) be included.
Chicken
Chicken is a very popular ingredient for pet food and in this case, they are referring to whole chicken. This is a very high quality meat source and we are pleased to see it listed. However, whole chicken loses about 80% of its content during the cooking process since the majority of whole chicken is water. After the cooking process is complete, the amount of whole chicken remaining is substantially reduced. Therefor, while whole chicken is a great source of meat protein, this ingredient alone is not enough to provide sufficient levels of meat protein in a cats diet.
Corn Grits
Many forms of corn are found in pet foods including corn grits. About 85% of all corn grown in the United States is genetically modified (GMO). Since cats by nature are carnivores, this ingredient does not provide much nutritional value if any, although it does add calories to the food. Corn grits can be considered a very low quality ingredient.
Corn Meal
Considered a low quality ingredient, corn meal is usually used as a “filler ingredient” but provides almost no nutritional value to cats. This ingredient is also a known allergy causing ingredient for many cats. We aren’t all that thrilled to see this ingredient listed.
Dried Beet Pulp
Beet pulp is a by-product from the processing of sugar beet and is a source of fiber and energy. It is popular among many pet food companies due to its high availability and low price. The most common complaint about this ingredient is that it causes digestion problems, most commonly a very hard stool or diarrhea. It has also been known to cause bloat in some dogs and cats which can be very serious if left unchecked.
Additional Ingredients Of Interest In Eukanuba Weight Control & Hairball Relief Cat Food
Powdered Cellulose
Powdered cellulose is a cheap filler ingredient. It is obtain as a pulp from fibrous plant material and highly refined. Once processed, it looks and feels very similar to sawdust. Cellulose is used in a wide number of ways. In addition to being added to pet food, it is used quite a bit in human foods, but can also be used for things like insulation, rope making, and textiles. Just like in humans, this ingredient is indigestible for cats. There is no hard evidence to suggest this ingredient is unhealthy, but it wouldn’t be considered a higher quality ingredient, either.
Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Ground whole grain sorghum is considered to be lower quality ingredient. It is typically used in as a feed for livestock, but has found its way into the pet food industry as well. Sorghum is a grain which primarily is used as a source of carbohydrates. It contains more fiber and less fat than most other grains. It is not as digestible as rice, and as such is sometimes used to help control blood sugar. It is also referred to as milo.
Choline Chloride
Like humans and many other species, cats require choline. Almost all commercial pet food blends will contain supplemental choline. This ingredient mostly helps with cell function.
L-Carnitine
This ingredient is very common in pet foods. It is an important nutrient that acts as a transport for fatty acids and assists in the cellular production of energy. A deficiency of L-Carnitine can lead to a large magnitude of health problems. This ingredient is especially used in dog and cat formulas designed for overweight pets as there is strong evidence to suggest it helps with weight loss.
Allergy Risk Associated With Eukanuba Weight Control & Hairball Relief Cat Food
Eukanube Weight Control and Hairball Relief Cat foood contains some of the ingredients associated with allergic reactions in cats. It is, therefore, best to avoid feeding your cat on this formula if it is allergic to corn or grain. While most cats will not experience allergic reactions with this food, in general, the allergy risk is fairly high with this food.
Conclusion
Most cat owners seem pleased with this product. There are good indications that this cat food can indeed help with weight loss and reducing hairballs. Many cat owners report good results with this cat food. If you have experience with this food, please let us know what you think about it in the comment box below. After analyzing each ingredient, we believe this is a cat food that is slightly below average quality.
