Hairball Control Adult Cat Food by Meow Mix: Does it Really Work?

Recently, I went to my local Target and noticed that the regular cat food that I normally buy for my cat was out of stock. Since I was in a rush, I decided that I would try another brand instead of running to another store to see if they had stock. I quickly scanned over the aisle and I noticed the Hairball Control Adult Cat Food by Meow Mix. This immediately intrigued me since I had never purchased a type of cat food geared toward a specific problem. My cat has had some problems in the past with hairballs and also, since this food was generally very inexpensive compared to other similar products, I thought I would give this a try.

The packaging states that this cat food contains chicken, turkey, salmon, and ocean fish flavors, and that it has 100% complete nutrition for adult cats. The negative part of the ingredients is that I noticed that it contained artificial food coloring and chicken and turkey by-product meal. I have heard that cat food that contains any form of by-product meal is cheaper and is not as healthy for your cat. It also only temporarily fills up your cat's stomach and thus, your cat's appetite will not be content for long and he/she will be hungry soon again.

Luckily, my cat is not too picky about change so when I offered her the new food, she had no problem adjusting. The food comes in cutesy shapes and smells like it would be appetizing for my cat. My cat seemed to like it and so I thought I was good to go. However, I noticed that after she started eating it, she started throwing up more frequently and more heavily. At first I thought it was because of the zinc level because a pet expert once told me that if certain cat foods have higher levels of zinc it could cause your cat to throw up. However, the zinc levels in this food appeared to be normal, so I did not think that was the root cause. Also, I noticed that she didn't seem to be satisfied with her meals and a few minutes later she would come back asking for more. Even when I gave her treats in between she still always appeared hungry and looking for things to eat. This I obviously blamed on the fact that the food was mainly comprised of by-product meal. Also, my cat has always been on the larger end in size, but after switching to this food she has put on a lot more weight than usual.

Overall, I would have to say that I am not pleased with this cat food. Although, my cat has thrown up much less, she still is hungrier between feedings, and has still put on more weight. Next time I know just to pay the extra money and purchase a food that has better ingredients to offer for my cat even if it is not the usually brand that I buy, but has the same benefits. In this case, I really got what I paid for - cheap price, cheap quality.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1863679/hairball_control_adult_cat_food_by.html