It is a very difficult thing to choose the correct and suitable cat food with fiber for cats. In addition to considering the composition of the formula, the trace elements contained in the cat food must also be considered. Even palatability is also taken into consideration.
In the past, people paid more attention to high-protein cat food. Now people are also paying attention to cat food high in fiber. Although fiber is not necessary for cats, it still needs to supplement fiber to help digestion.
If cat food cannot be digested and absorbed well, it is meaningless to cats. However, fiber helps cats digest food in their intestines. This article will recommend the best high fiber dry cat food to help you make an informed choice.
Why do Cats Need High Fiber Cat Food?
Theoretically speaking, cats are carnivores, and the main nutrients they need most are protein. Nevertheless, the cat’s need for fiber is also essential.
Fiber is a carbohydrate that the human body cannot absorb, and the same is true for cats. Cats cannot digest and absorb fiber, but cats need fiber to help them digest food, especially food such as hair and bones. So the cat needs fiber cat food.
This is also the reason why wild cats find cat grass to eat by themselves. After all, fiber plays an important role in the movement of food through the cat’s gastrointestinal organs. Although cats do not require a high fiber lot, a little bit is very important.
What Are The Benefits of High-fiber Cat Food for Cats?
Cat keeping is now a very common thing, and domestic cats do not need to forage for food on their own like stray cats, nor will they seek cat grass to eat on their own. Therefore, the owner must consider the nutritional match when purchasing cat food.
So what are the benefits of buying high-fiber cat food for cats?
1.Reduce the risk of vomiting and indigestion caused by hairballs
Do you know? Domestic cats spend an average of 4 hours a day licking their fur to groom themselves. During this process, the barbs on the cat’s tongue will cause the cat to ingest a small amount of hair, and the hair will accumulate in the digestive tract and form a hairball.
At this time fiber reflects its role. The increase in fiber content helps move the hairballs through the digestive tract, thereby reducing the risk of indigestion that causes hairballs and vomiting.
2.Lose excess body fat and maintain a healthy weight
Although chubby cats look cute, and their fat bodies will act very naively and likable. But obesity is unhealthy for cats and can easily induce other diseases. In order for cats to maintain a healthy weight, high fiber is essential.
Fiber can give cats a certain sense of fullness, allowing them to reduce food intake. When cats have successfully lost weight, they should reduce their high-fiber intake.
3.Relieve constipation in cats
If one day when you find that your cat spends more time in the bathroom, it may be that he is constipated. Proper intake of high-fiber cat food can relieve cats’ constipation.
Of course, if you consume too much high-fiber cat food, it may cause the cat to have loose stools or even diarrhea.
Top 5 Best High-fiber Cat Food
Presumably, you already know the importance of fiber to cats. In order to help you buy better high-fiber cat food, we have selected the 5 best high-fiber cat foods. Of course, we also considered its protein content, fat content, and other nutrients.
For insurance, you can also consult the veterinarian for professional advice before purchasing.
Top 1: Taste of the Wild High Protein Real Meat Recipes Premium Dry Cat Food
The best high-fiber cat food we give is Taste of the Wild cat food. It is not because of its high fiber content that it is our first choice, but because it contains up to 42% protein and the fat content is as low as 18%. It has the best amino acid profile, rich in high-quality lean meat and protein, which can effectively strengthen the cat’s muscles.
Although its fiber content is only 3%, it is enough for cats. If the fiber content is too high, you should pay more attention to its nutritional composition table. Not only does it have no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, but also a grain-free formula that does not contain peas and sweet potatoes, which can provide your cat with highly digestible energy.
Main ingredients list:
Chicken meal, pea, sweet potato, chicken fat (preserved with tocopherol), pea protein, potato protein, roast venison, smoked salmon, natural flavor, marine fish meal, DL-methionine, potassium chloride, taurine…
Guaranteed Analysis: | |
Crude Protein | 42%min |
Crude Fat | 18%min |
Crude Fiber | 3%max |
Moisture | 10%max |
Pros:
- No grain, no artificial additives that may be harmful
- Contains species-specific probiotics that help support a healthy digestive system and immune system
- Rich in a variety of meat proteins
Cons:
- No indication of ash content
- Too much protein will make a cat’s poop more smelly
- Some cats don’t like to eat
2.Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Natural Adult Dry Cat Food
If your cat is already obese or often has dry cough or vomiting, then I recommend this Blue Buffalo high-fiber dry cat food. Its fiber content is as high as 7.2%, which has a very good effect on eliminating hair bulbs and balancing cat’s calories and fat. This helps the cat achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
It does not contain chicken/poultry by-products, corn, wheat, or soy, and is all-natural grain-free cat food. There are also no artificial flavors and preservatives. More importantly, this formula contains BLUE Buffalo’s proprietary LifeSource Bits, which are a precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to support immune system health, life cycle requirements, and healthy oxidation balance.
Main ingredients list:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Tapioca Starch, Pea Fiber, Powdered Cellulose, Flaxseed source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids, Chicken Fat preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Natural Flavor, Potatoes, Pea Protein, Calcium Carbonate, Psyllium Seed Husks, Alfalfa Meal, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Potato Starch, DL-Methionine, Caramel, Salt, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols a natural preservative, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots…
Guaranteed Analysis: | |
Crude Protein | 36%min |
Crude Fat | 12%min |
Crude Fiber | 7.2%max |
Moisture | 9%max |
Pros:
- Blue Buffalo’s proprietary vitamin BITS
- Does not contain chicken/poultry by-products, corn, wheat, soybeans, artificial flavors, or preservatives
- Low-fat content, only 12%
- Good palatability
Cons:
- The protein content is a bit low, only 36%
- Price is a bit expensive
- Cannot reseal after opening
3.Hill’s Science Diet Adult Indoor Cat Food
First of all, I do not recommend Hill’s cat food as long-term cat food, because it is mainly used to regulate the health of cats. It has a positive effect on cats’ diseases. For example, if your cat has a poor stomach, or is overweight, and has been troubled by hairballs for a long time, Hill’s Scientific Diet Fiber Cat Food is a good choice.
The crude fiber content is 9.3%, which has a good effect on improving constipation and obesity of cats. You may notice that the formula table contains corn gluten powder, which is the dry residue after removing most of the starch, gluten, and germ from the corn. It is an excellent source of low ash protein that is extremely digestible. If you are afraid that your cat will be allergic to it, you can first feed a small amount and observe if there is anything unusual.
Main ingredients list:
Chicken, whole grain wheat, corn gluten meal, cellulose powder, chicken fat, wheat gluten, chicken meal, chicken liver flavor, beet pulp, soybean oil, calcium sulfate, lactic acid, fish oil, potassium chloride, iodized salt, chloride Choline, vitamins, taurine…
Guaranteed Analysis: | |
Crude Protein | 31%min |
Crude Fat | 13%min |
Crude Fiber | 9.3%max |
Moisture | 8%max |
Pros:
- The natural fiber is easy to digest and reduces the production of hairballs.
- Antioxidants and vitamin mixtures can work together to help maintain a healthy immune system.
- Made from natural, high-quality ingredients, without any artificial colors, fragrances, or preservatives.
Cons:
- Contains corn and wheat gluten, some cats may be allergic
- Low protein content
- Dry food is insufficiently hydrated and needs to add extra moisture to the cat
4.Purina ONE Hairball Control With Real Chicken High Fiber
Purina ONE high-fiber cat food is a formula that carefully helps cats to coarsely grind cat food with an easy-to-digest formula. Using real fresh chicken as raw material, it is rich in 34% meat protein and 4.5% crude fiber to prevent cats from becoming obese.
In addition, you may have noticed that the formula table contains grains. It is not that the grain cat food is bad, but the grains are mostly carbohydrates, which the cat cannot digest, so the high-carb cat food is not friendly to the cat. This high-fiber cat food can effectively solve the problem of hairballs in the cat’s belly.
Main ingredients list:
Chicken, corn gluten meal, beer rice, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, animal fat preserved by mixed tocopherols, wheat flour, fish meal, whole grain corn, cellulose powder, animal liver flavor, soybean hulls, calcium carbonate, phosphoric acid, salt, caramel color, potassium chloride, choline chloride, taurine…
Guaranteed Analysis: | |
Crude Protein | 34%min |
Crude Fat | 14%min |
Crude Fiber | 4.5%max |
Moisture | 12%max |
Pros:
- The antioxidant blend helps provide immune support for cats
- Good palatability, cats like to eat
- Effectively minimize and control hairballs
Cons:
- Not pure meat protein contains vegetable protein
- Cats need extra raw meat to supplement protein
- Non-grain-free cat food
5.Iams Proactive Health High Protein Adult Cat Food with Chicken & Salmon
Regarding Iams cat food with high fiber, I think it is more suitable as gastrointestinal prescription food. Mainly, this is the cat food specially developed by Iams for cats with sensitive stomachs. The fiber content, prebiotics, and beet pulp are all able to help cats digest and satisfy everything they need for a healthy digestive system.
The high-quality protein rich in chicken and salmon helps support strong muscles and provide healthy exercise energy. If your cat’s stomach is very fragile, then this cat food is very suitable for feeding. But you need to be aware that it contains grains, please make sure your cat is not sensitive to eggs and gluten.
Main ingredients list:
Chicken, chicken by-product powder, corn Gr, whole-grain cornmeal, salmon, chicken meal, beet pulp, natural flavoring, sodium bisulfate, caramel color, beer brewing dry yeast, dried egg products, potassium chloride, salt, chlorine Choline, oligofructose, taurine, carrot, dried apple pomace…
Guaranteed Analysis: | |
Crude Protein | 38%min |
Crude Fat | 18%min |
Crude Fiber | 3%max |
Moisture | 10%max |
Pros:
- Very friendly to cat’s stomach and digestion
- Contains all kinds of vitamins and minerals
- No artificial preservatives added
Cons:
- No salmon material in the recipe table
- Non-grain-free cat food, some cats are allergic
- The protein content is not high enough
The Bottom Line
When choosing high-fiber cat food, it’s not enough to choose cat food with high fiber content blindly. Other nutrients in cat food should also be considered, but the proper amount of fiber helps a cat’s digestion, but don’t overestimate the need for cat food. Add fiber needs to the cat’s diet.
What you must know is that too much fiber will inhibit the secretion of protease enzymes that digest and digest proteins, thereby reducing nutrient absorption, and ultimately reducing the health of the cat.
Therefore, the purchase of the best high-fiber cat food should be based on the cat’s own situation and the professional advice of the veterinarian.