Healthy Bites Hairball Remedy Cat & Kitten Treats - 65g

The Healthy Bites Hairball Remedy Cat & Kitten Treats take what is normally sold as a sticky paste and put it inside a crunchy treat instead. The cream centre carries malt extract, petrolatum and inulin, which is the same combination used in traditional hairball pastes. If your cat fights you over a tube of paste, a treat the cat actually wants is a real advantage, and you can count them out exactly.

Key Features

• What Is In The Filling: Malt extract to keep things moving, petrolatum as a lubricant, and inulin as a prebiotic fibre. These are the actives found in conventional hairball pastes.
• How Many: VetIQ suggest 2 to 3 bites a day if you suspect a hairball problem. They can also be given as an ordinary treat.
• Suitable For: Cats and kittens from 12 weeks of age.
• Bites Per Bag: Around 70, so roughly three to four weeks at the suggested rate.
• Format: A crisp baked shell with a cream-filled centre, easier to give than a paste and easier to count.
• Pack Size: 65g resealable bag.

Why Hairballs Happen

• A cat's tongue is covered in backward-facing barbs that act like a comb. Loose hair caught on them has nowhere to go but down, and most of it passes through unnoticed.
• When more hair goes in than passes through, it gathers in the stomach and is eventually brought back up. A lubricant and a mild laxative help more of it travel the right way instead.
• Long-haired cats, cats in moult and cats that groom a lot produce the most. The single most effective thing you can do is brush your cat: hair on the brush is hair that never reaches the stomach. A treat helps with what you miss, not instead of grooming.

When It Is Not Just A Hairball

• The occasional hairball is normal. A cat bringing one up more than about once a month, or retching repeatedly without producing anything, needs looking at rather than another treat.
• Hairballs and more serious problems look alike from the outside. Repeated vomiting, constipation, a drop in appetite, weight loss or lethargy can point to inflammatory bowel disease, a foreign body or a blockage, and none of those improve with a lubricant.
• Over-grooming is the other common cause, and it is usually a sign of something else: fleas, a food or environmental allergy, pain, or stress. If your cat is pulling hair out, the hairball is the symptom and not the problem.
• Petrolatum is a mineral lubricant. It is widely used for this purpose and is not a concern at treat level, but there is no case for feeding a lubricant every day indefinitely. Use it when you need it.

Who Makes It

• Healthy Bites is a range made by Mark & Chappell Ltd, a British company that sells pet healthcare under the VetIQ Healthy+ name. The brand is VetIQ; Healthy Bites is the treat line within it.
• Every bite in the range is built the same way: a crisp baked cereal shell around a soft cream-filled centre, with the actives carried in the filling. The shell is what makes them easy to hand-feed and count.
• Mark & Chappell state there are no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives in the range. The antioxidants used are vitamin E, vitamin C derivatives and rosemary extract.

How Many To Give

• The general rule for any treat is that everything outside the main meals should stay under about a tenth of the day's calories. On a small pet that allowance is genuinely small, and it is easy to go through it without noticing.
• If you feed treats regularly, take a little off the main meal to balance it. Weight gain from treats is one of the most common avoidable health problems in pets, and it happens quietly over months.
• Introduce anything new a bit at a time. A new ingredient in a large first helping is the usual cause of a loose stool that then gets blamed on the product.

A Treat, Not A Medicine

• This is a complementary pet food. It is not a veterinary medicine, and it is not licensed to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. The VetIQ name and the phrase "vet approved" that appears on the packaging do not change that.
• The honest way to think about the range is nice treats with a sensible extra in them, chosen to suit a particular situation. If your pet has a real problem, the treat is not the answer to it and delaying a vet visit to try one is a bad trade.
• If your pet is already on medication or a prescription diet, mention any treat you are adding at the next appointment. Some prescription diets work by controlling exactly what goes in, and extras can work against them.

Storage In The UAE

• Mark & Chappell ask that the pack be used within four weeks of opening, kept sealed and out of direct sunlight. That matters more here than in the UK, because heat and humidity turn the oils in a cream filling stale faster.
• Press the resealable strip shut properly after each use and keep the bag in a cupboard rather than on a sunny shelf or in the car. A fridge is not necessary and can make the shell go soft.
• If a bite smells of old oil or crayons, or the shell has gone bendy, throw the bag away. Rancid fat is unpleasant rather than dangerous, but pets refuse it and it wastes the pack.

Currently Out Of Stock

• This one is out of stock at the moment. Message us and we will tell you when the next shipment is due rather than leaving you guessing.

Good To Know

• Complementary pet food for cats. Not a complete diet and not a veterinary medicine.
• Resealable bag. Use within four weeks of opening and keep out of direct sunlight.
• Keep treats to roughly a tenth of your cat's daily calories at most.
• Made in the UK by Mark & Chappell Ltd under the VetIQ Healthy+ brand.
• Not for human consumption. Keep out of reach of children.
• Contains milk derivatives and whey powder.