Hairballs are a common problem in cats and may result in intestinal obstruction. Dietary fibre has been recommended to stimulate hair faecal excretion. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of psyllium and different levels of total dietary fibre (6% vs. 11% vs. 15% TdF) on hair faecal excretion in short and long-haired (LH) domestic cats. Twenty-one adult cats were divided into three panels: shedding panel, short-haired (SH) panel and LH panel. Shedding panel was used to assess shedding throughout the study with a normalized brushing. In parallel, SH panel and LH panel were used to evaluate the impact of the diets on faecal hair excretion. They were fed a low-fibre diet during phase 1 (diet 6, 6.0% TdF). In phase 2, panels were fed either diet 11 (11% TdF) or diet 15 (15% TdF). In phase 3, cats returned to diet 6 before a crossover on the other diet in phase 4. Those diets were fed to cats for 14 days. Faecal hair excretion was quantified daily. Data were analysed using a generalized linear model procedure. The assessment of shedding showed that the study did not occur during moulting season. In the LH panel, diet 11 and diet 15 increased (P < 0.001) faecal hair excretion by 81% and 113% respectively, compared to the control diet. In the SH panel, no influence of the diets was observed. This study supports that fibre affects faecal hair excretion in LH cats, suggesting that a diet with psyllium and 11% or 15% TdF might minimize hairball formation in 14 days and between shedding periods. In SH cats, 11% and 15% fibre levels had no effect on faecal hair excretion. This could be explained by the low quantity of hair ingested outside the shedding season or by the short duration of the study.
Keywords: dietary fibre; feline; hairballs; nutrition.