With the face of a Persian and the coloring of a Siamese, Himalayan cats are a popular pet.
They’re pretty (or handsome) and sweet with a hair coat you’ll want to curl up in.
While their laidback and affectionate personality makes them seem easy-care, their hair coat is anything but.
Himalayans also sport a stocky body that easily becomes overweight, especially when their little pug nose is able to beg extra treats off of you.
With all of these qualities in mind, the best cat food for Himalayan cats is one that is high protein, low in calories, and preferably with extra fiber for hairball control.
In this article, we’re going to review the following cat food for Himalayan Cats:
- Blue Buffalo Wilderness Indoor Hairball
- Purina Pro Plan Focus Indoor Care
- Royal Canin Persian
- Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control
- Purina One Hairball Formula
Himalayans are a big boned breed of cat.
Their body shape looks nothing like the slender physique of the Siamese, but instead takes after the Persian with thick legs and a short, thick body.
Add this to a personality that would rather lounge on the couch than run laps around the living room and you’ve got a recipe for a weight problem.
Feeding your Himalayan a cat food that is high in protein and low in calories will help keep her fit and trim, yet maintain her muscle mass just in case she feels like a quick burst around the house.
The hair coat of a Himalayan is another area to focus on when selecting a cat food.
Their hair is long, thick, and fine.
If groomed properly, it will also be shiny and soft.
Grooming everyday is a must to keep the hair from matting and tangling and causing a general mess.
While she will take care of most of the grooming, you will have to assist.
Brushing daily will help reduce hairballs and keep her coat healthy.
Choosing a hairball control cat food will take care of the rest.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Indoor Hairball
High protein and low calories will help keep excess weight off of your sedentary Himalayan.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Indoor Hairball cat food also has a bit extra fiber to help clear hairballs and promote healthy digestion.
Other additions like omega fatty acids and antioxidants will help keep hair and skin healthy as well as boost her immune system.
Blue Buffalo cat food offer LifeSource Bits which are compact little nuggets brimming with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for an overall healthy kitty.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Indoor Hairball is one of the best cat foods for Himalayan cats because the high protein and low calories will keep your kitty’s muscles strong while warding off unwanted poundage.
The blend of natural fibers helps to make this food digestible, yet still help clear those Himalayan sized hairballs.
Some kitties experienced digestive issues, mainly vomiting, while eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness Indoor Hairball formula.
This is most likely because this food is high in protein and it takes time for their systems to adjust to the richness of it.
When switching over to this food, you should be sure to take a couple of weeks of mixing with your old food in order to properly acclimate your kitty to it.
Other kitties made stinkier litter boxes while on this food.
Again, this is most likely because of the protein.
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot you can do about that.
This Blue Buffalo Wilderness Indoor Hairball cat food is a good choice for Himalayans because it will help them maintain a healthy weight while preventing hairballs.
It has all of the little extras to keep their skin and coat and immune system healthy as well.
Blue Buffalo Wilderness also comes in a weight control and hairball formula for those kitties that need a little extra weight loss help.
Purina Pro Plan Focus Indoor Care
With 40% protein, your Himalayan will easily maintain his muscular stature, while the moderate caloric content makes this food perfect for the less active kitty.
Purina Pro Plan Indoor is specially formulated to help the exercise challenged cats maintain a healthy weight.
Pro Plan Indoor also contains natural fiber for hairball elimination and digestive health.
Enriched with omega fatty acids and antioxidants, this food will also leave a glossy coat, healthy skin, and a sturdy immune system.
Himalayan cats should do very well with this amount of protein and calories.
The protein will provide energy while keeping muscles strong for those short bursts of playfulness.
The low calories and fat will help keep her trim no matter how much lying on the couch she does and the extra additives for skin, coat, and immune system will keep her healthy overall.
Purina Pro Plan Indoor Care comes in turkey and salmon flavors so you can switch it up as needed to keep your picky eater interested.
The main issue with Purina Pro Plan Indoor Care cat food is that some kitties don’t like it.
A high protein food is no good to your kitty if they won’t eat it.
I’m not sure if other flavors were tried with these picky cats or not.
With turkey and salmon being two very different flavors, some cats might prefer one over the other.
Purina Pro Plan FOCUS Indoor Care makes the list for best cat foods for Himalayan cats because it will help keep the excess weight off that these relaxed cats are prone to.
It should also keep their hair coat shiny and skin healthy.
The fiber formulation will help clear hairballs and promote healthy digestion.
The two flavor options should help even picky eaters find a food that they enjoy.
Royal Canin Persian
This food was formulated with squished face cats in mind.
Not only does it provide all the necessary nutrients to keep these kitties healthy, the kibble is also shaped so that short jaws can easily grasp it.
Royal Canin added lots of omega fatty acids to support hair and skin health and healthy fiber for hairball control.
It isn’t as high in protein as other brands, but still contains adequate amounts for strong, healthy muscles.
Royal Canin Persian formula is one of the best cat foods for Himalayan cats because it is specifically designed for one of the parent breeds of these cats.
Since Himalayans closely resemble Persians in face and body shape, the special kibble will benefit them as well.
Himalayans also take after Persians in that they have long, luxurious hair, another key factor in this diet.
It is also fairly low in calories for weight maintenance.
A major downside to this food is the ingredients.
Chicken byproduct meal is listed first followed by chicken fat.
Nowhere in this food is there the whole meat that provides high quality protein.
The protein content is lower than other brands listed and falls in at just under 30%.
While this is still adequate, cats use protein not only for muscle maintenance but also for energy.
That means they will have to get energy elsewhere, like carbohydrates.
Himalayan cats should like Royal Canin Persian formula because it is designed for them.
The special kibble shape will make eating less of a challenge and the added omega fatty acids will help keep their coat luxurious.
While the protein isn’t the best, the fiber blend makes this food easily digestible and helps keep hairballs out of the digestive tract where they don’t belong.
Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control
This low calorie, high fiber food will keep the weight off and the hairballs away.
With real meat as the protein source and added omega acids for a healthy hair coat, your Himalayan should be a healthy kitty.
There are also antioxidants included for a healthy immune system.
Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control is a popular food choice for long-haired cats because it does seem to help keep their systems hairball free.
This food provides all the necessary nutrients for cats like Himalayans at a low caloric cost.
This means your kitty can keep a trim figure without having to cut back on portion size.
The kibble size of Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control is bigger than most other cat foods.
This has caused some kitties with sensitive or small mouths some trouble.
Himalayan cats have a short jaw, so larger kibble could be an issue.
Also, this food can cause vomiting.
I’m not sure if this was due to the kibble size and improper chewing.
When looking into a hairball control diet for your Himalayan, Hill’s Science Diet Hairball Control should be at the top of your list.
It is one of the lower calorie hairball foods out there, making it easier to keep your kitty at a healthy weight.
It also has all the added good stuff like omega fatty acids and antioxidants to keep all systems healthy.
The natural fiber not only helps clear hairballs but is also easily digestible.
A more digestible food means less waste in the litter box, so not only does your cat get to utilize more of the nutrients, you will also have an easier time scooping.
Purina One Hairball Formula
Purina ONE Hairball Formula uses whole chicken to make this moderately high protein food.
It is moderately low in calories as well with a fiber blend for easier digestion and hairball control.
Purina ONE says this food contains ‘0% fillers’ meaning your kitty can utilize all of the nutrients and produce less waste.
It also contains the omega fatty acids and antioxidants for skin and coat health and a strong immune system.
This is another well rounded food for Himalayan cats.
It contains all the necessary nutrients to keep them healthy and strong plus the extra fiber to keep them hairball free.
It is moderately low in calories so you might have to watch and adjust the feeding amount as needed for those easy keepers to stay trim.
Some kitties developed itchy, dry skin while eating this food.
I’m not sure if this is an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients or just a bad batch.
While it does contain all the little bonuses for healthy skin and coat, some cats might be sensitive to something that then manifests as a skin issue.
If your Himalayan has shown any skin issues like this with other foods, then this one might not be the one for you.
Purina ONE Hairball Formula makes this list of the best cat foods for Himalayan cats because it is highly digestible and a complete balanced diet for our long haired friends.
The extra fiber not only promotes digestive health but also helps to rid the system of hairballs.
The protein content will keep your kitty strong and as active as she wants to be while the caloric content should give her the energy she needs without much extra to cause a weight problem.
Just use with caution in kitties that have shown food sensitivities previously.
Conclusion:
You may have noticed that some of these foods for indoor cat formulas.
That is because the indoor versions combine hairball control with low calories, both something most housecats need to maintain a healthy weight and hairball free status.
Himalayans are no different.
They will definitely benefit from the hairball control aspect as their long, silky coat and constant grooming can create quite a hairball problem.
They also tend to be more on the loungy side than the frantic for exercise side, so weight issues can be a problem as well.
All the foods on this list are dry formulas.
Here’s why: imagine your Himalayan’s jaw.
It’s shorter than the average cat’s yet he still has the same number of teeth.
This can create crowding issues that can create all sorts of little oasis for tartar to form.
Eating dry kibble will help to break up that tartar and plaque and prevent dental disease.
Your sweet little furry friend certainly has some special needs.
Hopefully this list of the best cat foods for Himalayan cats will help you to find a food that will meet those needs so that your cuddly companion will stay healthy for many years to come.
