Nutri-Vet Hairball Paw Gel, Cat Hairball Remedy, Kitten Supplies, Hair Ball Relief for Cats, Fur Ball Remedy, Soybean & Coconut Oil, Salmon Flavor, 3 oz

I gave this to both my cats and the amount of hairballs decreased.

I started giving my cat this gel months ago and he has not had one hairball since then. Prior to giving him this gel, he had them 2 or 3 times a week. My cat loves the chicken flavor too. I would definitely recommend this product.

Had a while to use this and feel like I can actually review the product now. My cat has frequent hairballs, especially around shedding seasons, and I am happy to report that the amount does decrease with this. The only thing was getting him to eat the product was a struggle at first, at no fault of the product itself. He got sick a few years ago, and developed food shyness, so getting him to eat anything besides his normal kibble was a massive pain. Enough that if the usual brand wasn't in stock, he'd hardly eat the temporary replacement. I had to start out mixing this with churu (thankfully it turns out he likes those now), as it is slightly thicker, but I was hesitant doing this daily or multiple times a day as those aren't super healthy to give constantly. I was gifted some cat treats meant for dental health more recently, and have been squeezing some of the hairball stuff onto those and feeding them to my cat. It's gone shockingly well, but again I didn't really want to give him too many treats every day. Thankfully, while taking apparently too long coating his dental treats, he began licking the hairball stuff right out of the squeeze tube! So now our mornings consist of me squeezing his goop out of the tube, letting him lick it up and finishing off with some dental treats. He hasn't had a hairball as of recently again with our new morning routine, so I'd definitely say this works. Just give it a chance by mixing it with some other yummy stuff if your cat seems a bit hesitant at first. Again, my cat is usually very hesitant to eat anything but his usual kibble, so that isn't on this product at all.

This product has apparently been updated and the new formula is inferior. I have used this for many years and my cats have always loved their Nutri-Vet salmon flavored hairball paw gel but no longer. The gel has changed from a cream colored gel to dark brown. Consistency is no longer soft but hard. It also stinks and my cats will not touch it now. Do not buy! This has gone from the best product of its type to not good. Disappointing.

Kinda thick, hard to squeeze out! Cats like it.

Our cat had several episodes of throwing up hairballs. We subsequently tried the salmon flavored Nutra Vet hairball gel. It was effective and seemingly without side effects. Our cat likes the flavor and has been licking 1/4 of a teaspoon of it approximately 6 days per week. We have been giving it to Mallory once daily, unless her stool has been soft, in which case we skip a day. I recently investigated the toxicity of benzene, which can be formed when the ingredients of sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) are both included within a product. Both of these ingredients are in this brand of hairball gel. Benzoate acid is naturally found in some foods such as apples, tomatoes, plums, and cinnamon. Sodium benzoate is man-made and is commonly used as a preservative, as it inhibits the growth of potentially harmful bacteria. Sodium benzoate is also used in some cosmetics, medicines, and other products. Reportedly he United States allowable amount of benzene is 5 ppb (parts per billion), with a few US states and with some countries deeming only 1ppb to be safe. Exposure to heat increases potential for production of benzene in greater amounts within the product. We haven't yet decided whether to use the balance of our two tubes of this gel (and to discard the new tube that we just received), or discard them all and switch to another type that does not include both ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate. I am disappointed about not being comfortable with continued use of this product because our cat likes it and it has been effective for her. I would rate this product with 4 or possibly 5 stars, but due to the benzene concerns, reduced my rating to 3 stars. As any benzene within the product could be well below the amount deemed safe, and as this gel has been effective for our cat, it did not seem fair to rate the gel any lower than 3 stars. My opinion is that the makers of this Nutra-Vet Cat hairball gel product should re-formulate their ingredients so that benzene could no longer be generated. UPDATE 12/06/22: We had ceased, but reluctantly began using this product again because it's the only one that our cat likes which effectively reduces her hairballs. There has been a fairly recent formulary change as evidenced by the newer thickness of the product. We contacted Nutri-Vet to ask about the change and received a written response from them informing that the active ingredients remain unchanged, but that they had had to change the source of non-active ingredients, the result being a thicker product. They indicated that they are aware of this and are working on it. We tried microwaving it for a few seconds, but it remains thick. Mallory is able to lick it off of a flat surface (as opposed to a rounded plastic teaspoon -- which had worked with the prior formula). This product continues to include sodium benzoate as an ingredient, thus my rating remains at 3 stars, despite its effectiveness. 12/18/22 A representative from Nutra-Vet called us a few days ago in response to our prior contact-so they both wrote a response and subsequently called to discuss our concerns following our complaint regarding the new thickness of the product. The rep reiterated that they had undergone a content change in Nutri-Vet Hairball Gel due to ingredient sourcing difficulties. Impressive that they cared enough to both respond to our complaint in writing and then to follow up with a telephone call. Great customer service! 06/07/23 Update: We recently purchased the Salmon Nutri-vet paw gel from Amazon and from another source and note that the current items have returned to their original soft quality. Sodium benzoate is still an ingredient. No more harder stuff having to be put on my husband's finger to be licked by the cat. We have returned to squirting it into a 1/4 teaspoon and having Mallory lick it from the spoon. Yeah!!!

On 3/5/11, I left a one-star rating for this product (see review below), but now want to amend that. After sending an e-mail through their company website detailing my complaint [...], I not only received an e-mail from Chuck Francis, the President of the company, but also a phone call from Dr. Brown, the Sr. Vice President of Research/Development (who is a veterinarian). They were both very apologetic and appreciative that this problem had been brought to their attention. Mr. Francis stated that his top priority at that point was figuring out what had happened and correcting the problem. Dr. Brown called later and explained what had happened. Nutri-Vet had switched manufacturers. (The formula is developed by Nutri-Vet, but they outsource the manufacturing of this product.) This is the way I understand it: The new manufacturer, although following the formula provided by Nutri-Vet, must have been using ingredients supplied by different vendors, which would account for the change in consistency (and possibly flavor). They both assured me they are committed to resolving this issue and Dr. Brown stated that they are working with the new manufacturer to see that this product returns to the great consistency and flavor that it was originally. They promised to let me know as soon as this happens so that I can buy some more and make my cat, Leroy, happy once again. [...] Am now giving five stars based on the original salmon-flavored product, which Leroy went crazy over, and also based on this company's responsiveness and outstanding customer service. [...] Original 1-star review of 3/5: One of my cats (Leroy) was crazy about this product -- it was the only thing he liked as a "treat." Pet stores in my area quit carrying it, so I ordered three tubes through Amazon. They were great -- no problem. Leroy was happy. Then I ordered another three tubes through Amazon, and, even though the outside packaging was the same, the product itself was totally different. Different consistency -- took two hands to force it out of the tube! Leroy licked at it two or three times, then turned his nose up at it, so apparently different taste also. I then contacted the company through their website. They responded right away saying that it had been reformulated. The original formula had been salmon and they had switched to chicken flavor. However, they said that they had listened to their customers (all complaining) and had brought back the salmon flavor. With that, I went ahead and ordered another three tubes of salmon flavor through them (Nutri-Vet). Needless-to-say, Leroy was again disappointed. They neglected to tell me that it had still been reformulated so the consistency was very hard and it was almost impossible to get out of the tube. Once I got a little bit of it on my finger, Leroy again licked it once or twice and then gave up. I'm approximately $60 poorer and now trying to find something else that Leroy would like.

The is a really good product. It keeps my indoor kitty from bringing up a hairball. I just put it on a little dish and she thinks it's a treat.