21 y/old cat with VIOLENT allergies

[hmack224]

Hello everyone,

I am writing to you all today about one of my family cats, my beloved 21 year old girl named Lily who came into my life when I was 3 and I have not known a day of my life without her being in it. She has always been such a tiny cat, around 6 pounds during her younger days and now that she is older and more frail, tends to vary somewhere between 5.5 lbs and 4.5 lbs depending on how her allergies are doing, which I'm about to get into. For the past 5-6 years or so, she has developed terrible allergies that have seemed to progress to the point where we can only feed her one protein manufactured by one brand of food, otherwise she will have violent diarrhea (with blood if she eats too much of anything else) and will scratch her ears and face sometimes until she hurts herself. And when I tell you it is almost an immediate reaction when she eats something she is not supposed to, I truly mean immediate. We have three other cats, and if she gets so much as a pebble or two of their dry food, it takes a maximum of 10 minutes before she is having diarrhea so it's quite a clear correlation. I am in pre-veterinary studies, and I've had my fair share of working around different hospitals to gain experience but have never come across another animal with food sensitivities like this, and neither have any of the vets we've visited about her issues. We even bring her to a highly regarded feline specialist veterinarian, not just a dog and cat vet.

She went from being allergic to everything but beef, to everything but venison and now she can only eat the lamb and blueberry canned food by N&D. Any other brand of lamb (even though they are limited ingredient diets with lamb only) she will have a food sensitivity reaction to. Today, I gave her a crumb of a Feline Natural's lamb and organ treat, whose only ingredients consist of lamb, lamb heart, lamb kidney, and lamb liver... but again within 10 min she was having running off to the box to have diarrhea. She is so sick of her food, and I feel so badly that she has to eat the same thing day in and day out, she acts hungry for anything else all the time, not to mention the fear I have for if she ever develops a food allergy to this food. We will have nothing to safely feed her anymore that her body doesn't reject. Introducing her slowly to a new food, as demonstrated with the crumb of lamb treat that I gave her today, will still result in her having diarrhea. And she is so old, I would be so worried about the effects of prolonged dehydration like that on as old a body as hers.

I guess what I am trying to ask is, has anyone ever dealt with a cat like this or had any type of experience similar to this at all? Can anyone provide any type of advice? I know this is a tough question, especially since professionals can't seem to help either, but I have found that sometimes it's the pet owners that come to a solution in a tricky situation like this, because it is our love for our animals that motivate us to find one. It was a grueling period of trial and error on my family's part that has allowed her to still be with us today.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Aside from the immediate issue, if you haven't already for when she gets itchy, keep chamomile tea or coconut oil on hand. They're anti fungal, anti bacterial and are safe to ingest.

Have you tried Mouser cat food--there's one with rabbit and mouse and one variety with duck and mouse? I'm assuming you've tried hypoallergenic? Have you talked to a veterinarian nutritionist to determine if there's a truly novel protein, like crocodile or kangaroo, that could work?

 

[Box of Rain]

Earlier today I linked the 2015 study by Chapman University scientists who used PRC technology to test pet foods to see if the proteins that were listed on the label were the same as those actually in the food.

The results?:

Of the 52 tested products, 31 were labeled correctly, 20 were 25 potentially mislabeled, and 1 contained a non-specific meat ingredient that could not be verified.

I'm not sure if their have been follow up studies (or not) or if the industry has improved, but the odds of "contamination" from other species that the ones listed on labels seems pretty high.

This is immaterial for most cats and dogs, but not for those who are highly allergic.

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/...=1&article=1011&context=food_science_articles

Bill

 

[FeebysOwner]

Given your studies and contacts, have you and your colleagues reached out to all the vet universities across the country (assuming you are in the US) and asked for their input/consultation? It would seem you have the connections to do something like this and see what you find. As I am sure you know, many of the vet universities are exposed to cases/situations that not a lot of others see. In fact, they might actually like to study your cat's situation.

Have any of these professionals suggested that there might be an anaphylactic solution (besides steroids) to offset an allergic reaction to other protein sources? It might be wise to find out about this aspect, just in case. Something else to consult with the universities about...

I also presume you have charted all the foods you have tried for comparison's sake on ingredients. And, again, given your studies and contacts, you could possibly get more detailed in your requests to them, especially N&D, to get an absolute specific ingredient listing, up to and including, amounts/percentages of everything in the food. Perhaps, N&D uses lamb from a particular area/processing plant, for example? You also need to do a serious consult with N&D, advising them of your circumstances - perhaps they would be willing to work with you directly about any changes that may be made to their food over time.

The only good part about this is that your cat still eats this food, even though you think she is tired of it. Most cats that tire of food stop eating it, so that is a plus on your side.

 

[iPappy]

Earlier today I linked the 2015 study by Chapman University scientists who used PRC technology to test pet foods to see if the proteins that were listed on the label were the same as those actually in the food.

The results?:

Of the 52 tested products, 31 were labeled correctly, 20 were 25 potentially mislabeled, and 1 contained a non-specific meat ingredient that could not be verified.

I'm not sure if their have been follow up studies (or not) or if the industry has improved, but the odds of "contamination" from other species that the ones listed on labels seems pretty high.

This is immaterial for most cats and dogs, but not for those who are highly allergic.

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/...=1&article=1011&context=food_science_articles

Bill

This is an excellent point and it happens frequently.
hmack224 I would consult with a nutritionist at this point. Would you be open to making her food, provided she eats it/tolerates it?

 

[Box of Rain]

This is an excellent point and it happens frequently.
hmack224 I would consult with a nutritionist at this point. Would you be open to making her food, provided she eats it/tolerates it?

I'd be asking the same question. Lamb is not typically as available as chicken, beef, or pork, but it can generally be had (including organs) and this would be a way of making sure the meals were not not contaminated with other proteins.

I once knew a gentleman online (now deceased) who worked for several large pet food manufacturers, and he said that that it just was not practicable for processors to make a run of food and to stop to thoroughly clean all the grinders and other components in order to prevent some amount of protein from a species that's not in the formula from ending up in a new batch (as for most dogs and cats it isn't an issue).

But with a violently allergic cat, it is a different story.

Bill

 

[iPappy]

I'd be asking the same question. Lamb is not typically as available as chicken, beef, or pork, but it can generally be had (including organs) and this would be a way of making sure the meals were not not contaminated with other proteins.

I once knew a gentleman online (now deceased) who worked for several large pet food manufacturers, and he said that that it just was not practicable for processors to make a run of food and to stop to thoroughly clean all the grinders and other components in order to prevent some amount of protein from a species that's not in the formula from ending up in a new batch (as for most dogs and cats it isn't an issue).

But with a violently allergic cat, it is a different story.

Bill

That's a great point about cleaning the grinders. I never thought of that. I'm sure for a very sensitive individual, even rinsing the grinding plates off isn't enough.

Balance It has a feline option if the OP is interested in pursuing the home made route. Balance IT® Feline

 

[Box of Rain]

That's a great point about cleaning the grinders. I never thought of that. I'm sure for a very sensitive individual, even rinsing the grinding plates off isn't enough.

Balance It has a feline option if the OP is interested in pursuing the home made route. Balance IT® Feline

And in plants they have massive industrial sized grinders that they attempt to keep working with as little downtime as possible. From what I'm told they don't stop and clean between runs of different formulas. That's understandable on an economic basis.

Just not so great for people with highly allergic cats, who expect that the labels on the pet food they serve is going to be accurate.

Bill

 

[CodyMolly]

Hi sorry your elderly kitty is going through this although I am not insightful about food. But I did have experience with one of my cats who had really bad allergies he literally licked himself bald and gave himselF little red sores all over his entire body from constantly licking. It was not good at all. But my vet prescribed chlorpheniramine and do you believe it stopped! He stayed on this pill until he died at the age of 23. And all his hair grew back! As soon as I stopped that medication he would start licking again. It is worth a shot to ask your veterinarian since your baby is having such a hard time. It may stop some of those allergies so your kitty can get some relief. Hope it works for you. Poor baby. Also like I said I am not one for food. But google “Just food for Cats” that food sounds healthy. Just a thought to look into but not hundred percent sure about it. But it is certainly a try.

 

[hmack224]

First of all, I'd just like to thank you all so, so much for all of your responses and insight regarding my topic. I am going to respond to all of you, but I'm not quite familiar with this platform yet so it might take a little while.

Given your studies and contacts, have you and your colleagues reached out to all the vet universities across the country (assuming you are in the US) and asked for their input/consultation? It would seem you have the connections to do something like this and see what you find. As I am sure you know, many of the vet universities are exposed to cases/situations that not a lot of others see. In fact, they might actually like to study your cat's situation.

Have any of these professionals suggested that there might be an anaphylactic solution (besides steroids) to offset an allergic reaction to other protein sources? It might be wise to find out about this aspect, just in case. Something else to consult with the universities about...

I also presume you have charted all the foods you have tried for comparison's sake on ingredients. And, again, given your studies and contacts, you could possibly get more detailed in your requests to them, especially N&D, to get an absolute specific ingredient listing, up to and including, amounts/percentages of everything in the food. Perhaps, N&D uses lamb from a particular area/processing plant, for example? You also need to do a serious consult with N&D, advising them of your circumstances - perhaps they would be willing to work with you directly about any changes that may be made to their food over time.

The only good part about this is that your cat still eats this food, even though you think she is tired of it. Most cats that tire of food stop eating it, so that is a plus on your side.

Hi there, thank you so much for taking the time to give me a response and offer help for my kitty. Unfortunately, I am not a veterinary student yet, I am a pre-veterinary student so I am still completing my undergraduate curriculum. I do not have any colleagues or connections thus far, as I do not attend a veterinary-accredited university, so the “hardcore pre-vet major” or animal science major is not offered to me. That being said, the route that I am taking to veterinary medicine follows the same path as any other medical student would, which is simply a bio curriculum. My university doesn't offer the animal-focused classes and connections that a school such as Cornell’s program, per se, would offer- so again, my connections are very limited, if any are available to me at all. Those teaching my courses offer insight on human-based medical research, none animal-focused that I know of.

As far as any other anaphylactic solutions that have been provided by prior or current veterinarians, the only things that come to mind are, as you stated, steroids. My German Shepherd with severe allergies is on Apoquel which seems to work great for him, but I am aware that it is quite iffy when it comes to cats. They need higher doses than dogs and it is not FDA approved for feline use, so I’m assuming its for good reason. Apoquel is also more a seasonal or occasional allergen type of med, as our dog still can’t eat the proteins that he is allergic to, even on the Apoquel, but can enjoy life more comfortably by not being as severely reactive to the things he usually is (like grass, for one).

Getting in touch with N&D sounds like an amazing idea. Although I don’t have connections, hopefully they will be willing to discuss their food just to help out. Thank you so much again, and I appreciate any other advice/insight you can offer.

 

[hmack224]

That's a great point about cleaning the grinders. I never thought of that. I'm sure for a very sensitive individual, even rinsing the grinding plates off isn't enough.

Balance It has a feline option if the OP is interested in pursuing the home made route. Balance IT® Feline

To Box of Rain and iPappy, I have no idea how to reply to both of you at once, so I am just replying with the same response to both of you. Bare with me, I’m not great with this platform yet. The information regarding grinder contamination/manufacture contamination and label dishonesty is such an interesting point, I must say that the possibility of that most likely makes the most sense for why she can’t tolerate any proteins from big-label food manufacturers or manufacturers that are constantly dealing with loads of different proteins. Fortunately, N&D is a smaller brand and we haven’t run into any issues with their lamb yet, but making the lamb at home is probably the next best option. On another note, we are definitely open to making her food. When she could only tolerate beef, it was home-cooked beef and pumpkin made by us w supplemental vitamins prescribed by her vet, so cooking the lamb at home seems like a really great next step. Thank you so much for the incredibly helpful insight.

 

[Box of Rain]

hmack224

Even if big manufacturers are not trying to be duplicitous (and there have been companies that have been busted for knowling dishonest practices) the former online associate I knew who spent his career working in pet food plants, as I explained earlier, used to say that some cross contamination of formulas was inevitable due to the realities of manufacturing.

They evidently do not shut down their lines and scrub out the grinders and other equipment everytime they switch over to a new formula during a days operation. So it is easy to have some "chicken" get into an all lamb formula (for sake of example).

If you could verify that home-prepared lamb was well-tolerated, then you could have more confidence knowing that you could use a commercially produced product if you chose, as well as serving a caution to you that the production might be amiss if the allergy symptoms began reappearing.

In many communities "halal" butchers tend to have lamb and especially odd bits--such as an array of organs--which help round the nutritional profile.

IMS (and I'd need to double check myself) lamb is fairly low in taurine, so supplementation may be necessary. I also can't think of any appropriate soft-raw edible bones that a cat could consume, so calcium supplementation is also likely to be necessary. I'm ignorant about whether either egg shells or ground bone meal present allergenic risks, or if their is a better answer for a calcium source.

If your cat's teeth are sound, I would (if you can source them) allow your cat to gnaw meat off bones that are too large to be consumed whole, yet are still soft enough not to risk damage to teeth, such as flat rib bones and neck bones. It helps keep their teeth, gums, and dental structures strong and healthy (with is a big problem with cats overall).

Bill

 

[iPappy]

hmack224

Even if big manufacturers are not trying to be duplicitous (and there have been companies that have been busted for knowling dishonest practices) the former online associate I knew who spent his career working in pet food plants, as I explained earlier, used to say that some cross contamination of formulas was inevitable due to the realities of manufacturing.

They evidently do not shut down their lines and scrub out the grinders and other equipment everytime they switch over to a new formula during a days operation. So it is easy to have some "chicken" get into an all lamb formula (for sake of example).

If you could verify that home-prepared lamb was well-tolerated, then you could have more confidence knowing that you could use a commercially produced product if you chose, as well as serving a caution to you that the production might be amiss if the allergy symptoms began reappearing.

In many communities "halal" butchers tend to have lamb and especially odd bits--such as an array of organs--which help round the nutritional profile.

IMS (and I'd need to double check myself) lamb is fairly low in taurine, so supplementation may be necessary. I also can't think of any appropriate soft-raw edible bones that a cat could consume, so calcium supplementation is also likely to be necessary. I'm ignorant about whether either egg shells or ground bone meal present allergenic risks, or if their is a better answer for a calcium source.

If your cat's teeth are sound, I would (if you can source them) allow your cat to gnaw meat off bones that are too large to be consumed whole, yet are still soft enough not to risk damage to teeth, such as flat rib bones and neck bones. It helps keep their teeth, gums, and dental structures strong and healthy (with is a big problem with cats overall).

Bill

Yes, lamb is fairly low in taurine. A taurine supplement for cats is never a bad idea IMO.
https://www.chewy.com/animal-essent...584757336257646&utm_content=Animal Essentials
Another idea for calcium supplementation if necessary.

 

[hmack224]

hmack224

Even if big manufacturers are not trying to be duplicitous (and there have been companies that have been busted for knowling dishonest practices) the former online associate I knew who spent his career working in pet food plants, as I explained earlier, used to say that some cross contamination of formulas was inevitable due to the realities of manufacturing.

They evidently do not shut down their lines and scrub out the grinders and other equipment everytime they switch over to a new formula during a days operation. So it is easy to have some "chicken" get into an all lamb formula (for sake of example).

If you could verify that home-prepared lamb was well-tolerated, then you could have more confidence knowing that you could use a commercially produced product if you chose, as well as serving a caution to you that the production might be amiss if the allergy symptoms began reappearing.

In many communities "halal" butchers tend to have lamb and especially odd bits--such as an array of organs--which help round the nutritional profile.

IMS (and I'd need to double check myself) lamb is fairly low in taurine, so supplementation may be necessary. I also can't think of any appropriate soft-raw edible bones that a cat could consume, so calcium supplementation is also likely to be necessary. I'm ignorant about whether either egg shells or ground bone meal present allergenic risks, or if their is a better answer for a calcium source.

If your cat's teeth are sound, I would (if you can source them) allow your cat to gnaw meat off bones that are too large to be consumed whole, yet are still soft enough not to risk damage to teeth, such as flat rib bones and neck bones. It helps keep their teeth, gums, and dental structures strong and healthy (with is a big problem with cats overall).

Bill

This is all great advice, thank you. She was run over by a car when she was younger so she is missing quite a few teeth and has a titanium piece in her jaw as a result of her facial/jaw fractures, which additionally can make chewing a bit of an issue at times so the meat bones would most likely not be great fit for us personally. Would there be a particular calcium supplement brand that you would recommend?

On another note, after speaking with my mom earlier this morning, I found that we had already tried to cook lamb for her once before during a shortage on her N&D food, which she promptly refused to eat (this is insane considering her constant ravenous appetite for something different). Is there any way to enhance the flavor at all without adding something she could react to? We tried serving it to her warm/heating up as well.

 

[Box of Rain]

This is all great advice, thank you. She was run over by a car when she was younger so she is missing quite a few teeth and has a titanium piece in her jaw as a result of her facial/jaw fractures, which additionally can make chewing a bit of an issue at times so the meat bones would most likely not be great fit for us personally. Would there be a particular calcium supplement brand that you would recommend?

On another note, after speaking with my mom earlier this morning, I found that we had already tried to cook lamb for her once before during a shortage on her N&D food, which she promptly refused to eat (this is insane considering her constant ravenous appetite for something different). Is there any way to enhance the flavor at all without adding something she could react to? We tried serving it to her warm/heating up as well.

Our Desmond was also crushed by a car. As a kitten before we adopted him. He had a badly broken rear leg, but fortunately a great rescue organization got him the extensive surgery he need and then a really kind forster family nursed him back to health (while he was in one of those external skeleton/stabilizers). He was just out of that contraction, when he came to us. He was so weak in his hindquarters. Lots of atrophy.

We accepted that he would likely always be "limited" and have a bit of a limp. But he was so sweet. Didn't matter.

But over the next year (he's been with us a year and a half) he made what I consider to be a near-miraculous recovery. I simply can't tell anymore that he'd ever been injured.

As to calcium supplements, I have no personal experience with them (as I feed bone instead) but many other members here who feed home-cooked or raw do supplement and they would be better informed that I am.

Doing 3/8 of a teaspoon of ground eggshell per pound would get one over the hump short-term, but I'm uncertain of allergy risks of eggshells. Same with bone meal. Not sure.

For platibility, there are many "toppers" that people use to entice cats to eat (and a great article on this in the "Cat Articles" section of this forum. But, again, my concern would be introducing potential allergens while you are getting it all sorted.

I'd be tempted to try serving some lamb 3 ways on a platter and seeing what happens. One part well-stewed, one part lightly seared on the outside to give it a "nose" but still pretty rare inside, and a third part uncooked, to see which is most appealing. If the teeth are an issue, I'd hand dice the meat using your best guess as to best fineness.

You may wish to start a new thread in the Raw and Home Cooked subforum to attract the attention of members who have experience with supplements as a way to get further advice.

Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

Bill

 

[hmack224]

Hello everyone,

Just an update - I don't know if anyone has had any luck with this and I'm starting to feel a little doubtful it will work in our situation, but we started her on a hydrolyzed protein diet trial. It was worth a shot since we had a few hills cans lying around the house from our other cat with IBD. It has been suggested before but we never gave it a shot because the first ingredient being chicken is what Lily is most reactive to. I know that the proteins are broken down very small to the point that it shouldn't be recognizable by the body and cause an immune reaction, but maybe half a teaspoon in she was already having diarrhea. We are being sure to start her as slowly as we possibly can by mixing half a can of her old food with each 1/2 or 1/4 tsp of the new food. The vet said that it takes a few weeks for their body to settle with it since it draws fluid from the intestines, but her body is not at a point health-wise to withstand "a few weeks" of diarrhea. That just seems like a lot to me. The next thing we will be trying is cooking her lamb at home, and I'd be happy to look into some novel protein brands as well if anyone could recommend a few trustworthy and consistent manufactures.

Also, does anyone know if there is a way to buy single cans of the novel proteins for a trial? Buying the entire cases are super expensive, especially because it is such a hit or miss on whether or not they will actually work for Lily/if she will be able to use the entire case. Thank you all again a million times over.

 

[fionasmom]

Cat Food - Incredible Pets
Kiwi Kitchens Lamb Dinner Canned Cat Food

I know that the first company will sell individual cans and I think that the second might. Not sure if their stock is what you are looking for or not.

 

[Furballsmom]

You might contact a company you're interested in and ask for a sample. Also, talk to Chewy - they are an incredible company and will do whatever they might be able to, to help.

The New Zealand Natural Pet Food Co. has a venison cat food available on Chewy. Not everyone will agree but Evenger's has a rabbit and quail canned food.