Allergies- food trials HELP!

Peachiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
52
Purraise
16
If you have had luck improving your kitties allergies through diet changes, how quickly did you see results? My poor kitty is having the worst allergy issues- rash, overgrooming, bacterial infections on her skin, bloody paws. We have tried so many things and the only thing that gave her relief was steroids. Of course steroids are not a good option, and not fixing the problem. We are not sure that her allergies are from food, but we are trying an elimination diet. Just looking for some insight from anyone that has a kitty with allergies.

We are working closely with several vets right now and our next step is a blood allergy test.

Thank you!
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,433
Purraise
33,192
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Hi! Food allergies are only one of many possibilities, but most often folks try a dietary change to see if that makes a difference. It can take many weeks of a new food before a change might be noticeable. Some on this site say it might take as many as 12 weeks.

Is this a new cat? If so, where did you get her from, and can they help you any with telling you what they were feeding her and what type of litter they used, especially if they tell you that she was not having issues under their care? It doesn't mean that they are being totally honest and/or even aware of her needs specifically (if she were in a shelter, for example), but it is certainly a place to start.

If you have had this cat for a while, and the allergies only just begun, take a look at what changes you might have made that could possibly be the culprit - different food, different litter, new scents in the home, new carpeting or other furnishings that might have some sort of protective sealant/coating on them that she could be allergic to, etc. Even carpet cleaners. laundry detergents, or other similar things could have impacted her.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

Peachiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
52
Purraise
16
Hi! Thanks for the information! She has only been on this new food for a week. She certainly could have environmental allergies. This started in January so I dont think it is pollen related. She is regularly treated for fleas and we have done several skin scrapings to rule out other pests. I have changed litter a couple times, ripped out the carpet in my house, changed detergents, stopped using any chemicals for cleaning, stopped and/or changed my body products (lotions, shampoo), no candles or scented stuff in the house, kept all windows and doors closed and no more porch time for Peach, took her to my parents house for a few weeks to change her environment, tried antihistamines, got rid of my down comforter... and probably more, but if you have suggestions, lets hear them! We do live in an old farm house out in the county, and this week I started a serious fight against dust mites in the hopes of helping her.

I have had her since she was just a few weeks old. She got a rough start and has had lots of health issues. The vet has never found any underlying disease or causes. She is now almost a year and this has been going on for five months. I am hopeful that this new food will help, but we also have an upcoming appointment with a holistic vet and then another traditional vet for a second opinion. No pet dermatologists within several hours of us.
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,433
Purraise
33,192
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
Wow! I think you have the situation very well under control, in terms of what you are doing. Sorry, you haven't gotten any more results at this point.

Given all the vets have done, I presume you also had a full fecal PCR run to look for various viral/bacterial issues? Also, have the vets tried anti-inflammatories that are non-steroidal in composition? This could be immune-related.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Peachiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
52
Purraise
16
Hmm, I’m not sure that we have done a fecal analysis for this. That’s a great idea and I will talk to my vet. I think though that if it were a bacterial or viral issue it wouldn’t get improve on steroids, but I don’t know enough about it. I’ll look into it a little more.
What sort of anti-inflammatories do you mean? We have done blood test to make sure she doesn’t have a major or common autoimmune disease, but that doesn’t mean we have tested for everything.
These are great suggestions. I want to have options to try if her food trial isn’t successful! Thank you.
 

Tobermory

“What greater gift than the love of a cat.”
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
9,135
Purraise
25,925
Location
Pacific NW
Now I know why you were asking me about Zyrtec in the other thread! Poor Peach. It’s so hard to see them miserable. What were you feeding her in the past, and what are you currently feeding her?
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,433
Purraise
33,192
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
This is where I was going - look at this article (see link below) and pay particular attention to the area that discusses Pemphigus Foliaceus (PF). It just sounded like your girl. I thought some sort of auto-immune treatment (with anti-inflammatory properties) might be a possible solution - but, you are talking to layperson with no veterinarian education.
Autoimmune Skin Disease in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

Peachiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
52
Purraise
16
Now I know why you were asking me about Zyrtec in the other thread! Poor Peach. It’s so hard to see them miserable. What were you feeding her in the past, and what are you currently feeding her?
We are giving the hydrolyzed protein diet a try after I’ve resisted for so long. Her kitten food was royal canin wet and dry kitten, which I had picked and stuck with because she liked it and she had a fussy tummy as a kitten. Just before this happened, there was a shortage and I fed her some purina canned (fish variety and turkey variety) that she loved. A month on that, her skin trouble started and she went back to RC. The. We did a couple months of RC single protein venison. No luck. Then we tried several LID nature balance. We tried instinct raw. Her vet has suggested the hydrolyzed protein a couple time and now we are giving it a go. We are doing hills z/d, just the canned. If it seems to be alright, I’ll add the dry so she can snack during the day.
I know, I know, the hydrolyzed diet has junk in it and gets pushed by vets it too often- but I’m very desperate. So far, she loves it and has a better appetite than normal, probably due to the pred. She is underweight from all of this so seeing her ask for more food makes me happy. We are just four days into the food, and three days into steroids . She is improving but it’s probably the steroids.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

Peachiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
52
Purraise
16
This is where I was going - look at this article (see link below) and pay particular attention to the area that discusses Pemphigus Foliaceus (PF). It just sounded like your girl. I thought some sort of auto-immune treatment (with anti-inflammatory properties) might be a possible solution - but, you are talking to layperson with no veterinarian education.
Autoimmune Skin Disease in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital (vcahospitals.com)
You know, that does sound very familiar although I really really hope this is not the case. The vet was concerned about FIV before as she seems to have many medical issues for a normal young kitty. She doesn’t have that, but we didn’t test any further. Thank you for finding this. I’ll do some digging further. I have added it to my list to ask the vet about tomorrow.
 

dixielittle

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
7
Purraise
1
If you have had luck improving your kitties allergies through diet changes, how quickly did you see results? My poor kitty is having the worst allergy issues- rash, overgrooming, bacterial infections on her skin, bloody paws. We have tried so many things and the only thing that gave her relief was steroids. Of course steroids are not a good option, and not fixing the problem. We are not sure that her allergies are from food, but we are trying an elimination diet. Just looking for some insight from anyone that has a kitty with allergies.

We are working closely with several vets right now and our next step is a blood allergy test.

Thank you!
I have been dealing with allergies forever. You can switch to limited ingredient cat food or hydrolozyzef protein food. Also check out allergytest.co
Inexpensive and easy way to test for allergies.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

Peachiekitty

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
52
Purraise
16
I have been dealing with allergies forever. You can switch to limited ingredient cat food or hydrolozyzef protein food. Also check out allergytest.co
Inexpensive and easy way to test for allergies.
We are on a hydrolyzed diet. It’s been about a month and a half with a very lose dose of pred and while the improvements have been excruciatingly slow, she looks and feels so much better.

Did you use that allergy test with any luck?
 

dixielittle

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
7
Purraise
1
We are on a hydrolyzed diet. It’s been about a month and a half with a very lose dose of pred and while the improvements have been excruciatingly slow, she looks and feels so much better.

Did you use that allergy test with any luck?
Yes but unfortunately i have multiple cats and haven’t been able to keep him from eating the other food so I have been trying to gradually switch to something less expensive than vet food. The allergy test was a simple hair sample that you mail. $40
 

Astragal14

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
239
Purraise
300
My cats both have environmental allergies (dust mites, storage mites and mold are the big ones, and the storage mite allergy is the one that presents itself topically). We manage them through environmental changes and diet/supplements, flare ups sometimes need Zyrtec. The storage mites are managed by keeping dry food in an air-tight container that is deep cleaned every 3 months, and we only keep one month's worth of food in it at a time and the rest of the food is kept in the freezer until it's needed. Fish oil has also been a tremendous help, we use Nordic Naturals.

We had a cat at our animal rescue with major skin issues (he wasn't in my direct care so I don't recall his diagnosis or specific prescriptions). But I did help out with soaking his affected areas in a magnesium salt bath - it's worth asking your doctor about this, especially if it can be a source of relief for your cat. Getting a cat to sit in a tub of water was NOT easy! I've since discovered magnesium oil spray, so depending on the ingredients that is also an option to discuss with your vet.

You mention you've had your cat since he was a few weeks old, and this makes me think of one of my cats. He often has health issues (that are all manageable) but I do wonder if they all relate to him not receiving enough "passive immunity" from not being with his mother long enough after birth. He also has feline herpes virus that we control though daily lysine. And while he doesn't have food allergies, he does have many food sensitivities that we avoid in his diet.

I hope Peachie continues to do well. It can be such a long journey to find out exactly what is wrong and how to treat it!
 

LeiLatte

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jul 7, 2019
Messages
99
Purraise
118
Did you find a solution for kitty? My cat also has a skin allergy with lesions and overgrooming/hair loss that I thought was getting better, but now it’s right back again.

We did a skin scrape and he was on prednisolone for a while and Royal Canin rabbit food (expensive $80 a bag or case of canned!), plus antibiotics. Don’t know whether to try allergy testing or allergy shots next. I’m tired of the vet visits and testing because I have another sick kitty too. I feel like he shouldn’t be on the expensive food if it’s not even working.
 

dixielittle

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jun 19, 2021
Messages
7
Purraise
1
If you have had luck improving your kitties allergies through diet changes, how quickly did you see results? My poor kitty is having the worst allergy issues- rash, overgrooming, bacterial infections on her skin, bloody paws. We have tried so many things and the only thing that gave her relief was steroids. Of course steroids are not a good option, and not fixing the problem. We are not sure that her allergies are from food, but we are trying an elimination diet. Just looking for some insight from anyone that has a kitty with allergies.

We are working closely with several vets right now and our next step is a blood allergy test.

Thank you!
Unfortunately it is painful to figure out what the cat is allergic to. He or she might have to stay on the expensive food. Then after several months you can try to introduce other foods. I did the hair test but my cat is still having difficulty. He did the best with just the hydrolezyzed protein by royal canin. I also give him half of an allergy med daily in case it is external allergies. Unfortunately it is trial and error and allergy tests are not always accurate in cats because they are sensitive to everything. I also rub coconut oil on his fur to help with the soars. He likes it and hasn’t had any adverse reactions.
 

Kflowers

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 28, 2018
Messages
5,772
Purraise
7,617
I know I'm late to this thread, but we did have a similar problem, kit threw up after every meal of wet food. We tried different brands and flavors, same thing. Vet was saying IBD. I thought allergy. Went home, reviewed what she ate, lump of tuna with her medicine on it, no other people food, she doesn't even like butter, only cat food. I realized that all those different brands and flavors were made by two manufacturers. Once we stopped using those manufacturers' products the throwing up stopped. Therefore, logically, there was something in the base used by both manufacturers that kit is allergic to or that it was wet food itself that caused the problem. I'm inclined to think it was a common ingredient since wet/dry is a matter of cooking not ingredients.

The point of all that mess of words is when you are doing cat diets watch out for who the manufacturer is. Sometimes it's very difficult to discover who that company is, some companies are not forth coming and those that make house brands for stores are particularly secretative, but keep googling until you do. If you can't find out who the manufacturer is, I would stay away from the food.

Unfortunately, for our kit, by the time we figured this out, she was through with wet food and wouldn't touch it for anything. period. ever. regardless of manufacturer. She gets dry, not by either of those two manufacturers and now throws up maybe three times a year.
 
Top