Cat licks belly almost raw, may have allergy to chicken

[xhevoice]

Hi all, my male cat Milo has been licking his belly almost raw for a couple of years. Now he licks to the point he has sores. I read online that it could be an indication that it is an allergy to chicken. So, I have been eliminating chicken from his diet. It is nearly impossible because he loves Fancy Feast gravy lovers (I have tried grain free alternatives and this cat, who eats everything, hates grain free wet food, he likes his gravy). I also feed him Beyond grain free dry food. He loves this. And I was surprised when I discovered that the turkey and beef fancy feast has chicken in it. And that all of the Beyond dry food has chicken regardless of the flavor listed on the back. Also his favorite treat is Purebites chicken.

I don't know what to do, because his sister liked the Merrick's rabbit, but I had to stop feeding it to both of them because they starting vomiting this winter and after a $1k vet bill, I won't be using Merrick's or any other rabbit. If they eat rabbit it will be because they caught one in the yard.

I want to eliminate all chicken from his diet, but keep the food closer to what cat's would eat in the wild. I appreciate any tips on brands I can purchase in the USA. I tend to bulk order from Chewy.com, but I will go a store to try brands to see which one they will like. They are both 7 and are starting to get real finicky about what they eat.

Thanks

 

[mani]

How old is Milo?
It's a great idea to try the elimination, but just as an aside, my boy licked his belly and legs because of arthitis pain. Now he has regular jabs for it and has stopped. Probably not your issue, but just wanted to mention it.

 

[StanAndAlf]

Weruva - steak frites, lamb burgerini
Tiki Cat - venison and beef liver pate, beef and beef liver pate
Ziwipeak - lamb recipe, beef recipe, rabbit and lamb recipe, venison recipe
Instinct - limited ingredient diet rabbit, or any flavour mentioned without chicken

There is a great Facebook group called Feline Nutrition that has a list of quality canned food (the ones I mentioned above are from there) in your area. They also provide very helpful advice about an elimination diet and can help you if you want to try raw feeding, which will also make it easier to remove chicken from his diet.

 

[sivyaleah]

I would add if the cat has been doing this for years it's way past time to confer with your vet and likely will need to see a feline allergist/dermatologist to get to the bottom of the issue.

 

[LTS3]

You can use this chart to find chicken-free canned foods: Check This Out.... Chart For Cat Food Ingredients

Whichever brand you choose, stick with it for at least 13 weeks or so to see if the food is helping the skin issue or not. Treats are ok but has to be the same protein as the food to avoid introducing a variable in the food trial. If you feed a venison based canned food, treats must be venison as well. There are brands of freeze dried treats that have a wide variety of proteins.

Has your cat ever seen the vet for the skin issue since it's been happening for a few years now? if not, you should schedule an appointment with the vet while you try a food trial at home. The vet can determine if the skin issue is food related or not.

 

[theorangecat]

My cat is allergic to chicken (and turkey and duck), and he would lick raw spots on his front legs. As soon as I put him on an elimination diet, he stopped licking the spots and they healed right up. I wonder if perhaps your cat is also allergic to other things besides chicken as well? I had to cut out all three of those things before he stopped making the raw spots.

It's hard to find food that doesn't contain chicken, turkey, or duck, but here are some that I've found and tried that I feel have good ingredients. The only thing I think that Chewy carries is the Weruva stuff. Everything else I have to either order directly from the brand or get at my local specialty pet food store.

Primal Raw

• rabbit
• venison
• beef and salmon

Weruva

• Truluxe Steak Frites with Beef and Pumpkin
• Cats in the Kitchen Pumpkin Jack Splash Tuna

Koha Pet

• Beef Paté
• Shredded Beef Entrée
• Shredded Lamb Entrée
• Poké Bowl (lots of flavor options)

Orijen

• Regional Red (dry food)
• Regional Red Freeze-Dried Treats
• Six Fish Freeze-Dried Treats
• Grassfed Lamb Freeze-Dried Treats

 

[xhevoice]

Thanks everyone. Milo is 7 years old. I took him to a few vets, but not really helpful. The last vet gave me allergy medicine that made him so sleepy that he now refuses to take any medicine and he is really good with eating pills in the pill pockets. I now have him on Merrick's wild beef and am transitioning him to a new dry food. I had him on the Purina products - fancy feast, which he loves, and Beyond grain free, which they both love. But just about all the food in the Purina line has chicken in it. And most other food too.

I am considering getting them live mice to hunt or frozen mice that I thaw out. I tried the Weruva both cats hate it. But I will check out the other brands listed above.

 

[xhevoice]

I would add if the cat has been doing this for years it's way past time to confer with your vet and likely will need to see a feline allergist/dermatologist to get to the bottom of the issue.

Yeah, I've seen a few vets over the years, started changing vets when the allergy pills weren't helping. None of the 5 vets I've seen talked about elimination diet. I basically had to ask the last vet several questions before he instructed me how to do an elimination diet. And this vet thought Milo's stomach was fine. I don't know how the cat has sores on his stomach from overgrooming. And with COVID-19 you can't go in the vet office with your cat, so I am not sure how they examined him. I never knew about a feline dermatologist/allergist. I'll search around Houston to see if there are any.

 

[lisahe]

I hope the new foods help Milo. It can be difficult to sort out food sensitivities and allergies because commercial foods can have so many ingredients but fingers crossed that you hit things right the first time with chicken!

On a side note, a brief story! One of our cats licked a bare patch on her side. The vet looked at it with magnifying glasses, said it was likely to grow back fully (it was then already starting to improve), and prescribed transdermal allergy medicine that I've been rubbing in Ireland's ears since May. It's chlorpheniramine cream; it only had a slightly sedating effect. I've been tapering her off the medicine for the last couple months. She'll be done in a few days. Who knows what will happen then! The vet was sure the licking was from allergies, though Ireland's also a nervous cat so one thing could have compounded the other... And the bare patch appeared shortly after she caught and killed a mouse that we took away from her. (She was upset and confused!) Beyond all that, she has asthma and sometimes sneezes, particularly during hay fever season. If your pollen levels are high around Houston, pollen could be a contributing factor, too. I'm not sure what we'll do if Ireland starts barbering (as the vet calls it) again after the medicine's gone but I'll probably lean toward going back to the transdermal cream. It's not cheap but it has seemed to help and, in Ireland's case, the slight sedative effect has actually been a good thing, given her mild anxiousness. There's one happy ending already: the bare patch has completely grown back.

All that said, I hope you're able to figure this out with diet only!

 

[LTS3]

Try the locator on the American College if Veterinary Dermatology: acvd.org | Find Dermatologist | Veterinarians with specialized training in skin, ears, and allergy

If there are none in your area, your vet can consult with a dermatologist at a vet school or other vet hospital.

And with COVID-19 you can't go in the vet office with your cat, so I am not sure how they examined him.

Covid precautions vary now. My vet allows clients inside the lobby and waiting areas and one client is allowed in the exam room with the pet.