Hi there.
It's been a long time since I've posted (I generally lurk these days), but I'm in need of advice.
I've been reading the forums a lot lately, especially those posts regarding food allergies, but I can't seem to figure out what to do here.
I'm looking for a new food for my boys. My cat, Caster, seems to have food allergies as he scratches himself so hard that he removes his fur and skin until he's a bloody mess. It's really awful and I can't imagine what kind of discomfort and pain he's in.
There's a lot of background, but I'll just give the basics unless you want or need more info. (Even the basics are a bit long - sorry!)
Food he has been on:
Nutro Naturals (chicken flavor) - started this 5.5 years ago - seemed fine on it back then
Nutro Max (chicken flavor) - started this about 4.5 years ago - was okay, but started losing weight while on this
California Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Dry Cat and Kitten Food - started this during winter 2009/2010 - seemed okay for about 5-6 months, then I noticed the scratching again
Nature's Variety Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Medley (Prairie) - tried a month or two ago - the results were awful, went back to California Naturals
Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck formula dry food - tried this just this past Saturday - already started scratching - went back to California Naturals
I really wish allergy testing would help here, but my vet tells me that the results are very unreliable.
With the California Naturals food, it only has 5 ingredients really. Chicken meal, chicken, chicken fat, rice and brown rice. It does have sunflower seed oil and "natural flavors" as well as vitamins and minerals. But because of this, I would think he's allergic to chicken or some kind of rice.
So I thought we would see an improvement with the Natural Balance, since it has neither chicken or rice, and instead green pea and duck, but he has the same reaction.
I do see that there's a Rabbit Meal formula available from Nature's Variety in their Instinct line. It has a lot of ingredients though, including chicken meal and chicken fat. Although I don't know for certain that it's the chicken that Caster's allergic to. There was no chicken in the NB Green Pea and Duck food he tried. Could he have just been allergic to the rice and not the chicken? I've also read that fish-based foods aren't great for cats with IBD... and one of my other boys has been diagnosed with IBD, so I'm wondering if I should even try the Rabbit Meal formula since it seems to have both salmon and herring meal. *sigh*
I should mention that he won't eat the Hill's z/d dry prescription food for allergies, although he does eat the wet food once a day, and LOVES it.
He's also been medicated with the Depo-Medrol shot, and he's currently on yet another round of Prednisolone. He gets regular vet checks and he actually goes in probably once a month or so for a quick look and weight-check when I take in one of my other boys for his B12 shot.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I have no idea what to do on my end now.
Thank so much!
I've been reading the forums a lot lately, especially those posts regarding food allergies, but I can't seem to figure out what to do here.
I'm looking for a new food for my boys. My cat, Caster, seems to have food allergies as he scratches himself so hard that he removes his fur and skin until he's a bloody mess. It's really awful and I can't imagine what kind of discomfort and pain he's in.
There's a lot of background, but I'll just give the basics unless you want or need more info. (Even the basics are a bit long - sorry!)
Food he has been on:
Nutro Naturals (chicken flavor) - started this 5.5 years ago - seemed fine on it back then
Nutro Max (chicken flavor) - started this about 4.5 years ago - was okay, but started losing weight while on this
California Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Dry Cat and Kitten Food - started this during winter 2009/2010 - seemed okay for about 5-6 months, then I noticed the scratching again
Nature's Variety Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Medley (Prairie) - tried a month or two ago - the results were awful, went back to California Naturals
Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck formula dry food - tried this just this past Saturday - already started scratching - went back to California Naturals
I really wish allergy testing would help here, but my vet tells me that the results are very unreliable.
With the California Naturals food, it only has 5 ingredients really. Chicken meal, chicken, chicken fat, rice and brown rice. It does have sunflower seed oil and "natural flavors" as well as vitamins and minerals. But because of this, I would think he's allergic to chicken or some kind of rice.
So I thought we would see an improvement with the Natural Balance, since it has neither chicken or rice, and instead green pea and duck, but he has the same reaction.
I do see that there's a Rabbit Meal formula available from Nature's Variety in their Instinct line. It has a lot of ingredients though, including chicken meal and chicken fat. Although I don't know for certain that it's the chicken that Caster's allergic to. There was no chicken in the NB Green Pea and Duck food he tried. Could he have just been allergic to the rice and not the chicken? I've also read that fish-based foods aren't great for cats with IBD... and one of my other boys has been diagnosed with IBD, so I'm wondering if I should even try the Rabbit Meal formula since it seems to have both salmon and herring meal. *sigh*
I should mention that he won't eat the Hill's z/d dry prescription food for allergies, although he does eat the wet food once a day, and LOVES it.
He's also been medicated with the Depo-Medrol shot, and he's currently on yet another round of Prednisolone. He gets regular vet checks and he actually goes in probably once a month or so for a quick look and weight-check when I take in one of my other boys for his B12 shot.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I have no idea what to do on my end now.
Thank so much!