Cat with Food Allergies

[jenng]

Originally Posted by silva_unt

Just posting my experience and hope you find a food that works
Neko is allergic to peas and she did more biting on her legs and paws then she did scratch. We had to switch from TOTW to NV Prairie and it DID take almost 12weeks for the itching/biting to stop, for her at least. I did notice a gradual decrease in itching too. We also rotate the 3 prairie flavors but i noticed Prairie didn't work for your little one. How about California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato? Its so stressful that alot of foods now have peas!! grrr... I'm the one in the food isle reading all the labels to catch those pesky peas. Good luck

If Caster didn't have the awful, almost immediate reaction to the new foods I'd definitely give them a longer trial.

I had wanted to try TOTW, but it has peas in it. Of course, I don't know if Caster is allergic to the peas or the duck in this last food. I guess it could be the duck, but if peas are a top allergen, I don't know if I should risk it.

I was looking at the California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato variety. He has the least reaction to the chicken one right now, so maybe the herring and sweet potato would work. I've read that fish can be a top allergen as well, so I've been reluctant. And of course, there's the fact that Natura was bought out. But hey, if it works, right?

I'm adding that to my list to try once he's ready to try a new food. Thanks!

And I'm glad that the NV Prairie is working for Neko.

 

[sharky]

yes fish can be ... but if the rice flax and chicken gave the least reaction IMHO it may be worth a shot

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by sharky

yes fish can be ... but if the rice flax and chicken gave the least reaction IMHO it may be worth a shot

I guess it can't hurt to try, right?

We have a few weeks to get through to get him stabilized back on his meds, then we'll give this a go. I'll keep you posted.

And if anyone comes up with any other food ideas, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[sharky]

my brain is thinking on it...

...

 

[cat_crazy]

Have you thought about a homemade (or raw) diet? I think it's the best idea when doing an elimination diet. You completely control everything that goes into the food and don't have to worry about traces of whatever it is getting into the food.

I think that feeding the same food constantly can cause allergies. Poultry is a very high offender because it is used so often and above so many other sources in pet foods. As is corn, wheat, soy, beef etc. because they are used so often in pet foods.

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by Cat_crazy

Have you thought about a homemade (or raw) diet? I think it's the best idea when doing an elimination diet. You completely control everything that goes into the food and don't have to worry about traces of whatever it is getting into the food.

I think that feeding the same food constantly can cause allergies. Poultry is a very high offender because it is used so often and above so many other sources in pet foods. As is corn, wheat, soy, beef etc. because they are used so often in pet foods.

Hi Cat_crazy

I've talked to my vet about a homemade diet if we do have to go that route. So far we're still trying to find a dry kibble that Caster isn't allergic to since I like to leave food out all day for the boys. My husband and I are away from the home a good portion of the day and we've had weight-loss issues with 2 of our boys, so I don't like the idea of not having something out for them.

I wish I had a few weeks off of work so that I could be home and try a homemade elimination diet. If he'd eat it, of course. He has "texture issues".

Thank you for the suggestion - it's definitely a good idea.

 

[strange_wings]

Cats really don't need to be free fed. It's not natural for them, anyways. What are you and your husband's hours? I'm thinking you could do a before work feeding, one from whoever gets home first, then one before bed. Add some treats in if you wish. As long as it all adds up to the proper amounts per their desired weight, they'll be fine.

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Cats really don't need to be free fed. It's not natural for them, anyways. What are you and your husband's hours? I'm thinking you could do a before work feeding, one from whoever gets home first, then one before bed. Add some treats in if you wish. As long as it all adds up to the proper amounts per their desired weight, they'll be fine.

I understand what you're saying strange_wings, but non-free feeding will not work for our family at this time. We've discussed this with our vet and she agrees with this assessment for several reasons.

The reason I posted was to see if any of our knowledgeable cat site members had any ideas on a dry cat food that might work for Caster. I'm not looking for assistance on changing my boys' feeding schedule. I do appreciate the help, I know you mean well and have good intentions, but my question does focus on finding a dry food that will not cause an allergic reaction for Caster. Thanks.

 

[cat_crazy]

Originally Posted by jgaruba

Hi Cat_crazy

I've talked to my vet about a homemade diet if we do have to go that route. So far we're still trying to find a dry kibble that Caster isn't allergic to since I like to leave food out all day for the boys. My husband and I are away from the home a good portion of the day and we've had weight-loss issues with 2 of our boys, so I don't like the idea of not having something out for them.

I wish I had a few weeks off of work so that I could be home and try a homemade elimination diet. If he'd eat it, of course. He has "texture issues".

Thank you for the suggestion - it's definitely a good idea.

I completely understand.

Especially about the free feeding and weight thing. I have a cat with FIV that I am desperately trying to get to gain weight. It took a long time but I finally have her on three meals a day plus a snack and give her supplements to help her gain and retain weight. I know this wouldn't work for you because of work schedule though.

It's pretty difficult to find a dry food okay for allergy testing. You need to find out what exactly he is allergic to, which you pretty much can't do unless you do a homemade elimination diet.

The thing you'll want to do, at least for now, is feed a food he has NEVER had before. Such as rabbit, venison or duck. Try to find a grain free formula as grains are big offenders for allergens. Look for limited ingredients (which is pretty hard in dry food).

What meats has he never had before?

I'll keep my eye out for a dry food.

 

[nekochan]

My cat Mr Grey has been having food allergy problems, and my vet said it could take up to several months on a new food for the symptoms to go away.
We tried Natural Balance limited ingredients (duck) first but he wouldn't touch the stuff, and my vet wanted us to avoid grains, chicken and fish so we went with the Royal Canin rabbit limited ingredient. He was pretty miserable too and chewing on himself, had sores on his feet, bare spots from scratching/chewing and "rodent ulcers" on his lips... We saw no difference/improvements for several weeks, but he's been on the Royal Canin for over a month now and his sores have started healing just recently, fur is just now starting to grow back and he's becoming less itchy now.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by jgaruba

but my question does focus on finding a dry food that will not cause an allergic reaction for Caster.

And as you should have discovered by now, through this thread and by your own research, you're stuck. It's fish and potato or something with peas. There's just not many limited ingredient options in dry cat food. Maybe there will be more in 5 or 10 years from now. Hence why I suggested you try compromising to use what Caster can eat.

 

[plebayo]

My cat is allergic to everything, peas, chicken, bison, venison, pheasant, turkey, chicken, beef, duck, rabbit, etc.

He is also on depo-medrol every 8mos-1 year.

He reacts the least to fish based foods.

Here are a list of foods you might try:
----

California Natural Herring & Sweet Potatoe
Ziwi Peak Venison - is 100% dried venison.
Nature's Variety Salmon Meal & Brown Rice Medley
Nature's Variety Lamb Meal & Oatmeal Medley

Napolean is currently on First Mate Fish & Potato With Blueberries, supposedly chicken fat does not carry protein which is what the animal has a reaction to.

Hopefully this helps a little bit... food allergies are frustrating. My cat causes himself ear infections and scratches the hair off of his face when he reacts.

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by Cat_crazy

I completely understand.

Especially about the free feeding and weight thing. I have a cat with FIV that I am desperately trying to get to gain weight. It took a long time but I finally have her on three meals a day plus a snack and give her supplements to help her gain and retain weight. I know this wouldn't work for you because of work schedule though.

I'm glad your kitty is doing better.

Most cats I know need to lose a little weight... this whole trying to maintain and gain a little weight is all new over here.

Originally Posted by Cat_crazy

It's pretty difficult to find a dry food okay for allergy testing. You need to find out what exactly he is allergic to, which you pretty much can't do unless you do a homemade elimination diet.

The thing you'll want to do, at least for now, is feed a food he has NEVER had before. Such as rabbit, venison or duck. Try to find a grain free formula as grains are big offenders for allergens. Look for limited ingredients (which is pretty hard in dry food).

What meats has he never had before?

I'll keep my eye out for a dry food.

He's only had chicken and duck so far. But the duck variety we tried (Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck), also has green peas, which sharky was kind enough to point out can be a high-allergen. So I'm not sure if it's the duck or the peas that he reacted to. He also reacted very badly to Nature's Variety Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Medley (from the Prairie line). He's currently back on California Natural Chicken & Brown Rice, which seems to give him the least reaction while medicated so far.

So he hasn't had much of a trial on any fish or venison or rabbit yet - which I guess is good because I have more options for now. I am concerned though because most of the foods I'm finding have peas in with the venison or rabbit.

And I appreciate both your understanding of my situation and your help! Thank you!

Originally Posted by Nekochan

My cat Mr Grey has been having food allergy problems, and my vet said it could take up to several months on a new food for the symptoms to go away.
We tried Natural Balance limited ingredients (duck) first but he wouldn't touch the stuff, and my vet wanted us to avoid grains, chicken and fish so we went with the Royal Canin rabbit limited ingredient. He was pretty miserable too and chewing on himself, had sores on his feet, bare spots from scratching/chewing and "rodent ulcers" on his lips... We saw no difference/improvements for several weeks, but he's been on Royal Canin limited ingredient diet (rabbit) for over a month now and his sores have started healing just recently, fur is just now starting to grow back and he's becoming less itchy now.

Hi Nekochan.

I am very surprised by your story, and I'm grateful you shared it. So what you're saying is that when you first put Mr Grey on the new RC rabbit limited ingredient food, he continued having his allergic reaction, but that it's improving? His symptoms sound awful, so I'm very happy to hear he's doing better. Has he been on medication during this or just the new food? I only ask because when we tried a new food with Caster, his symptoms became so much worse, even while on medication, that our vet told us to remove the new food if this happened. So I'm curious if Mr Grey got worse before he got better, or if his symptoms stayed the same, and then got better. Very interesting - thank you.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

And as you should have discovered by now, through this thread and by your own research, you're stuck. It's fish and potato or something with peas. There's just not many limited ingredient options in dry cat food. Maybe there will be more in 5 or 10 years from now. Hence why I suggested you try compromising to use what Caster can eat.

strange_wings - I'm not sure why you seem unhappy with me, but maybe I'm just perceiving your messages the wrong way. I do know there aren't many limited ingredient foods out there. That's why I posted to find out if any other members knew of other foods that I didn't know about and haven't come across yet. That's what I thought this site was for - sharing knowledge and our stories. I'm sorry if I've somehow offended you by my post, I certainly did not mean to.

Originally Posted by Plebayo

My cat is allergic to everything, peas, chicken, bison, venison, pheasant, turkey, chicken, beef, duck, rabbit, etc.

He is also on depo-medrol every 8mos-1 year.

He reacts the least to fish based foods.

Here are a list of foods you might try:
----

California Natural Herring & Sweet Potatoe
Ziwi Peak Venison - is 100% dried venison.
Nature's Variety Salmon Meal & Brown Rice Medley
Nature's Variety Lamb Meal & Oatmeal Medley

Napolean is currently on First Mate Fish & Potato With Blueberries, supposedly chicken fat does not carry protein which is what the animal has a reaction to.

Hopefully this helps a little bit... food allergies are frustrating. My cat causes himself ear infections and scratches the hair off of his face when he reacts.

Hi Plebayo

Wow! Your poor little guy - I feel awful for him. I do appreciate your suggestions. I have the California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato on my list to try, and I'm thinking that you might be right in trying the Nature's Variety Salmon and/or Lamb. He hasn't had any of these meats before, so I might get lucky.

I have never heard of Ziwi Peak or First Mate before. I know that I can have California Natural and Nature's Variety special-ordered at my local feed store, so I will probably try those first. If they don't work, I'll see if they can special-order the other two. Thanks so much!

I'm so sorry for such a long post! But thank you (all of you) for all your help.

Maybe I'll sleep a little better tonight... I keep waking up thinking of cat foods!

 

[nekochan]

Originally Posted by jgaruba

Hi Nekochan.

I am very surprised by your story, and I'm grateful you shared it. So what you're saying is that when you first put Mr Grey on the new RC rabbit limited ingredient food, he continued having his allergic reaction, but that it's improving? His symptoms sound awful, so I'm very happy to hear he's doing better. Has he been on medication during this or just the new food? I only ask because when we tried a new food with Caster, his symptoms became so much worse, even while on medication, that our vet told us to remove the new food if this happened. So I'm curious if Mr Grey got worse before he got better, or if his symptoms stayed the same, and then got better. Very interesting - thank you.

Yes that's right. His symptoms/reaction didn't improve until after he'd been on the food for IIRC at least 3 weeks, and then I started to slowly see some improvements. He was on steroids briefly but we stopped those right after we switched foods. He also tested positive for ringworm, which my vet said was opportunistic infection due to the allergic reactions wreaking havoc on his immune system. He was pretty miserable before. When we started trying the Royal Canin his back feet were bald on the backs of them, from his ankle to just above his paw pads and two of his feet also were swollen and raw around the paw pads, he had bare spots on/around his ears from scratching, and ulcers on both lips and raw spots at the corners of his mouth. The vet had diagnosed those as eosinophilic granuloma complex (caused by the food allergy) and he also showed some IBD-like intestinal irritation. Those symptoms didn't come on all at once, they appeared over time, and slowly got worse... I think the symptoms did get a little worse after we switched the food before they improved, I'm pretty sure the scratches on his face started after we switched food, and some of the lip ulcers. The symptoms are not all gone but they are much improved and none have gotten worse in a few weeks except perhaps the ulcer on his upper lip (the ones on the bottom lip and mouth corners have healed.)

He wasn't eating well either and he lost a lot of weight, he was a good lean weight of around 9 pounds before the allergies started and went down to less than 7.5 pounds. So I know what you mean about the weight and feeding. A lot of people said I should switch him to raw or canned food or not free-feed but at this point I need him to eat as much as possible so I need to feed what he will eat consistently. Sometimes he'll eat a small amount of canned food but not often... I just started him on an appetite stimulant about a week ago because his appetite still isn't great, and is still under 8 pounds.

I tried Ziwipeak, my vet suggested it but unfortunately Mr Grey wouldn't eat it. It's a good food and pretty limited in ingredients so if your cat will eat it, could be a good option. I also tried Nature's Variety freeze-dried raw beef formula, unfortunately he wouldn't eat that either (one of my other cats loved it though.)

ETA: I actually contacted Nature's Variety because I was disappointed that all of their grain-free dry foods contained chicken (even the rabbit one)... My dog is allergic to poultry and I feed her their grain-free rabbit formula, it contains chicken fat but no protein but their cat formula contains chicken! I emailed them and asked why, and they said that it is because cat foods need to be lower in ash to prevent urinary diseases, and it's hard to do that without adding chicken or fish. They suggested feeding Prairie Lamb and Oatmeal (it does contain grain though.)

 

[kylew]

Knowledge is power. As I said, I spent two years chasing Franklin's symptoms. What I was trying to avoid was biopsy, which would likely provide some definitive information. I was told it involved surgery and was very expensive. So for two years I avoided it, thinking that I was saving him from undergoing surgery. I finally found a vet who listened and could take biopsies via endoscopy. It did cost $1,000 though. But then we KNEW! One we found the cause of his symptoms we could treat them. He has gone from 6 pounds to 8 and has never been better. My point is that chasing food can be both frustrating and fruitless. I do not know if there are allergy tests for cats, but if there are get them. Then you'll know

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Yes that's right. His symptoms/reaction didn't improve until after he'd been on the food for IIRC at least 3 weeks, and then I started to slowly see some improvements. He was on steroids briefly but we stopped those right after we switched foods. He also tested positive for ringworm, which my vet said was opportunistic infection due to the allergic reactions wreaking havoc on his immune system. He was pretty miserable before. When we started trying the Royal Canin his back feet were bald on the backs of them, from his ankle to just above his paw pads and two of his feet also were swollen and raw around the paw pads, he had bare spots on/around his ears from scratching, and ulcers on both lips and raw spots at the corners of his mouth. The vet had diagnosed those as eosinophilic granuloma complex (caused by the food allergy) and he also showed some IBD-like intestinal irritation. Those symptoms didn't come on all at once, they appeared over time, and slowly got worse... I think the symptoms did get a little worse after we switched the food before they improved, I'm pretty sure the scratches on his face started after we switched food, and some of the lip ulcers. The symptoms are not all gone but they are much improved and none have gotten worse in a few weeks except perhaps the ulcer on his upper lip (the ones on the bottom lip and mouth corners have healed.)

Mr Grey's symptoms sound so heartbreaking... I feel so bad he's gone through all that. I'm glad that he's started to heal, and I'm hoping he's feeling a lot better now.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

He wasn't eating well either and he lost a lot of weight, he was a good lean weight of around 9 pounds before the allergies started and went down to less than 7.5 pounds. So I know what you mean about the weight and feeding. A lot of people said I should switch him to raw or canned food or not free-feed but at this point I need him to eat as much as possible so I need to feed what he will eat consistently. Sometimes he'll eat a small amount of canned food but not often... I just started him on an appetite stimulant about a week ago because his appetite still isn't great, and is still under 8 pounds.

That's part of our problem with Caster. He's lost almost four pounds. Thankfully he was a little meaty to begin with. Mr Grey is much smaller - I absolutely understand you wanting to have food available to him whenever he wants to eat.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

ETA: I actually contacted Nature's Variety because I was disappointed that all of their grain-free dry foods contained chicken (even the rabbit one)... My dog is allergic to poultry and I feed her their grain-free rabbit formula, it contains chicken fat but no protein but their cat formula contains chicken! I emailed them and asked why, and they said that it is because cat foods need to be lower in ash to prevent urinary diseases, and it's hard to do that without adding chicken or fish. They suggested feeding Prairie Lamb and Oatmeal (it does contain grain though.)

It seems like you just can't win. You fight one problem and end up with another. I do understand the urinary concerns... I've known a lot of male cats who have had crystals and/or stones and/or blockages. Sadly, three of the boys I knew did pass away from blockages. My own Pollux suffers from struvite crystals and has had to have surgery to remove bladder stones. Thankfully he hasn't had a re-occurrence since his surgery in Dec. 2008. I do have the Prairie Lam and Oatmeal on my list to try though when Caster is ready. Thank you.

Originally Posted by KyleW

Knowledge is power. As I said, I spent two years chasing Franklin's symptoms. What I was trying to avoid was biopsy, which would likely provide some definitive information. I was told it involved surgery and was very expensive. So for two years I avoided it, thinking that I was saving him from undergoing surgery. I finally found a vet who listened and could take biopsies via endoscopy. It did cost $1,000 though. But then we KNEW! One we found the cause of his symptoms we could treat them. He has gone from 6 pounds to 8 and has never been better. My point is that chasing food can be both frustrating and fruitless. I do not know if there are allergy tests for cats, but if there are get them. Then you'll know

I know what you mean. For my Pollux (who has IBD), after suffering for months with diarrhea, and being medicated to try to fix the problem, my vet suggested a biopsy. The problem was that at my local vet's office, they open the cat up to do the biopsy, and it's quite invasive. So she suggested a specialty vet hospital that's only about 2 hours away from me that does endoscopies and colonoscopies, and it would be much less invasive. But she warned how expensive it could be. They were able to get Pollux in the next week, and my poor little guy had his endoscopy, colonoscopy, and biopsy done, along with bloodwork and his first B12 shot. And it was expensive - $2100, but it was worth it to know what it was. I found out that he has a large polyp in his stomach that doesn't seem to be much of a problem, and that he has an awful case of IBD. So now we manage it with daily meds and he seems so much better.

For Caster's allergy problem, my vet said that while they can test for food allergies in cats, that they are pretty much useless. I probably ask her about once a month if she's SURE they're useless because I'd really like to have Caster tested, but she keeps assuring me that they are.

Thanks for all your help and sharing your experiences.

 

[kylew]

My total expenses for Franklin's adventure approach $8,000. Good thing I don't have kids

The vet that finally figured out what was wrong with him was his third. The first two kept giving me answers like "they are pretty much useless". I don't mean to sound short, but your vet can't seem to identify the problem, let alone fix it. I'd find a new vet

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by KyleW

My total expenses for Franklin's adventure approach $8,000. Good thing I don't have kids

The vet that finally figured out what was wrong with him was his third. The first two kept giving me answers like "they are pretty much useless". I don't mean to sound short, but your vet can't seem to identify the problem, let alone fix it. I'd find a new vet

Wow.. $8000 is a LOT. But I understand you doing it. I'd do the same for our boys. And I hear ya on the kids part!

And I think I must have mis-explained a part about my vet. She's been great actually. What she's been telling me is that allergy testing for food allergies in cats is pretty much useless. (I just wish she was wrong.

) I guess the results that come back aren't very reliable.

I've searched online all over, including TCS here, and I'm getting the same gist regarding testing for food allergies. I'm sure if they worked, my vet would be more than happy to do the testing for me or send me somewhere that could. It wouldn't matter the cost - it would be absolutely worth it for us, and she's well aware of that.

I understand saying to find a new vet if this one isn't doing it for us, and I absolutely agree. I used to take my little Spike to another local clinic. The hours were great, there were eight vets that were available, but I didn't like or trust them after going there for awhile.

We've since found our current vet (we technically have two as if our "official" vet isn't available, we see the other, but we see both equally) and we like and trust both of them a lot. They're very good about recommending another clinic/hospital if the specialty place does something more aptly than they can, such as the endoscopy for Pollux. They're very honest with us. And they're quite good with my boys, and I am ever-so-grateful.

 

[nekochan]

Originally Posted by jgaruba

And I think I must have mis-explained a part about my vet. She's been great actually. What she's been telling me is that allergy testing for food allergies in cats is pretty much useless. (I just wish she was wrong.

) I guess the results that come back aren't very reliable.

That's basically what my vet said too. She said we could do food allergy testing but the results are very unreliable.

Originally Posted by jgaruba

Mr Grey's symptoms sound so heartbreaking... I feel so bad he's gone through all that. I'm glad that he's started to heal, and I'm hoping he's feeling a lot better now.

Yes they were, especially because they kept recurring at first (the sores on his back legs would heal, the fur would start to grow back and then they'd recur) and then how they kept getting worse for a while, and more sore spots would show up and I couldn't do anything for him. It was so frustrating. He was so miserable and itchy too, and getting so skinny... He ended up weighing less than my smallest cat, his littermate who is a tiny girl; 7.5 pounds is a normal weight for her but for him to be that weight he just looked awful.

Unfortunately after I typed my reply last night he started chewing more on his back feet and they're started to get irritated again. I'm pretty sure it's because he's been stealing my senior cat Sneakers canned food (Wellness) which is not "allergy approved".

 

[jenng]

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Yes they were, especially because they kept recurring at first (the sores on his back legs would heal, the fur would start to grow back and then they'd recur) and then how they kept getting worse for a while, and more sore spots would show up and I couldn't do anything for him. It was so frustrating. He was so miserable and itchy too, and getting so skinny... He ended up weighing less than my smallest cat, his littermate who is a tiny girl; 7.5 pounds is a normal weight for her but for him to be that weight he just looked awful.

Unfortunately after I typed my reply last night he started chewing more on his back feet and they're started to get irritated again. I'm pretty sure it's because he's been stealing my senior cat Sneakers canned food (Wellness) which is not "allergy approved".

I could just cry reading about Mr Grey.

It's so frustrating not being able to just fix the problem and let the boys live happy, kitty lives.

I'm sorry to hear about the re-occurrence of his symptoms. I can believe it's from stealing Sneakers' food. I know just the smallest bit of whatever bothers Caster really causes issues for him. I hope Mr Grey starts feeling better soon.

We actually just bought a baby-gate yesterday so that we can keep Pollux from stealing Caster's wet z/d. I give some to all three boys, but Pollux would like to eat ALL of it, without leaving any for his brothers... and he's the fastest eater. I had originally just had an old screen that I'd prop in front of the doorway and put a chair in front of it. However, Pollux learned that he could just push it from the side and get in. Sometimes it's really hard being smarter than they are.