Cat with Food Allergies

plebayo

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Unfortunately the only way to diagnose a food allergy is by doing food elimination. Lame!

It sucks that there isn't an easier way.

Another thing worth trying as well, which I did for Napolean is Evanger's Game Meats. They have several different kinds of canned 100% meat bison, venison, rabbit, pheasant, duck, I fed those to Napolean with taurine supplement added, those are something you could try to rule out different proteins he's allergic to.

Also the holistic vet tried to tell me that it mattered whether the food was cooked or not and made me feed my cat raw chicken and Napolean who is allergic to cooked chicken is totally allergic to raw chicken, he's allergic to chicken in general! So for my cat I haven't seen a difference as far as whether it's in kibble form, raw form, or cooked form. If he's allergic to it, he's allergic to it.
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by Plebayo

Unfortunately the only way to diagnose a food allergy is by doing food elimination. Lame!

It sucks that there isn't an easier way.
I agree.. it is totally lame that there isn't an easier way. And I feel it's so much more difficult to find out even through elimination than it would be with a human. I mean, we can speak! And say, 'Hey, when I eat this food, I feel a little itchy!' Which is how I know my husband can't have certain BBQ and or any enchilada sauces. (Which makes me very sad, because I love enchiladas.)

Originally Posted by Plebayo

Another thing worth trying as well, which I did for Napolean is Evanger's Game Meats. They have several different kinds of canned 100% meat bison, venison, rabbit, pheasant, duck, I fed those to Napolean with taurine supplement added, those are something you could try to rule out different proteins he's allergic to.

Also the holistic vet tried to tell me that it mattered whether the food was cooked or not and made me feed my cat raw chicken and Napolean who is allergic to cooked chicken is totally allergic to raw chicken, he's allergic to chicken in general! So for my cat I haven't seen a difference as far as whether it's in kibble form, raw form, or cooked form. If he's allergic to it, he's allergic to it.
I will have to look into these Evanger's Game Meats, I haven't heard of them before. They sound like a good idea to try, especially being 100% of the protein source. Thanks for the tip!


Part of me understands what your holistic vet might have been getting at when he/she said that Napoleon may not be allergic to cooked versus uncooked chicken... although I would think that, if allergic, he'd be allergic to the raw versus cooked. I'm no doctor or pharmacist... I only say this because I have an aunt who is allergic to raw apples, but can have apples that have been baked. So she can still have apple pie or apple cake, but no raw, crunchy apples. (Although she did say she cheats sometimes by popping a Benadryl and having a raw apple when her cravings get too crazy!
)
 

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I have had animals allergic to the raw but not the cooked and vice versa... There are blood , skin and kinsiec allergy tests available ... the later bein not invasive and IMHO fairly accurate but to find even a holistic vet trained in it is hard/....
 

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Wellness also makes some canned varieties for dogs that are 100% meat. You would have to know how to supplement them though.

My dog does seem to be allergic to some things in cooked but not raw form. She has a reaction to chicken both cooked and raw, but can eat raw food with duck (premade) but not duck kibble. The proteins change when you cook foods so it could be that one form causes an allergic reaction and the other doesn't.
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by sharky

I have had animals allergic to the raw but not the cooked and vice versa... There are blood , skin and kinsiec allergy tests available ... the later bein not invasive and IMHO fairly accurate but to find even a holistic vet trained in it is hard/....
Originally Posted by Nekochan

Wellness also makes some canned varieties for dogs that are 100% meat. You would have to know how to supplement them though.

My dog does seem to be allergic to some things in cooked but not raw form. She has a reaction to chicken both cooked and raw, but can eat raw food with duck (premade) but not duck kibble. The proteins change when you cook foods so it could be that one form causes an allergic reaction and the other doesn't.
Food allergies are so weird. It does make sense that a person (or cat) could be allergic to raw, or cooked, or both, especially if the proteins do change.

And sharky, your post is the first that I'm seeing that food allergy testing can be accurate in cats. I've only been told and read that atopy (inhalant allergies) can be pinpointed with allergy testing (bloodwork). Everything I've read says that an elimination diet is the only way to figure it out. I wonder if my vet knows a trusted holistic vet that can do this kind of testing. It would be SO worth it.
 

plebayo

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Originally Posted by JennG

Food allergies are so weird. It does make sense that a person (or cat) could be allergic to raw, or cooked, or both, especially if the proteins do change.

And sharky, your post is the first that I'm seeing that food allergy testing can be accurate in cats. I've only been told and read that atopy (inhalant allergies) can be pinpointed with allergy testing (bloodwork). Everything I've read says that an elimination diet is the only way to figure it out. I wonder if my vet knows a trusted holistic vet that can do this kind of testing. It would be SO worth it.
The blood work is definitely not accurate for food allergies. I spent the money and did a panel on my cat and his numbers weren't even significant [25 out of 5000] yet he's very allergic to the things on the list just by feeding it to him. As far as I know with inter-dermal skin testing they can only test inhalants? I could be wrong but that is how I understood it... As far as the holistic stuff I'm not sure.

Also if you decide to try the different canned meats you do need to add a taurine supplement, I also gave my cat a cat multi-vitamin while on it. As long as the food trial isn't months on end you're not going to cause tons of damage if the food they are eating isn't completely balanced. I know most veterinarians say 3 weeks for a food trial, with my own cat personally I'd feed him the food till he started ripping his face off and then we'd move on to something different. IMO it's like telling someone who is allergic to peanuts to keep eating them 'cause they might get over it... yeah right!
 

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Originally Posted by Plebayo

The blood work is definitely not accurate for food allergies. I spent the money and did a panel on my cat and his numbers weren't even significant [25 out of 5000] yet he's very allergic to the things on the list just by feeding it to him. As far as I know with inter-dermal skin testing they can only test inhalants? I could be wrong but that is how I understood it... As far as the holistic stuff I'm not sure.

Also if you decide to try the different canned meats you do need to add a taurine supplement, I also gave my cat a cat multi-vitamin while on it. As long as the food trial isn't months on end you're not going to cause tons of damage if the food they are eating isn't completely balanced. I know most veterinarians say 3 weeks for a food trial, with my own cat personally I'd feed him the food till he started ripping his face off and then we'd move on to something different. IMO it's like telling someone who is allergic to peanuts to keep eating them 'cause they might get over it... yeah right!
Yeah a 6 -8 week food trial you may not need to worry about a supplement.. but about half of the 95% and 100% food are with supplements now ...now for the fun part the supplement may be the allergen depending from what it was sourced
 

plebayo

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Originally Posted by sharky

Yeah a 6 -8 week food trial you may not need to worry about a supplement.. but about half of the 95% and 100% food are with supplements now ...now for the fun part the supplement may be the allergen depending from what it was sourced
Yeah... it's hard finding pet vitamins that aren't beef flavored or have some kind of liver as a base.

We all need to get together and write a book about cat and dog food allergies :p What to try, what not to try hahaha.
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by Plebayo

Also if you decide to try the different canned meats you do need to add a taurine supplement, I also gave my cat a cat multi-vitamin while on it. As long as the food trial isn't months on end you're not going to cause tons of damage if the food they are eating isn't completely balanced. I know most veterinarians say 3 weeks for a food trial, with my own cat personally I'd feed him the food till he started ripping his face off and then we'd move on to something different. IMO it's like telling someone who is allergic to peanuts to keep eating them 'cause they might get over it... yeah right!
If I do end up going the route of those different canned meats, I'll definitely supplement for taurine. I would hope that we wouldn't have to be on the trial for months on end. Caster usually starts having a reaction within the first week with the foods we've tried so far. And I don't wait the full 6-8 weeks either if he starts scratching his face off from a new food. My vet told me to pull a new food if it causes a bad reaction, and I just can't put him through that. And I agree... it's like telling someone with a known allergy to just keep eating it.. maybe they'll get used to it.


Originally Posted by sharky

Yeah a 6 -8 week food trial you may not need to worry about a supplement.. but about half of the 95% and 100% food are with supplements now ...now for the fun part the supplement may be the allergen depending from what it was sourced
Oh gosh sharky... I didn't think about the supplements being a problem too. I'll have to cross that bridge once we get to it. Oi!
 

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I haven't read this whole thread, but I wanted to weigh because I dealt with food allergies.
My cat Scarlett had bad diarrhea ever since we got her. She was also very thin, sneezed a lot, and had yucky stuff coming out of her eyes. She was tested/treated for parasites but it came down to a food intolerance issue. I didn't find any animal protein source that she didn't react to, so she went on the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP (the protein in it is soy), and her issues stopped right away.

People will tell you that soy is bad for cats, and that may be true for most cats, but apparently it works for some
. It's expensive, which stinks, but I was just so happy to find something that she could eat.

Good luck!
 

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I have scanned this whole thread, and I do feel for you. I went through the exact same thing from Nov. 08 'til Dec. 09 until Carolina and Sharky here on thecatsite helped me. They recommended the Nat. Balance Green Pea and Salmon, and it has been a life savor since last Dec., no scatching at all. Just a few things to remember on your journey, and I don't know if someone already touched on or not, is that cats develop food allergies from things they eat; they are usually not allergic to something they have never had, hince "duck", etc. I did try the chicken and duck from N.B., and it did not help. As far as the peas goes, it is a high allergen, but from what I have learned from N.B., their allergen formulas use "pea flour" which gives only the carb. aspect of the pea, so allergies are highly unlikely because no other manf. uses this, so cats have never had it. It sounds to me fowl is the culprit, that he has developed allergy to all fowl, that is what I went through too. When we had the most difficult times, my vet did give my cat (CJ) a steroid/cortizone shot which stops scratching IMMEDIATELY for about 6 weeks. Be cautious, because steroids can be hard on the kidneys... I only did this twice in the 1+ year of my "journey", but the pros did outweight the cons at that time. I have since tried twice giving CJ the NB Green Pea and Chicken,only one serving, and within a half hour, he would scratch some, so I know that is his allergen.
Best of luck to you!!
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by BreaMarie

I haven't read this whole thread, but I wanted to weigh because I dealt with food allergies.
My cat Scarlett had bad diarrhea ever since we got her. She was also very thin, sneezed a lot, and had yucky stuff coming out of her eyes. She was tested/treated for parasites but it came down to a food intolerance issue. I didn't find any animal protein source that she didn't react to, so she went on the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP (the protein in it is soy), and her issues stopped right away.

People will tell you that soy is bad for cats, and that may be true for most cats, but apparently it works for some
. It's expensive, which stinks, but I was just so happy to find something that she could eat.

Good luck!
Thanks BreaMarie! I can use all the luck I can get.
I'm glad you found out what was bothering your Scarlett... it sounds like she was having a rough time there. It's so heartbreaking when you know they're suffering and you can't fix it instantly. I appreciate you mentioning the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP... I don't think I've heard of that one before. I've heard of RC Green Pea & Duck I think... it's Rx I believe, but I didn't know they had a hypoallergenic variety. If we have to go that route, and it works for Caster, then that's what we do.
Thank you!

Originally Posted by bfish29

I have scanned this whole thread, and I do feel for you. I went through the exact same thing from Nov. 08 'til Dec. 09 until Carolina and Sharky here on thecatsite helped me. They recommended the Nat. Balance Green Pea and Salmon, and it has been a life savor since last Dec., no scatching at all. Just a few things to remember on your journey, and I don't know if someone already touched on or not, is that cats develop food allergies from things they eat; they are usually not allergic to something they have never had, hince "duck", etc. I did try the chicken and duck from N.B., and it did not help. As far as the peas goes, it is a high allergen, but from what I have learned from N.B., their allergen formulas use "pea flour" which gives only the carb. aspect of the pea, so allergies are highly unlikely because no other manf. uses this, so cats have never had it. It sounds to me fowl is the culprit, that he has developed allergy to all fowl, that is what I went through too. When we had the most difficult times, my vet did give my cat (CJ) a steroid/cortizone shot which stops scratching IMMEDIATELY for about 6 weeks. Be cautious, because steroids can be hard on the kidneys... I only did this twice in the 1+ year of my "journey", but the pros did outweight the cons at that time. I have since tried twice giving CJ the NB Green Pea and Chicken,only one serving, and within a half hour, he would scratch some, so I know that is his allergen.
Best of luck to you!!
Hhmm.. maybe it is the duck and not the peas. The Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck variety was the first time Caster had ever had green peas or duck. I honestly can't tell you which part he's allergic to at this point, but I was blaming the peas in my head. I can see why he might be allergic to all fowl... he's only ever had chicken before this. (As a side-note, he LOVES boiled chicken. But we haven't given him any since all these flare-ups.)

I do wonder if he can have "chicken eggs" and "duck eggs" without an allergic reaction. I ask this because I really want to try him on the Nature's Variety Lamb Meal & Oatmeal Medley (Prairie) kibble, but it has both chicken eggs and duck eggs in the ingredient list. I don't think they'd be the same thing, but I'm no allergist.


I really wanted to try the rabbit formula from Nature's Variety (Instinct line), but it has chicken meal as its second ingredient. Darn them.

I may end up trying the Natural Balance Green Pea & Salmon or California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato. The CN Herring & Sweet Potato does have chicken fat, but I don't think that carries the proteins if I'm reading correctly. I'm trying to try non-fish based foods first because of my other boy who has crystals and IBD, but I have read that some cats with these problems do okay on fish-based diets. So if we have to, I'll try those out after I try the NV Lamb & Oatmeal.

And I do feel bad having him on steroids, but for now, it's what works for him. He hurts himself so badly when he scratches. That's why I'm looking for a food that might work.. then I can ween him off the meds. I hope!


bfish29 - Thank you so much for all your help! I'm glad you found out what was bothering your kitty. A year is a long time and I'm glad he's feeling better now.
 

sharky

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eggs are normally okay if the animal is not allergic to eggs themselves

Fat = Technically is should not have proteins in it ... but unless a company specifies they test for that assume there may be some protein.... Modern manufacturing practices somewhat cause it


My vote would be herring and sweet potato
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by sharky

eggs are normally okay if the animal is not allergic to eggs themselves

Fat = Technically is should not have proteins in it ... but unless a company specifies they test for that assume there may be some protein.... Modern manufacturing practices somewhat cause it

My vote would be herring and sweet potato
I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that he isn't allergic to eggs. And the Herring and Sweet Potato is high on my list to try - second in fact. The only reason the Lamb & Oatmeal is first is because I'm trying non-fish first because of my crystals/IBD boy. I do love sweet potatoes myself though and wonder if my boys will enjoy that food. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Caster is about to go onto 2.5mg of Prednisolone every other day now. That's generally the lowest dose we can get him to without itching like crazy. Once he's nice and stable and has a bit of a rest from going through the food trial, I'm going to start the next one.
I'll keep you posted on how we do!

You guys have been really helpful, and I truly appreciate all your help and support.
 

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Originally Posted by JennG

I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that he isn't allergic to eggs. And the Herring and Sweet Potato is high on my list to try - second in fact. The only reason the Lamb & Oatmeal is first is because I'm trying non-fish first because of my crystals/IBD boy. I do love sweet potatoes myself though and wonder if my boys will enjoy that food. I guess we'll find out soon enough. Caster is about to go onto 2.5mg of Prednisolone every other day now. That's generally the lowest dose we can get him to without itching like crazy. Once he's nice and stable and has a bit of a rest from going through the food trial, I'm going to start the next one.
I'll keep you posted on how we do!

You guys have been really helpful, and I truly appreciate all your help and support.
That's the problem I'm having. My guy can only eat fish proteins and he has struvite crystals really bad
He was almost blocked last week, this is the 2nd time it has happened in 2 years and his urine was FULL of sand [the crystals]. I'm putting him back on vitamin C and feeding him canned to help hydrate him, but it can't be mentioned enough - food allergies suck!

Let us know how your boy does on the new food!!!!!!!
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by Plebayo

That's the problem I'm having. My guy can only eat fish proteins and he has struvite crystals really bad
He was almost blocked last week, this is the 2nd time it has happened in 2 years and his urine was FULL of sand [the crystals]. I'm putting him back on vitamin C and feeding him canned to help hydrate him, but it can't be mentioned enough - food allergies suck!

Let us know how your boy does on the new food!!!!!!!
Oh Plebayo, I'm so sorry your little guy is having such problems with crystals too. It's just awful when you have to worry about that issue along with food allergies. It feels like you're so limited in what you can feed because of the struvite crystals, but everything you can give them that would be helpful to minimize the crystals, they have allergic reactions to. It really feels lose-lose at times.

I had no idea that vitamin C helps for crystals. Is it because it increases the acidity of their urine? I know my vet said that the struvite crystals can occur when urine is too alkaline, so that would make sense. I just didn't know vitamin C would help. Interesting - thank you!


And I'll be keeping your little guy in my thoughts. I have a good idea what you're going through, and I know how frightening it can be.
 

plebayo

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Originally Posted by JennG

Oh Plebayo, I'm so sorry your little guy is having such problems with crystals too. It's just awful when you have to worry about that issue along with food allergies. It feels like you're so limited in what you can feed because of the struvite crystals, but everything you can give them that would be helpful to minimize the crystals, they have allergic reactions to. It really feels lose-lose at times.

I had no idea that vitamin C helps for crystals. Is it because it increases the acidity of their urine? I know my vet said that the struvite crystals can occur when urine is too alkaline, so that would make sense. I just didn't know vitamin C would help. Interesting - thank you!


And I'll be keeping your little guy in my thoughts. I have a good idea what you're going through, and I know how frightening it can be.
It's great to have someone to commiserate with! For the longest time I felt like I had the only cat out there that was allergic to a lot of things. You are correct about the vitamin c. I'm giving him 1 tab 1000mg vitamin c once a day, I asked my vet and he said you really can't give too much, within reason so we're going with a full tab. It has helped in the past but I stopped doing it, I had another cat with bladder issues at the time and a bunch of awful things happened so I kind of fell off the wagon but we'll do it again and hopefully it helps. I was going to put him on Uroeze but it comes in a "palatable protein base" of course haha.
 
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jenng

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Originally Posted by Plebayo

It's great to have someone to commiserate with! For the longest time I felt like I had the only cat out there that was allergic to a lot of things. You are correct about the vitamin c. I'm giving him 1 tab 1000mg vitamin c once a day, I asked my vet and he said you really can't give too much, within reason so we're going with a full tab. It has helped in the past but I stopped doing it, I had another cat with bladder issues at the time and a bunch of awful things happened so I kind of fell off the wagon but we'll do it again and hopefully it helps. I was going to put him on Uroeze but it comes in a "palatable protein base" of course haha.
I agree!
Although I wish we both didn't have to deal with these situations.


I will have to talk to my vet about possibly adding vitamin C to Pollux's medication list. I looked a little online today, and opinions on the vitamin C supplement seem to vary. I read on one that if your cat is already on a diet to made the urine more acidic, then you shouldn't add vitamin C. I know that the food that I feel the boys now has DL-Methionine in it, which helps to acidify urine. So I'm going to talk to my vet next time I'm in to see what she thinks.

I think we have tried the Uroeze in the past, but Pollux vomited it right up immediately. At least I think that's what it was... I'd have to scour my receipts to be absolutely positive.

Of course it has a protein base... it's not like they can make it easy on us, right? Maybe make something that the boys aren't allergic to?


Again, thanks for the suggestions!
 

plebayo

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I know that the food that I feel the boys now has DL-Methionine in it, which helps to acidify urine. So I'm going to talk to my vet next time I'm in to see what she thinks.
Yeah I think you have to be careful making it too acidic. I was going to put him on DL-Methionine but the stuff I was given was chewable at the time. Thanks for bringing that up actually, I might look into that as well because I know that that is proven to work for sure.
 

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If you're trying to make the urine acidic, if you make it too acidic couldn't they get Calcium Oxalate crystals?
 
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