Food options for hacking/coughing caused by possible allergies?

[kittysback]

I've posted recently about my 2 yr old male who frequently hacks or coughs, but no hairballs come up. I was told by the vet that his lungs sounded fine and that, outside of losing a pound or two, he was completely healthy. Well, he still hacks every few days. I may try a different vet, or ask for an x-ray to rule out asthma. (He crouches down, extends his neck, coughs, and nothing comes up).

But in the meantime, I'm contemplating switching his food to a limited-ingredient kind. (Currently I feed Taste of the Wild dry, plus varying cans of quality wet food like Wellness, Chicken Soup, Merrick)

I am not very familiar with allergy foods, but I know Natural Balance has a few flavors that are LID. Are there any others? Should I try the Duck, since that's a novel protein? They all seem to do well with chicken flavors (I never feed fish), but I don't know if chicken could be an allergen.

Would the wet foods need to be LID, too? And should my other cats be switched as well?

Any other thoughts? Anyone else experience with this type of hacking and was food the issue?

 
 

 

[feralvr]

I do remember your other thread - . I would definitely get an xray or two done :nod: Natural Balance would be a good choice if you are worried about allergies. Instinct also makes a LID - I personally love Nature's Variety and all of their line of foods. I still would go ahead and get that xray though - food allergies don't usually cause a chronic hacking cough like that.

 

[space1101]

One of my cat was allergic to Wellness.  He first had itchy skin, and the vet said it was ringworm.  After 2 weeks, he started coughing, like your description.   X ray shows the lungs were clear.   It took me 3 months to figure out it was Wellness that caused the allergy.   I think he is allergic to most of its flavours, more so to the two flavours with brown rice.  The weird thing is that he has never been allergic to brown rice before.   After I stopped feeding Wellness, all the problems were gone. 

 

[just mike]

Sorry you are still going through this.  I would definitely get the x-ray done if possible. The coughing part is a little disturbing.  Do you know which ingredients he might be allergic to in the brand you are currently using? I know, it could be so many things it might be impossible to pin down any one ingredient. Feral mentioned a brand that I've heard helps with allergic issues.  Wish I could be more help with this but without knowing which ingredient(s) might be the cause the only advice I can give is to rule out this brand, that brand etc. by trying them to see which results you get from each.  Best of luck in trying to track this thing down. 

 

[kittysback]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to talk to the vet about getting an x-ray. I have no idea it's asthma or allergies, or even what he could be allergic to. The TOTW Rocky Mountain formula has a mixture of many ingredients, and Puck has been eating it since he was a kitten (he's now 15 months).

I also don't know if his weight is causing the hacking. The vet says is a big cat, but still could lose 2 pounds. ( he's 19 lbs.) We've had him on scheduled feedings the last 6 months, and have slowly reduced his dry food and increased the wet. He gets 1/2 cup of dry, 1/2 can of wet per day.  We have exercise sessions every day or every other day, and while he tires out, I think the more we exercise him, the more energy he keeps.

Switching foods, especially for 4 cats, as many of us are all too familiar with, can be frustrating, so I'd rather not do that unless I had to. No matter what, hopefully the x-ray results will give some kind of answer as to what the next step should be.

Thanks for the replies - I will keep you posted!

 

[auntie crazy]

I think you're definitely on the right track with the reduction of kibble and the increase of canned foods, Kittysback.

If you're looking for "novel" or limited-ingredient foods, you might want to consider raw. There are several brands out there that contain single protein sources and pretty much nothing else... which is perfect for a limited-ingredient food trial (RadCat and Primal are two good examples). In addition, the ingredients are in their freshest, most easily-digested form, which means the cats will obtain more nutrition with less effort... and be the healthier for it.

The Feline Nutrition Education Society has an article Another Furball? It Might Be Feline Asthma that you might find interesting or helpful.

I'm sorry you're going through this. That cough sounds scary!

I hope you're able to identify and address the source ASAP! 

AC

 

[maxysmama]

I just switched my guy to Wellness complete indoor and I'm wondering if that's caused his coughing bouts.  Thought he had a hairball, but the coughing is softer now.  I bought NB's LID duck and green pea - I think I'll dump the rest of that when I get home.  Maxy has unidentified allergies causing plaques/granulomas on his hind leg.

 

[amy saunders]

Hi there! I know we're a couple of years down the line from the original post but I was wondering if you found out the answer to your kitty's hacking? I've had the same problem with my kitty since we got him! Been to the vets sooo many times and they've never found anything wrong! Sounds just like a hairball but nothings come up so I think he might have an allergy to dry food? If you ever came to any conclusions I'd love to know! Thanks

 

[maxysmama]

We're doing a food trial right now to rule out food allergies! Saw the dermatologist even!

 

[amy saunders]

Interesting! Haxan our cat is 7 months old and started coughing 3 days after we bought him home at 10 weeks old! Tried everything but when I asked the vet about possible food allergy they dismissed it and said they were sure it was a hairball so gave us paste! Didn't work, so contacted a group on facebook to ask their opinion and someone got back to me saying it's probably the dry food! So I switched both my cats onto an all wet diet and his coughing completely stopped!! We were cough/hack free for about a month then my other cat had a upset stomach so I put her onto dry food for a couple of days, saw Haxan helping himself to her food a couple of times and his hack has instantly come back REALLY bad!! So I'm sure it's the dry food - just don't know what ingredient within the dry food could be the issue! But for now its a totally wet food diet for him!

 

[maxysmama]

apologies for typos - typing on phone

per our vet and dermatologist, cats can have allergies to most common proteins in cat food, ie chicken, beef. so the food trial is with an unusual protein. we're doing rayne's diagnostic rabbit and squash/rabbit and sweet pea formulas in wet and dry (tho max loved the kangaroo!). our max has had 2 separate dermatological issues - one unknown paw derm issue and then eosinophilic granulomas (like hives) on his hind leg. the paw cleared up with steroids after about 6 wks of meds and medicated soakings. the leg has FINALLY cleared, and he also had a secondary staph infection and giardia, of all things.

that said, he also coughs ocasioanlly, or sneezes. i thought it was a hairball, but he never produces anything. i sent a video to vet and she suspected he may be developing feline asthma, or there was the possibility the coughing could be an allergic rx to food (rare, tho). so, off to the dermatologist and she wants to rule out food and environmental/seasonal allergies. thankfully he only has a small bit of a yeast infection on his tummy but otherwise clear!! and havent heard coughing lately.

we also switched him to yesterday's news litter from feline pine because it's low-tracking, and FP's dust can cause allergies in kitties!

it's a waiting game, esp to see how he responds to the food trial and seasons - in our case, it'll be about clearing out his system and then reintroducing a common protein and monitor for any reaction.

if you suspect allergies, i read you should avoid smelly things, like air fresheners and candles, and make sure to dust a lot!

 

[sabycat]

OMG. I too have this problem with my cat. We've had him almost a year and he's done it since day 1.  We thought it was a fur ball. I've tried all kinds of food. I do not believe it is food-related. Vet has no idea.  We have had x-rays done.  3rd vet suggested it is a mechanical issue and we need more x-rays.    Still we do not know. Do you mind if I ask what breed your cat is?  I'm just curious.  Thanks.  

 

[sabycat]

I know this is an older post.. but did you get the x-ray?  Did they find out what the cause of the cough was?

 

[maxysmama]

poor kitty! best vet and dermatologist can come up with is environmental allergies. he's been x-rayed and has some asthma-ish congestion. we've been able to control the coughing (and subsequently the granulomas on his leg) through a limited ingredient (rabbit) wet diet, lots of cleaning, closed windows, and 2 air filters! he's a DSH - domestic shorthair, street rescue. vet and derm have suggested steroids if cough worsens, but that can weaken kidneys. hope that helps!!

 

[kg1984]

Wow. I wonder if my cat is allergic to Meow Mix dry food. I know no one has mentioned that particular brand. My other cat LOVES it. It's the only dry food he likes...ugh!! I prefer not to give them dry food at all, but it's just so convenient. (My boy kitty gets very creative when he's hungry.)

My girl kitty is a 6-year-old Siamese mix. She's been having coughing spells off and on for nearly 7 weeks. She only cough once today (barely anything.) She coughed once yesterday (barely anything, but a little harder than today.) Before yesterday she hadn't coughed in 10 days, before that 6. It was really not good for the first 3 weeks. She also had a respiratory infection at the beginning of this. My vet is thinking it might be bronchitis/asthma. (Ugh, I sure hope not!)

I have noticed that she usually doesn't cough unless she's had dry food...and I'm pretty positive it's always been with Meow mix. I'm going to keep an eye on this.

 

[LillysMom]

I have been checking this site for several months for info on the cause of my short-hair Siamese-mix girl's chronic coughing and hacking condition. She is 6 1/2 years old rescue and I adopted her when she was 1. She was perfectly fine for the first 3 years I had her, but then slowly developed a chronic cough/hack that got progressively worse. Many visits to the vet, two X-rays, a lot of blood work, short-term steroids (to rule out ashthma), antihistamines, Laxatone and antibiotics did not solve the problem. The vet wanted to do a tracheal wash and endoscopy which I could not afford at the moment. So, I embarked on a mission to rule out allergies as the cause.

My kitty had been eating mostly chicken -- Purina One chicken dry food and also Purina One canned food, and occasionally Fancy Feast chicken canned food. The first thing I did was change both the dry food and the wet food to "grain-free" chicken varieties, because I read that grain could cause inflammation issues. Three weeks later there had been no noticeable change, and at that time I also changed the litter to a low-dust one (Tidy Cats Instant Action). Another 3 weeks later, still no noticeable change. I then stopped feeding her chicken and switched to grain-free fish.

This was around Christmas 2017 and I'm amazed to report that the hacking and coughing have practically stopped! I don't dare say that the problem is solved -- not yet. But, I am watching her very carefully, keeping track of her behavior, and I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. The dry food I am feeding her is Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Whitefish & Potato Recipe. (It STINKS, but my girl loves it). And the wet food is whatever mid-grade grain-free fish varieties I can find on sale -- usually Purina One Grain Free Ocean Whitefish Recipe, and Purina Beyond Grain Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe. It took some trial and error to find the canned food she would eat, for she's quite picky.

I also want to mention that two days ago, as an experiment, I fed her canned grain free TURKEY and watched carefully. It's only been 2 days, but she hasn't coughed. I will repeat in a couple days. If there is no coughing/hacking, then I'll be more inclined to believe that Lilly is simply allergic to chicken -- as weird as this may sound. The vet says that cats are more incllined to develop allergies to fish and beef, not chicken. But Lilly may just be an exception. Time will tell, I guess!

I will post again if there is any change.

 

[Furballsmom]

GO YOU!!!

 

[Yanaka]

Interesting. I saw my cat/s hack once or twice, including my boy last night who has some allergies. I didn't know what to make of it, so I'm very glad this thread has opened. I wouldn't have linked it to food!

 

[LillysMom]

Interesting. I saw my cat/s hack once or twice, including my boy last night who has some allergies. I didn't know what to make of it, so I'm very glad this thread has opened. I wouldn't have linked it to food!

If my girl had only had occasional coughing/hacking episodes I wouldn't have worried too much about it. But it got SO bad, that it was happening almost daily, often several times a day. She would be fast asleep and suddenly woken by horrible cough! It had become a quality of life issue and it just broke my heart to see her so uncomfortable. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed!