Food options for hacking/coughing caused by possible allergies?

lisahe

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There are actually only 2 dry foods on the market that are low in carbs: Ziwipeak and Dr. Elsey. Unless you’re feeding one of these the food is high in carbs.
It's the carbs that concern our vet about dry food, too, particularly for Siamese mixes: she recommends high-protein, low-carb wet diets for all cats but especially Siamese because they tend to develop digestive problems. Carby ingredients just aren't very digestible for cats to begin with -- it's that carnivore thing! -- and we've definitely seen that on a small scale with our cat who vomits if she eats foods with potato. We adopted her at ten months old and she already had the problem.

I definitely understand @DanielBunbury's concerns about certain ingredients in canned wet foods, though: there are so many ingredients that I refuse to feed or prefer not to feed that it's hard to find a rotation of foods to feed just one canned meal a day! Just refusing carrageenan, potato, and peas drastically reduces the number of foods available. Adding in menadione cuts more, and so on and so forth. Though I'd much rather not feed foods with gums, they're in some of the canned foods we feed: I think they're likely to be less harmful than the carby stuff in dry food that cats just don't digest and metabolize well. As I see it, the best I can do is be aware of the risks of various ingredients, know what adverse reactions to watch for, and then make changes as necessary.
 

Neo_23

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I agree that canned foods on the market often have crummy ingredients, but dry foods are really no better, add to that the fact that they are low in moisture, high in carbs, overly heat processed, and you don’t really have a very healthy product.
 

lisahe

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I agree that canned foods on the market often have crummy ingredients, but dry foods are really no better, add to that the fact that they are low in moisture, high in carbs, overly heat processed, and you don’t really have a very healthy product.
I completely agree and certainly didn't mean to give the impression that I think feeding dry food is better!
 

LillysMom

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UPDATE: Hello everyone! It's been a year since my last post regarding my cat's hacking cough issues that after heavy experimentation on my part, turned out to be allergy to chicken and turkey. Lilly is still doing great -- no coughing at all except for when she had a cold last November! Took her to the vet for her annual check-up and her vaccines, and the vet is still in awe at how the coughing disappeared with just a change of diet. He says he has never heard of a case like this one, and to just keep doing what I'm doing! :hyper: Hope everybody's kitty is doing well!

(I'm now going to search the forum for possible "cat ate a ribbon" thread. Yes, Lilly stole a foot-long ribbon from my dresser and ate it while I frantically chased her all over. I was speechless. I called the vet and he said she may puke or poop it out, and that's the desired outcome. But if she doesn't, then I need to watch her for potential signs of gastrointestinal obstruction... so scary!)

Life with cats is never boring. :blush:
 

Furballsmom

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Took her to the vet for her annual check-up and her vaccines, and the vet is still in awe at how the coughing disappeared with just a change of diet. He says he has never heard of a case like this one, and to just keep doing what I'm doing
!!!GOOD FOR YOU!!!
hang in there - hopefully that ribbon comes out with no ill effects! :vibes::crossfingers: :hangin:
 

LillysMom

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!!!GOOD FOR YOU!!!
hang in there - hopefully that ribbon comes out with no ill effects! :vibes::crossfingers: :hangin:
hang in there - hopefully that ribbon comes out with no ill effects! :vibes::crossfingers: :hangin:
Thank you! I've been watching her carefully and she shows no ill effects, except for having hacked up some clear foamy stuff immediately after eating the ribbon. She was clearly hungry so I fed her breakfast as usual and she ate everything. I also gave her a little Laxatone and may do it daily for a couple days until she hopefully passes the ribbon.
 

lisahe

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Fingers crossed that Lilly poops out the ribbon! She's the lynx mix in your photo, right? She and our lynx mix, Ireland, now have two things in common: coughing and eating ribbons. Ireland's coughing went away, too, with a change of diet and kitty litter. And she's so bad with ribbons, shoelaces, rubber bands, and a bunch of other things that they're either banned from the house or locked away. There have been all too many times when I've watched the litter box for ribbon (the last one was bright blue, easy to spot) or shoe lace pieces (the leather ones are obvious, too). Here's hoping Lilly's able to pass hers, too.

:crossfingers:
 

LillysMom

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Fingers crossed that Lilly poops out the ribbon! She's the lynx mix in your photo, right? She and our lynx mix, Ireland, now have two things in common: coughing and eating ribbons. Ireland's coughing went away, too, with a change of diet and kitty litter. And she's so bad with ribbons, shoelaces, rubber bands, and a bunch of other things that they're either banned from the house or locked away. There have been all too many times when I've watched the litter box for ribbon (the last one was bright blue, easy to spot) or shoe lace pieces (the leather ones are obvious, too). Here's hoping Lilly's able to pass hers, too.

:crossfingers:
Hello there! So happy to hear that your Ireland's coughing disappeared too with changes in diet and litter! I'm usually careful with what I leave around because Lilly loves to play, even when she's by herself, and will chew on or eat a lot of random items, particularly my hair ties! However, to my knowledge she has never eaten anything this LONG -- exactly 12 inches. How do I know? Because it's a piece of ribbon I had expressly cut to 12 inches for a craft project! It's black, so I pray she will pass it and I'll still be able to see it. She has eaten normally and even begged for a snack. I'm hoping to find poop in the litter box tomorrow morning, yay!!! I'll also post an update here. :yess:Thanks for your reply! :)
 

lisahe

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Yes, do let us know, LillysMom LillysMom -- I hope the ribbon comes out today! Normal eating sounds like a good sign, so fingers crossed again! (I suspect you'll be able to see the ribbon fairly easily. I've found that it's even pretty easy to see rawhide shoe laces, a real favorite for Ireland: she chews those off in little pieces but even they're visible.)

One thing that helps a little with Ireland is a Petstages wiggle worm. (Which reminds me that I need to buy another one or two!) I leave them lying around and I have actually seen her walk up to them and start chewing. She also chews on certain catnip toys.

Anyway, good luck!
 

She's a witch

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Hello there! So happy to hear that your Ireland's coughing disappeared too with changes in diet and litter! I'm usually careful with what I leave around because Lilly loves to play, even when she's by herself, and will chew on or eat a lot of random items, particularly my hair ties! However, to my knowledge she has never eaten anything this LONG -- exactly 12 inches. How do I know? Because it's a piece of ribbon I had expressly cut to 12 inches for a craft project! It's black, so I pray she will pass it and I'll still be able to see it. She has eaten normally and even begged for a snack. I'm hoping to find poop in the litter box tomorrow morning, yay!!! I'll also post an update here. :yess:Thanks for your reply! :)
Just to let you know that it took 3 days for my cat to recently poop out 15cm of ribbon like thing so it may in fact take longer. In case you don't know, do not pull the ribbon out if you see it stick out of his butt. Good luck and lets hope for a smooth exit!
 

LillysMom

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UPDATE: Partial success! Lilly pooped out part of the ribbon, I'd estimate about 5-6 inches of the 12. It looks like the ribbon may have broken in two or more pieces after she ate it? I just hope it's not stuck anywhere and that she'll keep pooping it all out. I just gave her a little more Laxatone. She's not in any distress, has great appetite, and engaged in play with me. Thank you for the support, everyone. She's a witch She's a witch , thank you for the heads up! :yess:
 

LillysMom

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Today's Update: No ribbon in the poop, but at least she pooped, which would indicate her gut is moving normally. Ate all her breakfast too. I'm feeling positive!
 

LillysMom

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Has there been any sign of the rest of the ribbon, LillysMom LillysMom ?
Nope. :( Lilly pooped again today but no signs of the rest of the ribbon, and believe me, I looked! Yuck. She continues to eat with excellent appetite and displays no unusual behavior or signs of distress. Nothing is hanging from her butt. Today is Day 3. She's a witch She's a witch said her kitty took 3 days. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that it will happen tomorrow. I don't have a medical background, but what remains of the ribbon must be one disgusting, putrid, rotten mess inside her, and surely that can't be good?! Thanks for asking, lisahe lisahe . I hadn't updated sooner because I was hoping for perhaps a second poop, but no. Ill post again tomorrow. regardless of the poop saga outcome! :lovecat:
 

lisahe

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Thank you for your detailed post, LillysMom! Yes, I would wonder, too, if the rest of the ribbon has become a disgusting, putrid, rotten mess inside her... though if she seems to be fine, I'd probably (at least try to) not worry too much. It's so hard not to worry! I'll watch for your news tomorrow. Fingers crossed again for the rest of the ribbon to re-enter the world tomorrow!
 
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