How To Diagnose Food Intolerance? - When And How To Switch

[mojomom]

Hi all,

So in my ongoing saga of All the Sick Cats 2018, it seems Benson might have a food intolerance. I'm not sure, though. He has had chronic diarrhea for over a week now, but it (the diarrhea) has come back around the same time as his upper respiratory issue has.

Now I'm wondering if his goopy eyes, sneezing, and diarrhea is 1) his URI returning or 2) a food intolerance? Especially when combined with the diarrhea. I think it unlikely that the antibiotic eye drops I'm giving him are causing his intestinal issues.

Could it be SIBO caused by the two rounds of injectable antibiotics he's gotten for the URI? Or is it possible I looking at a food intolerance?

He is primarily eating Tiki Chicken, Tiki Chicken and Egg, and Weruva Pumpkin Lickin Chicken pouches. I tried limiting to these flavors when he started having his troubles. This is quite different than the diet he was on when I adopted him (entirely Authority kibble), but as Petsmart is almost an hour away from me, I gradually switched his kibble to Wellness CORE Kitten and pretty abruptly added a lot of wet food (Weruva CitK & Truluxe, Tiki, Tiki Dark, Instinct, and Merrick, for the most part). He was pooping okay until I administered oral antibiotics March 20-27. Then it sort of started getting better, but it's recently come back with a vengeance.

What I'm really wondering is: how do I go about finding out if it is a food intolerance or something else? And if it is a food intolerance, how does one go about switching a cats diet so abruptly without aggravating symptoms?

Thanks for any thoughts you might have!

 

[neely]

I'm sorry to hear about the health problems Benson is having right now. It appears there are a lot of things going on simultaneously, e.g. chronic diarrhea, goopy eyes, and sneezing. I really think it would be advisable to contact your vet especially since you mentioned it started after administering antibiotic eye drops recently. FYI, here is an Article about food allergies in cats: 11 Key Facts About Food Allergies In Cats However, I would recommend a call to your vet first. Best of luck, please keep us posted about Benson.

 

[duckpond]

His problems could well be related to the antibiotic shots he got. Have you given him any probiotics? i would suggest checking with the vet, mine keeps some in stock for when they give antibiotics.

I would pick one or two foods he was on before he started having problems, maybe a wet and a dry. Try feeding him that until he gets the URI dealt with, and the antibiotics have been out of his system a few weeks. Then try slowly introducing other foods you want him to eat?

If you want there is a new Taste of the Wild Prey, a single protein dry food that is very limited ingredient. All the cats i know of that have tried it really like it. They have a Beef and a Turkey. so you could try one at a time and see how he does. I like the limited ingredients this food has. Our local petsense has it, as does Tractor supply. This dry may be worth a try, until he gets over his problems, and if he likes it you can always continue it in addition to his wet.

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