Looking For Experience With Elimination Diets

[backyardzoo]

Hello
As my middle aged cat either has a food allergy/sensitivity (scratches her face/neck/ears to bleeding, has licked between back toes raw in the past, sometimes has puking/diarrhea) I am currently doing a food trial(Royal Canin PD dry and Merrick LID Duck which I am changing to the wet version of the Royal Canin PD, vet clinic was out). We thought we had seen an improvement in the first 2 weeks(face/neck had almost healed completely), but she is back to scratching herself raw and puked again last night. It has been almost 3 weeks on the trial diet, is this a sign that the diet is not working and we should maybe try another protein or wait and see if taking her off the Merrick LID helps? I am planning on asking the vet on Saturday about this when I take the kitten in for shots, but figured I would see if anyone else had any input on this.

We believe she has a chicken and fish allergies just from her reactions to the Royal Canin Gastro food and her last bad puking episode was on Acana Fish and a fish only canned food.
Unfortunately, if the duck is not working I believe all I am left with now is rabbit or venison as she was on Acana/Orijen in the past and was exposed to a lot of different proteins.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
This post may provide you with some info and resources;
My Bengal/siamese Kitten With Persistent Coughing/wheezing After Eating

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I do not have any experience with food trials, BUT I would suggest that you do try taking her off the Merrick first before switching proteins. And be aware that it can take several weeks in food trials, not just a couple.

Maybe there is something in this article you'll find helpful: 11 Key Facts About Food Allergies In Cats

 

[mizzely]

My vet told me it can take up to 12 weeks for allergens to completely leave the body when we had to do an elimination diet for my Jasmine

 

[Wile]

I agree with mrsgreenjeens that you should take her off the Merrick and stick with the Royal Canin PD for the 12-13 weeks. Commercial non-prescription LID diets can be great for some cats, but they are not hypoallergenic. It is possible that the Merrick food was contaminated with other allergens while processing in the plant. She could be reacting to some kind of protein in the Merrick that isn't supposed to be in the food.

 

[lisahe]

I agree with others about the methodology and timing for this sort of feeding trial: one food, several months.

I also noticed that the Royal Canin foods both have peas, which is another ingredient that can cause problems in some cats. I mention that because if the PD trial fails, it could potentially be because of the peas rather than the duck. I remember recent mentions of cats having diarrhea because of foods with peas and here's an old thread that mentions sensitivities/allergies to peas.

Clearly I'm no vet but, personally (and based on observations with our previous cat who had symptoms similar to your cat's, backyardzoo ) if I were going to feed, for example, duck, I'd try something with the simplest recipe possible, like Rawz (no carby vegetables, no gums, just duck and supplements, though perhaps not available in Canada, I don't know!), because then I wouldn't have to sort for peas or any other vegetable matter that cats really aren't built to handle. I don't say that because I want to disrupt your current food trials -- foods like Royal Canin can and do work for some cats -- but the reality of figuring out sensitivities is that nearly any ingredient has to be considered a suspect at the start.

 

[LTS3]

Per My Vet: How Long For Food Allergies Test

 

[backyardzoo]

Thanks for all the information, gives me some more reading.

I picked up some of the canned version of the RC today, so the kitten will be fed what she hasn't eaten of the Merrick LID food. I'm going to ask the vet if our little guy can be fed the her kibble and just supplemented with a more age appropriate canned as I did catch her trying to reach thru the crate bars/eat his food. I'm wondering if that maybe the issue is she's been sneaking a little of his food as I'm switching him to a LID all stages duck and pea food from Performatrin from Nutram kitten chicken/salmon.

I've been trying to find just duck but haven't had any luck so far in our town and I'm really hoping that peas is not the issue though looking now, peas is present in the Acana food she has been fed in the past. I think I will talk to my one pet supply store and see if they can get just duck canned food or would a raw diet be ok too?

 

[LadyLondonderry]

Rawz does have one authorized online retailer in Canada (in Ontario).

 

[backyardzoo]

I seen that, unfortunately being Christmas and with Canada Post still jerking around on deliveries from the strike backlog I would be lucky to get anything from Ontario until mid-January from my experience

 

[lisahe]

I've been trying to find just duck but haven't had any luck so far in our town and I'm really hoping that peas is not the issue though looking now, peas is present in the Acana food she has been fed in the past. I think I will talk to my one pet supply store and see if they can get just duck canned food or would a raw diet be ok too?

Raw would be fine, too, perhaps better. (I seem to remember reading that some people said their cats could handle certain proteins raw but not cooked.) The big thing is simple recipes so it's easier to figure out what's causing the problem.

And if peas were in the Acana, too, that's worth noting. I kept a diary on our previous cat's foods and symptoms -- it was very helpful! You just never know what odd thing might turn out to be a problem so looking at ingredients of foods you no longer feed could be a big help. (It was totally by accident that I realized it was potato that was causing one of our current cats to have horrible gas and vomiting!)

 

[Wile]

I seen that, unfortunately being Christmas and with Canada Post still jerking around on deliveries from the strike backlog I would be lucky to get anything from Ontario until mid-January from my experience

If it turns out that peas are a problem there are other options. Blue buffalo has a duck and potato LID food you can feed. I find Rawz supply is spotty in Canada as only a few independents carry it. You might find it if you are lucky though.

 

[backyardzoo]

I wrote down a list of all the protein sources that she has been fed by just the different varieties of Acana as she has had all four and it's a long list. As she was still itchy and puking on the Royal Canin Gastro I'm hoping that chicken and fish/seafood are the irritant and not something else like peas.
I'm in the middle of no-where, but we are lucky to have a very good independent in town and a pet valu. I've never seen the Blue Buffalo LID but it might just be a special request to get in.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm sending you all the best wishes for this,

 

[backyardzoo]

Thanks Furballsmom I think patience is going to be the key with trying to figure it out.
Here is a picture of my girl and our foster failure

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh gracious, they are GORGEOUS!!

 

[lisahe]

What sweet cats!

 

[daftcat75]

Feeding the raw protein (raw meat alone) isn't balanced nutrition. But it is helpful in the short-term to determine if the trouble is with duck or peas or any of a number of other inappropriate ingredients in a so-called "limited ingredient diet" food. My Krista doesn't seem to do well with chicken (I think it's more an intolerance than an allergy.) But she does really well on turkey and seems to be doing well enough on duck. It's richer than turkey so this may take an extra week to get her used to it. In the frozen meat section at the market, I'm also able to get bison, lamb, elk, wild boar, and venison all in boneless patties. This is not balanced nutrition as it is, but helpful in trying out new proteins. Once I've determined the raw protein will work with Krista, I have a supplement mix or the individual supplements to make it a balanced and complete food. Buy from the frozen meats and make sure there is nothing like salt or spices added. I don't trust the refrigerated meat section where they frequently add gases or chemicals to make old meat look fresh. This is fine I guess if you're cooking the meat but unacceptable for a raw diet.

 

[ailish]

My vet told me it can take up to 12 weeks for allergens to completely leave the body when we had to do an elimination diet for my Jasmine

Yeah, this. I did an elimination with Ailish and you were supposed to go for 12 weeks. You really have to read ingredients, as even limited ingredient foods may have what you are trying to avoid. I was concentrating on proteins and had trouble finding a novel protein that was limited, because I had purposely fed her a variety. Finally settled for Ziwipeak Venison. That was an expensive 12 weeks. Never did find out what the problem was, or even if it was an allergy, but it did go away.

 

[backyardzoo]

Short update, she seems to be improving again with the scratching and has not been throwing up anything since Thursday. It is going to be a long 3 months to see if she improves totally though. The vet said not to worry about the kitten eating her food, he will just eat more/canned will help him and there is no worry of her getting any of his canned as he is always acting like he is STARVING when it comes to canned.