Looking for info on supplments for cat with severe food allergies.

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

My cat, Kit-Kat, has had blood tests done to find the cause for his really bad over grooming, scratching and chewing. The allergy tests came back positive for almost everything. The food he's got the lowest reaction to is chicken. The vet has encouraged us to explore as many options as we can that won't put him on hard medicine for the rest of his life. So we got air purifiers for pollen, dust and fungus. He's kept mostly isolated in a sterile room now but it's not ideal. Being kept in a room all by himself isn't how we want him to spend the rest of his life. We also make him his own food at home made of just chicken and chicken livers. And heart and gizzards when we can get them. His food is supplemented with taurine, vitamin B complex, vitamin E, and vegetable oil but I'm not certain this is enough. He's looking much better and the chewing has mostly ceased. He still wants to get in every other animals food every chance he gets. He's even eating things like potting soil and cat litter so I'm thinking he's missing something. I don't know what else to supplement him with since he cannot have anything else. I can't even buy most of the pre-made vitamins because they have some of his allergens in them.

Kit-Kat is a male domestic longhair. He's about twelve years old and thirteen pounds. He gets fed 10oz of raw food everyday. He's missing half his teeth from years of pulling out his hair. He has a prednisolone prescription as well that seems to help with his allergies. Is there anything else I could be putting in his food to make sure he's getting everything? Or a vitamin that I can just crush up and add? I've tried to add a screenshot of his food allergy results but I don't know if it will show up. If it doesn't the results with the least reaction in order are wheat, chicken, turkey, beef liver, duck and pork. Anything above turkey he's on the border of being allergic to.

More nutrition recommendations would be deeply appreciated. We want Kit-Kat to live the best kitty life we can give him. Thank you for all your help.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Bless your hearts for hanging in there with him!! So, alnutrin and that sort of additive or ezcomplete won't work for him?

Can you give him some cat music now and then?
Does he have cat trees, wall shelves to climb up and rest on up high (if he's elevation motivated like my boy lol), and bird feeders hanging outside his windows?

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[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

Hi!
Bless your hearts for hanging in there with him!! So, alnutrin and that sort of additive won't work for him?

Can you give him some cat music now and then?
Does he have cat trees, wall shelves to climb up and rest on up high (if he's elevation motivated like my boy lol), and bird feeders hanging outside his windows?

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/c/how-to-make-your-home-bigger-at-least-for-your-cats/

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Since it has egg yolks it won't work. I hadn't thought of cat music but I'll give it a try. He has lots of shelves to climb and jump on. He has toys as well. There is a big cat tree in the living room but even before he was quarentined he never really used it. He likes to spend most of his time hiding in a hole and sleeping. As for the windows they're covered by tall shelves that can't really be moved right now. There'll be some reorganizing in there in the near future to remove his roommate. She's a big lizard we keep on organic potting soil. We've had to remove her bedding because he eats it. Other than that they just ignore each other. Once she's out I'll try to find some bird feeders to put up for him. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into the ingrediants of Alnutrition more to see if I can add any of them to his food.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Are you giving him any sort of calcium? When you say chicken, I'm guessing that includes bones? If not, then he is definitely being shorted out in the calcium department.

Here is a link to our Home Cooked Resources: https://thecatsite.com/threads/home-cooked-cat-food-resources.264153/ It lists several premixes that perhaps you aren't aware of and can look at the ingredients to see if some may be egg and daily free, and there are also links to recipes. I really doubt though if there are any recipes that don't include eggs. I wonder if it's the yolks or the whites that are the problem...have you asked?

I will tell you that the fact he is eating litter sounds to me like possible Anemia (if it's clay litter), so that is very worrisome and does indeed sound as if his diet isn't complete

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

Are you giving him any sort of calcium? When you say chicken, I'm guessing that includes bones? If not, then he is definitely being shorted out in the calcium department.

Here is a link to our Home Cooked Resources: https://thecatsite.com/threads/home-cooked-cat-food-resources.264153/ It lists several premixes that perhaps you aren't aware of and can look at the ingredients to see if some may be egg and daily free, and there are also links to recipes. I really doubt though if there are any recipes that don't include eggs. I wonder if it's the yolks or the whites that are the problem...have you asked?

I will tell you that the fact he is eating litter sounds to me like possible Anemia (if it's clay litter), so that is very worrisome and does indeed sound as if his diet isn't complete

I'll definitely pick up some calcium powder before I make his next batch. Our food processor unfortunately isn't strong enough for bone. He's also missing too many teeth to just chew them up himself. Even if he could do it on his own I've heard bad things about chicken bones splintering in the digestive tract. In the mean time could I powder some cleaned eggshells for him?

We check his gums for anemia occasionally but I'm not an expert. Will putting extra iron in his food help with that? Thanks for the links to more supplements to check out. The Balance IT looks promising. The allergy test only said he was allergic to eggs. We'll ask the vet when we bring him in next if he can have either part. He's due for his yearly shots very soon. Thank you very much.

 

[Furballsmom]

In the mean time could I powder some cleaned eggshells for him

I think so.

Regarding the iron, can your vet test him? This article might be a good read regarding the good and the bad concerning iron;
https://www.cuteness.com/article/foods-cats-give-iron

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

I think so.

Regarding the iron, can your vet test him? This article might be a good read regarding the good and the bad concerning iron;
https://www.cuteness.com/article/foods-cats-give-iron

We were told by our vet to assume he is anemic when he's doing bad and compensate accordingly. We didn't get his blood tested specifically for iron, but he will chew himself bloody and we actually had to reschedule his allergy test the first time because they didn't dare draw blood until he looked better. So we have been using liver in his food since, and adding dark meat and organ meat to try to increase his iron and taurine. But I can pick up some iron supplements to try adding, and I'll make a note to ask his vet about it.

The egg shells might not be necessary. My husband has reminded me we have calcium carbonate he uses for his reptiles, and we also have some calcium glubionate drops I can start mixing in tonight. Thank you for your advice.

 

[Furballsmom]

Have you had a chance to read through the information in that link @mrsgreenjeans provided? Also, there's catinfo.org
Making Cat Food

This is from one of the items regarding some calculations;
Using eggshell or MCHA (calcium hydroxyapatite) to balance meat or meat & organs

But I can pick up some iron supplements to try adding, and I'll make a note to ask his vet about it.

I think be careful with the iron, from what I was seeing in that article above too much of it isn't a good thing because any extra that the body doesn't utilize isn't excreted similar to other nutrients, and if it builds up too much can be quite a problem in its own right. I personally think a test to see how he's doing regarding whether he's anemic or whether anything else might be going on would be good.

Hang in there with all this! Oh, by the way do you have a feline nutritionist you could talk to? Thinking out loud, can you get mice? There are suppliers of frozen ones, I believe.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Please be very careful about how you add supplements here. You need to add in calcium, for example, as a percentage of his overall intake. If you don't add enough, that can cause health issues. If you add too much, that can cause other health issues. (that's why I was never too comfortable making my own from scratch but rather used a premix. Same with using iron. There ARE things to give when cats are anemic, and you are doing the right thing by checking his gums. If they are not pink, then it's time to have him checked by his Vet or at least call them and discuss it. They can advise what to give him for suspected Anemia. Poor baby.

A Azazel or LTS3 , canyou assist this poster with her calcium and iron questions please. Thanks!

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

Have you had a chance to read through the information in that link @mrsgreenjeans provided? Also, there's catinfo.org
Making Cat Food

This is from one of the items regarding some calculations;
Using eggshell or MCHA (calcium hydroxyapatite) to balance meat or meat & organs


I think be careful with the iron, from what I was seeing in that article above too much of it isn't a good thing because any extra that the body doesn't utilize isn't excreted similar to other nutrients, and if it builds up too much can be quite a problem in its own right. I personally think a test to see how he's doing regarding whether he's anemic or whether anything else might be going on would be good.

Hang in there with all this! Oh, by the way do you have a feline nutritionist you could talk to? Thinking out loud, can you get mice? There are suppliers of frozen ones, I believe.

We unfortunately don't know of any nutritionists near us. And even if I found one his allergies are so various they're tricky to navigate around. We can get frozen mice, rats, chicks and other feeders. We are thinking of trying him on mice but they weren't on his allergy test. Just given how many things came back positive we're wary of putting him on anything he wasn't tested for. A brief test to see if mice cause a reaction might be done in the future. I'd just rather avoid causing him suffering if I can avoid it.

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

Please be very careful about how you add supplements here. You need to add in calcium, for example, as a percentage of his overall intake. If you don't add enough, that can cause health issues. If you add too much, that can cause other health issues. (that's why I was never too comfortable making my own from scratch but rather used a premix. Same with using iron. There ARE things to give when cats are anemic, and you are doing the right thing by checking his gums. If they are not pink, then it's time to have him checked by his Vet or at least call them and discuss it. They can advise what to give him for suspected Anemia. Poor baby.

A Azazel or LTS3 , canyou assist this poster with her calcium and iron questions please. Thanks!

I would like to find more precise measurements for his supplements. I really would prefer using a premix because this is a difficult thing to do on my own. And so easy to mess up. Most of the mixes I've looked at so far though have had a least one allergen in them if not several. That's why I found a site like this. I couldn't find enough information about proper supplementation anywhere else. Most places would recommend specific brands of premixes and others to add other meats and vegetables. Given how unhealthy he gets when exposed to anything he tested positive for I can't add vegetables or most additives. The recipe I'm currently working with was the best one I could find. Even then I couldn't add fish oil or brewer's yeast. I swapped the oil for vegetable oil which seems to work alright. I just know I can't keep this up forever without knowing more. He's so sensitive it hasn't left me with a lot of options.

Another thing we were looking at was since we have chickens hatching out chicks. We have access to Co2 for humane dispatch. Since they would be bantam chicks the food processor could handle them. Then he could get skin, bone and gut meat. Another thing is I could render bones into stock and mash them up when they get soft.

 

[Furballsmom]

A brief test to see if mice cause a reaction might be done in the future.

It just seems to me that everything he's reacting to is not a normal diet for a feline. Mice are, so to me this could be a solid answer to his issues and worth looking into.

By the way, keep store bought chamomile tea on hand (garden grown chamomile is often unsafe for cats), for your emotional stress and for his skin. It is anti fungal, anti bacterial and eases itchiness.

There have been a number of members who have had good results using classical harp music, and there are other sources;
Relaxing & Calming Music and TV for Cats | Cat Anxiety Music
There is also Musicforcats.com
Spotify has a collection of 10 harp pieces called Cat In My Arms and youtube has videos as well, Relax My Cat - Relaxing Music for Cats

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

Mice might be natural but he's also allergic to rabbit. I've linked a PDF of his complete allergy test panel. He's allergic to almost everything on it. Before we got it done he was chewing himself bald, skin and bones, constantly throwing up, spazing out, being treated for gum infections monthly and over all doing really poorly. We spent four years just trying to find out what was wrong.

The chamomile tea does sound like a great idea. We give him baths occasionally to help wash off his dry skin. We do have a pile of it sitting in the kitchen. Is it something I'm supposed to add to his bath water?

 

[Furballsmom]

Is it something I'm supposed to add to his bath water?

You use it by brewing it as if you're going to drink it, and then dabbing it, undiluted and chilled, on any red itchy areas with a clean cotton ball or similar

I don't think rabbit is a housecat's or feral cat's actual normal diet? I might be wrong about that, but mice and rats are, that's what I was thinking of.

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

We do think mice or rats are another good option. Rabbit just happens to be the closest thing he was tested for. We'd have to get him tested again to know if he reacts to them which involves getting a needle in his neck. For now we're trying to navigate with what we know he can have. The only two things on his test he had no reaction to were two types of fly. It's a real concern he could become allergic to chicken as well someday. We're just worried about causing him pain when we don't need to.

We will try the chamomile thing when he has flare ups. Right now he's looking good but almost anything could cause him to spiral.

 

[Furballsmom]

Right now he's looking good

I so, so hope this continues, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you-all!!

Let us know how things go

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, by the way I just happened to think of this, have you tried any hydrolyzed foods?

 

[LostPeopleOfEarth158]

Oh, by the way I just happened to think of this, have you tried any hydrolyzed foods?

I didn't know about these before. I just did some reading and they look promising, but are there any types that don't have rice or soy? He scores pretty high on both of those.

 

[Furballsmom]

I found this as a possibility for you, it is a bit heavy on peas but maybe as something you could use in a rotational schedule.

Your baby is lucky to have you

Blue Buffalo Natural Veterinary Diet HF Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance Grain-Free Canned Cat Food, 5.5-oz, case of 24 - Chewy.com

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Mice might be natural but he's also allergic to rabbit. I've linked a PDF of his complete allergy test panel. He's allergic to almost everything on it. Before we got it done he was chewing himself bald, skin and bones, constantly throwing up, spazing out, being treated for gum infections monthly and over all doing really poorly. We spent four years just trying to find out what was wrong.

The chamomile tea does sound like a great idea. We give him baths occasionally to help wash off his dry skin. We do have a pile of it sitting in the kitchen. Is it something I'm supposed to add to his bath water?

If you have a pile of chamomile sitting in your kitchen right now, I'm guessing it's home grown? THAT is not suitable for this purpose. You need the type in tea bags. Any other type can be poisonous to cats! And yes, there is a difference. The teabags are German Chamomile, which is different. (don't ask me how, but maybe Mamanyt1953 can explain. She's our chamomile guru )

I will say, though, that with your little guy even being allergic to so many weeds and things, the chamomile may cause issues on his skin. I have read that for certain animals, it can cause contact dermatitis. Could this be part of his issue?