My cat is allergic to all sources of protein. What do I do?

Rue

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Can anyone help me?

My cat is allergic to every protein there is. Let it be eggs, fish, chicken, raindeer, vension, even insect protein. There's only one brand of dry food she can eat - Specific Allergy management plus. (It's bot very neutritional, lots of corn) But the problem is that to balance it out i gave her hills z/d wet food. She started to not really like her Specific dry food an on top of that she started to not like the wet food. Tried to switch to Hills z/d dry food and she out of nowhere has allergies to that food too even though it's specifically hydrolyzed protein source. What do i do? Are there any other hydrolyzed protein food for cats? I'm at my wits ends. She doesn't eat wet food and she's started to have block solid stools that she can't get out. I tried to wet the Specific brand dry food but she refuses to eat it wet. I have no options left to feed her. And shes allergic to absolutely everything that includes any source of protein that's not hydrolyzed. And even the one that's hydrolyzed apperantly. I can't keep giving her prednisolone so she can eat anything. And lately since I've been trying to see if there's anything else she could eat I've had to give her it like once a month.
 

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FeebysOwner

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I am not sure I can help any at all. What kind of allergic reaction(s) is she experiencing? How old is she, and when did all this start? What was the reason for the prednisolone, and how long has she been on it? I presume you are aware that prednisolone can cause constipation in some cats - as noted above, with the suggestion about Miralax.

Are you positive that it is the protein - and, not one or more of the fillers - she is allergic to? Even hydrolyzed foods have 'fillers' in them. Also, have you tried duck, rabbit, or lamb? Perhaps, consider a homemade diet?

Hopefully, additional information can help, and others with more experience can offer some suggestions.
 
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Rue

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I am not sure I can help any at all. What kind of allergic reaction(s) is she experiencing? How old is she, and when did all this start? What was the reason for the prednisolone, and how long has she been on it? I presume you are aware that prednisolone can cause constipation in some cats - as noted above, with the suggestion about Miralax.

Are you positive that it is the protein - and, not one or more of the fillers - she is allergic to? Even hydrolyzed foods have 'fillers' in them. Also, have you tried duck, rabbit, or lamb? Perhaps, consider a homemade diet?

Hopefully, additional information can help, and others with more experience can offer some suggestions.
She's almost 4 years old now. I adopted her when she was 1,5 years old. And the allergies started when she turned 2 years old.
The allergy she experiences is itchy welts/pimples that she always scratches until they bleed. They're only around her head area. The only time she had some on her back when she ate chicken.
The reason for it was that she had scratched massive holes in her body because of the itchy pimples, so to stop it vet suggested doing a long course of it. Now, as the vet suggested to only use it when she flares up, let it be trying a new diet or if she just accidentally get to food she's not supposed to eat. (Doesn't happen often, but accidents happen) This constipation is not caused by it, since i only use it when she has a big flare up. It started when she refused to eat her usual wet food, which was like 2 weeks ago. And it's not a constant constipation. Some days it's fine, some she can't get it out fully and it ends up wiped on the floor.
I'm pretty sure this medication isn't available in my country, but I'll try to call up my vet tomorrow and ask.
I'm pretty positive. I've tried feeding her only free roam raw meat - chicken, salmon, steak, lamb, duck rabbit meat. All allergic to and while she was eating the dry food she wasn't allergic to. As vet said to use the exclusion method. I wish i could get her on homemade diet. That was the original plan for both of my cats, but the allergies started and i couldn't do it for either of them anymore. I've also tried getting really expensive and high quality mono protein fry food with advertised no fillers included. Still allergic. My vet said that she might have been sick with a virus that usually ends the kittens lives, but i don't know what to believe. I've googled everything on cats being allergic to all protein and not much comes up. But that's the reality I'm living.
 

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Try giving her filtered water, in bowls, tall glasses, fresh and clean daily, located in unusual places in the house.
 
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Rue

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Hi
Slightly off the subject of food, but are you giving her filtered water?
Tips To Increase Your Cat’s Water Intake – TheCatSite Articles

Is everything you've tried giving her commercially made? What are the reactions she's having?

Has your vet suggested PEG3350/Miralax?

Have you tried either of these?
Walk About Grain-Free Wild Boar Canned Cat Food

BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet™ NP Novel Protein - Alligator Cat Food | Blue Buffalo

Or, alternatively take a look at this;
Homemade & Raw Food For Cats – A Collection of Guides – TheCatSite Articles
I am giving her filtered water and i see her drink quite often during the day.

The reaction is - itchy pimples (scratches until they bleed)
I've heard about those brands, but unfortunately neither of them are available in my country and to import it would be very expensive, especially with no guarantee that it will work, since i have been trying to give her only raw meat with nothing else. Still allergic. I even tried giving her prescribtion diet with insect protein, still allergic. And the ingredients were all good.
 

FeebysOwner

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I'm pretty sure this medication isn't available in my country, but I'll try to call up my vet tomorrow and ask.
Miralax, here in the US, is an over-the-counter item and while it is really intended for humans, it also works for small animals as well, when given in appropriate doses.

What country are you in? Are there vet specialists that you and your vet can consult with for additional experience/ideas?

Gentle Relief from Constipation | MiraLAX®
 

mrsgreenjeens

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We really do need more information, such as how you know she is allergic to the proteins you mentioned. What happens when she eats them, and which foods (other then the ones mentioned) you have tried. (brand names as well as the actual food). As mentioned above, unless you are feeding raw food, or cooking his food, there are usually other bothersome ingredients in there that could be the real issue. What is the dry food that you stated above that she isn't allergic to?

If you have done food trials, did you go several weeks with each food? It takes quite awhile to see a change when dealing with food allergies.

As far as the Miralax goes, it is NOT a medication, it's sold in drug stores over the counter. In other countries it may be called something else, but the main ingredient is PEG 3350 so you could just ask for that. In our household we use the generic of Miralax for our cats. it's the same ingredient.

Here are a couple of threads from others who have cats with allergies.




And then there's THIS one, which just popped up on Friday, very interesting! If your cat has allergies read this
 

LTS3

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Miralax is a brand name sold in the US. In some countries it is called PEG 3350 or RestorLax (Canada), Osmalax (Australia). The ingredient is polyethylene glycol 3350 and store generic brand name can be used as long as it doesn't contain any other ingredients. Ask your vet about using possibly using polyethylene glycol 3350 to help with your cat's constipation or if something like lactulose (more familiar to vets) would be better.

Can you seek out another vet for an opinion on your cat's food allergies?
 

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The reaction is - itchy pimples (scratches until they bleed)
When she has a flare up, try chamomile tea, German only chamomile that is medicinally active and safe for cats (english chamomile, that's grown in gardens is not safe). Brewed and cooled and applied. It's anti fungal, anti bacterial, will help ease the itch and is safe if she licks it.
 

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I would ask the vet about antihistamines, which might at least lessen the symptoms while you try to figure out more about what is bothering her. What others have mentioned about non-meat ingredients in foods causing problems rather than the meat protein makes sense to me since we gave seen this with one of our cats.
 
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Rue

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Miralax, here in the US, is an over-the-counter item and while it is really intended for humans, it also works for small animals as well, when given in appropriate doses.

What country are you in? Are there vet specialists that you and your vet can consult with for additional experience/ideas?

Gentle Relief from Constipation | MiraLAX®
It doesnt work. Didnt help anything and needed to resort to prednisolone as vet prescribed way before.
 
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Rue

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I would ask the vet about antihistamines, which might at least lessen the symptoms while you try to figure out more about what is bothering her. What others have mentioned about non-meat ingredients in foods causing problems rather than the meat protein makes sense to me since we gave seen this with one of our cats.
Okay. But I've already stated. That when shes not having allergic reactions I've only given her pure raw meat from farmers market.. Where theres very unlikely to be something added. There's no way that theres some one ingredient in every brand of food and every kind of raw meat i buy from farmers that could cause the allergy. I've even tried different types of hydrolized dry food that the ingredient list of them barely changes or the changes are insignificant and shes still tied to only one brand of hydrolized food. Thats the only thing she can eat to survive. Specific "Allergy managment plus" The only type of food shes not allergic to. What do i do when something happens or they discontinue? No vet has helped us or can help us. They've said "well, until this brand is, keep giving it to her, if it disappears we'll see then what to do next". But each day she is so jealous of my other cat eating normal food and shes always hungry and when the allergies started, she became less loving, since she doesnt understand why we are not giving her raw meat or the tasty food like other cats. Is that really a way to live?
 
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Rue

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Thank you for the recommendation, but I dont live in Canada or USA. Plus ive tried giving her INSECT meat.. If insect based protein doesnt work, i have small hoped for kangaroo based protein.
 
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Rue

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When she has a flare up, try chamomile tea, German only chamomile that is medicinally active and safe for cats (english chamomile, that's grown in gardens is not safe). Brewed and cooled and applied. It's anti fungal, anti bacterial, will help ease the itch and is safe if she licks it.
Thank you. I tried it.. Im not sure if it helped a lot, since new itches started to appear and she just scratched them until bleeding point, where medication interference was needed.
 
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Rue

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We really do need more information, such as how you know she is allergic to the proteins you mentioned. What happens when she eats them, and which foods (other then the ones mentioned) you have tried. (brand names as well as the actual food). As mentioned above, unless you are feeding raw food, or cooking his food, there are usually other bothersome ingredients in there that could be the real issue. What is the dry food that you stated above that she isn't allergic to?

If you have done food trials, did you go several weeks with each food? It takes quite awhile to see a change when dealing with food allergies.

As far as the Miralax goes, it is NOT a medication, it's sold in drug stores over the counter. In other countries it may be called something else, but the main ingredient is PEG 3350 so you could just ask for that. In our household we use the generic of Miralax for our cats. it's the same ingredient.

Here are a couple of threads from others who have cats with allergies.

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And then there's THIS one, which just popped up on Friday, very interesting! If your cat has allergies read this
As I've mentioned in the original post and above, I know, because as vet suggested i did 2years long exclusion diet, where i fed her the "Specific" Allergy managment plus food shes not allergic to and fed new monoproteins, both dry/wet and in pure raw form to real;ly be sure that its not some addatives in the commercial food. Shes really allergic to every meat protein and im desperate for any sort of help. Of course i did several weeks of trial and error. Of course if she started to get itchy pimples that she scratched tills she bled i stopped giving her the food as per vet suggestion so she doesnt get any infection from the wounds. And either treated them with topical medicine and if it didnt help then it resulted in us giving her prednisolone. Miralax or the equivilent of it did not help our cats allergies. She still got more and more itchy/bleeding bumps that needed to be treated with the more severe medication.
 

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What country do you live in? That would help members try to find a brand that may be suitable for your cat.

Can you get this brand in your country? Hypoallergenic diets for cats - TROVET

Are you able to find a veterinary dermatologist in your country? If not, ask your vet to consult with a veterinary school, even one in another part of the world. Share this article with your vet: Update on Feline Adverse Food Reactions

Miralax does not help with allergies. It is for constipation. I'm not sure why that was suggested to you in an earlier post.
 
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Rue

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I live in Latvia.
Yes the brand is available. She's still allergic to it. We've tried every taste/protein source they have from this brand.
We are trying to. The one we trusted the most says theres nothing that can be done. She eats what shes not allergic to and thats it. If she flares up, prednisolone it is. And that cats dont care what they eat, even if its the same thing for years, although i find it very false. So I'm looking into finding a different vet for new opinions, but its not easy. Theres just a few that specializes in dermatology/ allergies. I dont wanna waste my money on regular vets that will tell me all the information ive already gathered from, different reliable sources and from the previous vet.
I'm not sure that vets would appreciate me telling them they're not educated enough. I dont know how it is in your country, but I think it would be very disrespectful to them. I will however read it and study and when i get to one, sugeest if it might be that instead of what we've been diagnosed with. But i have to remind, that this allergy is not active all the time. It's only active when give food that contains any sort of meat protein, when she eats only dry food "Specific" Allergy managment plus, she does not have this reaction.

I actually got confused myself. Since i hadnt been on this site for a while. Miralax was suggested, because she stopped eating the only wet food shes not allergic to and she was starting to have hard stools and not getting them out fully, but that problem was solved with natural remedies. No need for Miralax anymore. I thought they refered to the medicine to use instead of prednisolone, which i tried and it did not help our cat with allergies.
 

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Im not sure if it helped a lot, since new itches started to appear and she just scratched them until bleeding point,
I don't know how fast things go from appearance of new hotspots to scratching until bleeding, but the chamomile tea is not a cure. However it will definitely help to ease discomfort, and because it's antibacterial and antifungal could help support the medicinal approach. You could also try raw coconut oil, which is antimicrobial. Both of these are safe if she ingests them.
 
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