No hypoallergenic food for kittens/9 month old cat?

mxphs

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Hi gang

My humphrey has been displaying some really classic symptoms of allergies. The main one is really just itching and scratching and FHS symptoms ( i think he has this but thats another story ). He however has been lucky enough to be really regular with his stools which are firm, not stinky and regular. No vomiting either, its just really dermal focused so, scratching on his face, neck and occasionally chewing on paws and feet.

I was thinking about taking him to the vet, but the vets think im a but excessive because every time i've been, which has been 4 times in the past 6 months, nothing has really been wrong. So I'm here to seek advice. Problem is, hes 9 months old, right between kitten and adult and there is literally NO Hypoallergenic kitten food out there!

I want to do some trial and error and will seek advice from the pet store too but i wanted to post this here to see wha tyou guys have to say. It's going to be tricky to identify what exactly is his problem, for those curious about what im feeding him, i think its the wet food thats the culprit because his symptoms really seem to flare after dinner time https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/purina-one-kitten-chicken-wet-cat-food.

Thoughts and suggestions?
 

maggie101

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The food looks great but for allergies,fish comes in first place then chicken so start with limited ingredient like rabbit,duck,quailmlamb, or pork. Then alot of trial and error so buy single cans if possible. Nutritional value for kittens is same as non kitten cat food
 
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FeebysOwner

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You can also consider hypoallergenic foods that are labeled "all life stages" as an alternative to kitten food. The article (link below) lists two wet foods that fall into this category - Smalls and Forza 10. Oddly enough, I think both of these offer some versions that do contain fish or chicken, but there are other 'flavors' too. There are others such as Instinct Limited Ingredient which list the amount to feed adults and a different amount to feed kittens, so I am unsure if that means they are all life stages too.
The Best 7 Hypoallergenic Cat Food: Benefits, Reviews, and Ingredient Analysis - Veterinarians.org
 

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That food doesn't look good to me for a cat with allergies, given that it has fish, which can be high in histamines. I fully agree with what maggie101 maggie101 says about single-protein foods -- ideally with a meat/protein Humphrey hasn't eaten before -- as a way to start figuring out what's causing the itching.

Good luck!
 

maggie101

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That food doesn't look good to me for a cat with allergies, given that it has fish, which can be high in histamines. I fully agree with what maggie101 maggie101 says about single-protein foods -- ideally with a meat/protein Humphrey hasn't eaten before -- as a way to start figuring out what's causing the itching.

Good luck!
Oh,I didn't notice the fish!
 

lisahe

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Oh,I didn't notice the fish!
It's easy to miss, maggie101 maggie101 , because they list it last, just before "products." I almost missed the fish, too, partly because I focused on the lamb!

Also, mxphs mxphs , setting aside the question of food for a minute, do you think there's a chance that even some part of Humphrey's itchiness might be caused by stress? You mentioned FHS and a lot of chewing, which made me think of our cat who has been known to "barber" her fur, licking spots clean. She also rubs her eyes... she's also our nervous cat, the one that picks up on any stress in the house or even (🙀 😱) in the weather. She has a daily antihistamine but that doesn't prevent all of it. I don't know where you live but dry winter air can dry out a cat's skin and make them itchy -- I'm sure that's part of Ireland's itchiness, given that it started when the weather got cold and we had to start heating the house.

I don't mean to say that I don't think you should consider the food (that's what I usually look at first, too!) but sometimes a very routine thing -- like a new season that comes with new weather -- can change a cat's environment significantly.
 
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mxphs

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It's easy to miss, maggie101 maggie101 , because they list it last, just before "products." I almost missed the fish, too, partly because I focused on the lamb!

Also, mxphs mxphs , setting aside the question of food for a minute, do you think there's a chance that even some part of Humphrey's itchiness might be caused by stress? You mentioned FHS and a lot of chewing, which made me think of our cat who has been known to "barber" her fur, licking spots clean. She also rubs her eyes... she's also our nervous cat, the one that picks up on any stress in the house or even (🙀 😱) in the weather. She has a daily antihistamine but that doesn't prevent all of it. I don't know where you live but dry winter air can dry out a cat's skin and make them itchy -- I'm sure that's part of Ireland's itchiness, given that it started when the weather got cold and we had to start heating the house.

I don't mean to say that I don't think you should consider the food (that's what I usually look at first, too!) but sometimes a very routine thing -- like a new season that comes with new weather -- can change a cat's environment significantly.

I have noticed that Humph tends to be a very anxious and nervous cat. This has been the case ever since he was a kitten. It's summer here in australia at the moment, i am pretty confounded though because i am a very routine based person so i do the same things everyday which i know is comforting for cats because they love that too.

I think it is probably food based, I pet him everyday and i can't feel any lesions or bumps on his skin, he has no bald spots from over grooming, but he doesget that weird twitching thing on his back and then bolts alot.
It's so tricky, all of this could just be normal cat zoomies but also FHS?
 
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mxphs

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That food doesn't look good to me for a cat with allergies, given that it has fish, which can be high in histamines. I fully agree with what maggie101 maggie101 says about single-protein foods -- ideally with a meat/protein Humphrey hasn't eaten before -- as a way to start figuring out what's causing the itching.

Good luck!

Weird because the pet store people said salmon was better for dermal reactions to food, i keep getting conflicting advice.
A meat that humphrey hasn't eaten before sounds like a good place to start. Thanks for your replies
 

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I have noticed that Humph tends to be a very anxious and nervous cat. This has been the case ever since he was a kitten. It's summer here in australia at the moment, i am pretty confounded though because i am a very routine based person so i do the same things everyday which i know is comforting for cats because they love that too.

I think it is probably food based, I pet him everyday and i can't feel any lesions or bumps on his skin, he has no bald spots from over grooming, but he doesget that weird twitching thing on his back and then bolts alot.
It's so tricky, all of this could just be normal cat zoomies but also FHS?
Ireland is also anxious and nervous -- that seems to compound just about every condition (major or minor) that she has! (Our cats in a household with too many cats, apparently not major hoarding but they were very underfed and Ireland's sister will probably never get over her food insecurity.)

Ireland does that same twitch-and-bolt thing sometimes. I also don't know if it's normal (whatever that is for cats!) or FHS but fortunately she's been doing it less frequently in recent years. Maybe it's age? She's now almost 10.
 

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lisahe

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Salmon will will cause allergies and be very addicting I would not trust employees at a pet store. I am worried that one day my ibd cat will be allergic to chicken and that's all I can get her to eat luckily I have a cat that will eat any protein so I am trying different ones if she won't eat it I give it to her
I would avoid the salmon, too. Even if it might be less likely to cause allergies (lower in histamines) than other fish, the "addicting" aspect of any fish is worth avoiding! Avoiding contaminants is another big topic, highlighted in my favorite article on cats and fish, from Dr. Jean Hofve:
We humans used to eat lots of fish but then cut most of it out during the pandemic... What Dr. Hofve writes makes me glad I hardly miss it at all! Fortunately, I was less addicted to fish than some cats.
 
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mxphs

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Found a pretty good contender today at the pet store ZIWI® Peak Wet Venison Recipe for Cats | Ziwi Pets
ticks all the boxes:

- all life stages
- High quality premium cat food ( A really clear cut and non vague ingredients list: Venison, Venison Broth, Venison Liver, Venison Lung, Venison Heart, Venison Kidney, Venison Tripe, Chick Peas, New Zealand Green Mussel, Venison Bone, Dried Kelp, Minerals (Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B1 Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement)
- meat humphrey has never had (venison)

I'll report back to see how he goes!
 
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lisahe

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That's a strong contender for sure! Fingers crossed that it works. But don't give up on venison if this food doesn't work for Humphrey: one of our cats has trouble with green mussels.

Also: it can be very helpful to keep a "cat log" that records things like symptoms along with "last meal eaten." That was how I figured out that Edwina can't eat mussels. (Her symptom was vomiting a few hours after eating food with mussels.)

Fingers crossed!
 
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mxphs

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Hey everyone
Gave humphrey his first tin of venison wet food last night. Wow, what a difference. It's only been 1 night but his itching has drastically reduced. Only did it a couple of times and it wasn't that aggressive at all (probably becuse his dry food is chicken, going to switch him to novel proteins or just another protein that isn't chicken soon)
He also seemed way more calmer than usual? Might be just me projecting but so far so good, will keep monitoring. Thanks for suggesting on trying a brand new protein lisahe lisahe
 

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That is awesome!!! Love hearing such great news. May I ask where you got it? Venison is hard to get
 
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mxphs

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That is awesome!!! Love hearing such great news. May I ask where you got it? Venison is hard to get
I'm based in Australia and we stock a brand called Ziwi ZIWI® Peak Wet Venison Recipe for Cats | Ziwi Pets.
I dunno if this is available in other countries but it gets rave reviews (wayyy more expensive than most on the market but when you check the ingredients you definitely see why)
 

maggie101

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I'm based in Australia and we stock a brand called Ziwi ZIWI® Peak Wet Venison Recipe for Cats | Ziwi Pets.
I dunno if this is available in other countries but it gets rave reviews (wayyy more expensive than most on the market but when you check the ingredients you definitely see why)
Ziwi Peak is in a small petstore here. It is very expensive. One of my cats eats farmina canned with venison and pumpkin,also expensive
 
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