"Novel protein" dry foods for a fussy eater who appears not to like green peas?

[treeclimber]

Our vet wants my cat to be on a "novel protein" diet (eg. avoid common proteins in cat foods like fish, chicken, turkey, pork, beef, dairy, egg, soy, and go with things he hasn't eaten before like duck, rabbit, or venison).

He prefers dry food, but I usually try to make him eat wet food. For now I am letting him have his way and have dry food, because the novel protein diet is a short-term trial and I just need to find something I can get him to eat for a month or so.

So far I'm having a hard time getting him to eat almost any novel protein food. He seems to pretty consistently dislike anything with green peas in it, including Hill's d/d (duck, green peas), Royal Canin PR (rabbit, green peas), and Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck (this one was canned, the other two were dry).

He will also very willingly and enthusiastically eat First Mate Duck & Blueberry dry food. Unfortunately it contains chicken fat that's processed to remove proteins and make it non-allergenic - our vet isn't sure how much we can count on that processing (especially in a non-veterinary brand), so she still wants him on a different food.

I'm not 100% sure peas are why he's rejecting his novel protein foods, but I can say that it's unusual for him to reject a dry food, every dry food he's rejected has had peas in it, and the only one he liked was one without peas. Unfortunately, it seems like the vast majority of novel protein foods contain peas. Even ones that don't say "peas" in the name often have it in the ingredients list.

Other than the First Mate food our vet wasn't sure about trusting, does anybody know of any other novel protein dry food for cats that does not contain peas?

 

[Margot Lane]

I’ve had good luck with Farmina’s Quail and Pumpkin, but, every cat is different! also, it’s wet.

 

[treeclimber]

I’ve had good luck with Farmina’s Quail and Pumpkin, but, every cat is different! also, it’s wet.

Thanks!

I looked at the ingredients for that and see chicken fat, eggs, and herring so it would probably get a "no" from our vet for his initial trial food, but I'm glad it's working for your kitty!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
Some of the non vet brands are heads above the vet brands.

 

[treeclimber]

Here are some foods I have researched and ruled out:

Ones that contain proteins from sources that aren't appropriate for a novel protein diet trial:

• Nature's Logic Feline Rabbit Meal Feast (dry) - contains turkey, fish, and egg
• Instinct Original Grain-Free Recipe with Real Rabbit Freeze-Dried Raw Coated Dry Cat Food - contains turkey, fish, and chicken
• Evanger's Grain-Free Meat Lover's Medley with Rabbit Dry Cat Food - contains pork
• Vital Essentials freeze-dried "dinner patties" (rabbit or duck) - contains herring oil, so possibly fish protein? Also nervous about raw for a sick cat, and not sure he'd eat the patty shape
• Farmina N&D (lamb or boar) dry food - the lamb one contains eggs and herring, the boar one contains chicken and herring
• Go! SENSITIVITIES Limited Ingredient Duck Grain-Free Dry Cat Food - contains eggs and chicken fat
• Lotus Oven-Baked Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food - contains turkey, pork, egg
• American Journey Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat Food - contains chicken, egg
• Instinct Ultimate Protein Grain-Free Cage-Free Duck Recipe Freeze-Dried Raw Coated Dry Cat Food - contains chicken, eggs, and whey
• Nulo Freestyle Duck & Lentils Recipe Grain-Free Indoor Dry Cat Food - contains chicken, turkey, and cod
• Addiction Grain-Free Duck Royale Dry Cat Food - contains salmon meal, fish meal, and chicken fat

Ones that would be OK except that they have peas so he might reject them:

• Freely Rabbit Recipe Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Dry Cat Food - contains peas
• Blue Buffalo Basics Skin & Stomach Care Grain-Free Formula Duck & Potato Indoor Adult Dry Cat Food - contains peas
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Selected Protein PD Dry Cat Food (duck) - contains peas
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Selected Protein PV Dry Cat Food (venison) - contains peas
• Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Selected Protein PR Dry Cat Food (rabbit) - contains peas, he has tried and rejected this one
• Hill's d/d dry (duck) - contains peas, he has already rejected this one
• Hill's d/d dry (venison) - contains peas
• Blue Buffalo NP Novel Protein Alligator (dry) - contains peas

 

[Furballsmom]

I'd contact FirstMate and ask them about that chicken fat processing, and then feed him what he likes, especially if it isn't causing problems.

 

[treeclimber]

Hi
Some of the non vet brands are heads above the vet brands.

I'd contact FirstMate and ask them about that chicken fat processing, and then feed him what he likes, especially if it isn't causing problems.

Thank you!!!

We were having partial success with the First Mate - the puking stopped, but he still had diarrhea. Which is part of why our vet wanted us to try something else.

But I think if doing a trial with a food that our vet is fully confident about doesn't stop the diarrhea and he's just going to have diarrhea no matter what, then we'd go back to the First Mate - it's cheaper than the veterinary diets and he likes it a LOT better.

 

[LTS3]

What medical issue does your cat have that the vet wants to try a novel protein diet with? What are your concerns with a commercial raw food?

• Vital Essentials freeze-dried "dinner patties" (rabbit or duck) - contains herring oil, so possibly fish protein? Also nervous about raw for a sick cat, and not sure he'd eat the patty shape

With freeze dried raw patties, you don't feed it as is You have to break / smash the patty (or whatever shape the food is in) into basically powder and then rehydrate with water and stir until it turns into sort of like pate canned cat food. There are many brands of freeze dried raw out there, some having very few fillers.

Rawz has some novel protein canned foods that are usually suitable for a novel protein diet. Minimally Processed Natural Cat Food Archives | RAWZ

Ziwi Peak may be another option: ZIWI | Award-winning New Zealand Pet Food They have an air dried food and canned food.

Here's another one that comes in freeze dried raw or air dried raw, MEOW | Natural Dog Food | The New Zealand Natural Pet Food Co.

Kangaroo and alligator are other novel proteins found in a few brands.

Rayne has food in rabbit: Rabbit-MAINT

Egg is considered a protein. If your cat is sensitive to chicken / poultry, you may want to avoid a food that contains eggs.

 

[treeclimber]

What medical issue does your cat have that the vet wants to try a novel protein diet with? What are your concerns with a commercial raw food?

Thanks!

Medical issue is vomiting and diarrhea with high eosinophils. He's had an ultrasound and they didn't see anything abnormal that would suggest IBD or cancer.

My concern about raw food is safety - he's been on an antacid and may go back on, and also may be put on a steroid in the future. I've seen companies that say their drying process kills pathogens, but since his meds might take away his ability to defend against anything that's left, I'd want to be very sure there's nothing left before I considered raw.

I found this paper that talks about salmonella outbreaks linked to low-moisture-content foods (including cereal, powered milk and a dry dog food, although it doesn't appear to have been raw food) - if even something cooked and dry can be linked to an outbreak, that makes me even more nervous about raw food that relies on drying to kill pathogens.

Probably OK for many cats, but as soon as antacids or steroids come into the picture I want to be extra careful.

With freeze dried raw patties, you don't feed it as is You have to break / smash the patty (or whatever shape the food is in) into basically powder and then rehydrate with water and stir until it turns into sort of like pate canned cat food. There are many brands of freeze dried raw out there, some having very few fillers.

That makes sense!! But is also disappointing for a cat that it's hard to get wet food into.

Rayne has food in rabbit: Rabbit-MAINT

That looks promising!! And it sounds like this one is not raw?

 

[Furballsmom]

Apologies for my double post above, I didn't know if we'd cross posted .. ..

What about something like this? Hmm, on further looking, it's not a complete food so couldn't be the only thing in his diet.
PUREBITES 100% Pure Duck Paté Cat Food Toppings, 2.5-oz can, 12 count - Chewy.com

The Pond hunter and Brush Hunter varieties in Mouser cat food could work for you.

 

[LTS3]

One of my cats has IBD and taking steroids for it and eats a commercial raw diet. He's eaten raw for his entire life and has never had an issue with food tainted with bacteria or anything.

A home cooked diet is something to consider. It's not hard to do if you use a pre-mix such as EZComplete. You can use any novel protein you want.

Technically freeze dried raw can be fed dry but the food is basically a thirsty sponge inside the tummy and that can lead to dehydration. You can adjust the amount of water you use to rehydrate freeze dried raw in. It doesn't have to be soupy but it does need to be somewhat moistened. I usually go for a crumbly but moist sand texture with a bit of liquid.

The Rayne food is just regular dry and canned food.

 

[treeclimber]

Apologies for my double post above, I didn't know if we'd cross posted .. ..

No worries, I figured that's what happened!

The Pond hunter and Brush Hunter varieties in Mouser cat food could work for you.

I'd always wondered why there weren't any cat foods made with mouse!!

We'll stick to dry foods for the initial diet trial due to the highest chance of him eating them - but if the diet trial confirms he needs a novel protein diet, then I'm going to want to get him back onto wet, and these are absolutely going at the top of the list to try!!

 

[treeclimber]

One of my cats has IBD and taking steroids for it and eats a commercial raw diet. He's eaten raw for his entire life and has never had an issue with food tainted with bacteria or anything.

Good to know!!!

I'm not anti-raw, just nervous about trying it right now. Last month he had scary puke with blood in it and had to go on sucralfate for a while while his stomach healed - anything involving raw should probably wait until his condition has been stable for a while.

A home cooked diet is something to consider. It's not hard to do if you use a pre-mix such as EZComplete. You can use any novel protein you want.

Interesting!!!

I don't even really cook for myself, but if the cat needs me to cook for him then I'd be willing to learn.

The Rayne food is just regular dry and canned food.

Perfect!!! Just emailed our vet to make sure the ingredient list meets with her approval.

I think you may have found a food that ticks all of the vet's boxes and all of the cat's boxes -- THANK YOU!!!

 

[daftcat75]

I don't believe dry food and IBD are compatible. But your mileage may vary.

If you want to try novel protein wet foods, I recommend Rawz. Although it sounds like it, Rawz is not actually raw. It is gently cooked and safe from a pathogen perspective and clean ingredients from an IBD/food allergy perspective.
Search: 52 results found for "rawz"

Another brand I recommend is Mouser. They have several clean recipes in novel proteins.
Search: 8 results found for "mouser"

Incredible Pets sells by the can and the case making it easy to try a few different foods without buying several cases.

A word about home cooked. Just about every powder completer and recipe I have seen uses egg yolk.

This one does not.
Alnutrin with Calcium (Pre-packaged)

It requires liver supplementation. But you can use freeze-dried liver in place of fresh liver at about 1/3 the called for amount. You can find freeze-dried liver in novel proteins often in the dog training section of pet food stores.

Also, in your list above, you said:

• Vital Essentials freeze-dried "dinner patties" (rabbit or duck) - contains herring oil, so possibly fish protein? Also nervous about raw for a sick cat, and not sure he'd eat the patty shape

Herring oil is fat. There shouldn't be any fish protein in the oil. I would recommend trying it if your cat likes it.

 

[treeclimber]

I don't believe dry food and IBD are compatible. But your mileage may vary.

Knock on wood he doesn’t have IBD - his ultrasound was normal, and two of his symptoms (high eosinophils, blood in vomit) aren’t common IBD symptoms.

He’s been pretty prone to eosinophilic granulomas his whole life and also has asthma, so “yet another atopic thing” looks like a more likely explanation than IBD at this point. Knock on wood.

That said, if the diet trial confirms he needs a novel protein food, I will try to get him on a wet novel protein food. But since buying lots of foods for him to reject gets expensive, we’re starting with dry (lower probability of rejection) for the month-long trial, and will venture into wet once the diet trial is over and we’ve confirmed novel protein is what he needs.

If you want to try novel protein wet foods, I recommend Rawz. Although it sounds like it, Rawz is not actually raw. It is gently cooked and safe from a pathogen perspective and clean ingredients from an IBD/food allergy perspective.
Search: 52 results found for "rawz"

Another brand I recommend is Mouser. They have several clean recipes in novel proteins.
Search: 8 results found for "mouser"

Incredible Pets sells by the can and the case making it easy to try a few different foods without buying several cases.

A word about home cooked. Just about every powder completer and recipe I have seen uses egg yolk.

This one does not.
Alnutrin with Calcium (Pre-packaged)

It requires liver supplementation. But you can use freeze-dried liver in place of fresh liver at about 1/3 the called for amount. You can find freeze-dried liver in novel proteins often in the dog training section of pet food stores.

All very good information — thank you!!

Especially excited to hear that there’s a brand that sells by the can instead of by the case - that makes things so much easier and more affordable to try!!

Herring oil is fat. There shouldn't be any fish protein in the oil. I would recommend trying it if your cat likes it.

But if it’s extracted from the fish, wouldn’t it still have some trace amounts of fish protein in it unless it was processed to remove them?

I think this might fall under the same category as the “protein removed” chicken fat in the First Mate food in terms of not trusting it for the first month diet trial where we do everything perfectly to see if it works at all (but possibly OK after that if tolerated). But if we get to the point of wanting to try that one I’ll check with our vet!

 

[Furballsmom]

All Cat from Incredible Pets this company sells quite a few varieties and brands while allowing small quantity orders.

This one might be another to add to your arsenal even if it's raw
Stella & Chewy's Absolutely Rabbit Dinner Morsels Grain Free Freeze Dried Raw Cat Food

 

[LTS3]

I'd always wondered why there weren't any cat foods made with mouse!!

There is a brand of food that contains mouse. It's called Mouser. There's a thread about that: https://thecatsite.com/threads/mouser-cat-food.441529/ Mouse (the whole mouse) is the second ingredient after a more common protein like duck or chicken. There is a variety that contains rabbit.

 

[Iron Butterfly]

Try Young Again pet food. Look for the LID Zero Mature. It is hydrolyzed pork. Hydrolyzed protein is another way to go because it breaks the protein down into smaller parts so that it doesn't cause an allergic reaction. It has no peas but it does contain chicken fat but the chicken fat doesn't trigger a chicken allergy in my cat. After a year of trying just about every OTC and prescription food on the market for my cat Bob who has EGC from being allergic to chicken and peas I finally found this one that worked. It is just as expensive as vet prescription food however it has much better ingredients than the vet food so if I am going to have to pay a higher price for food I'd rather use Young Again. Bob has been on it over a year now and no more skin breakouts. I will warn you it can cause soft smelly poops that may or may not go away. I have 11 cats and they all eat this and it affects their poop differently. I would read thru their website especially the YA Blog section. I highly recommend it.