Putting on weight with allergies.

[washu]

I have been struggling for years with one of my cat's allergies. The vet did an allergy panel on her that came up positive for chicken, wheat and yeast, and borderline for beets, corn, peanuts, soy, and venison. Also borderline-positive for dust mites and grain mites. The test also tested eggs as not allergic, but she's allergic to chicken so I thought that was weird. The test didn't check for peas or flaxseed.  I'm not sure how accurate the test is so I just bought a few cans the only food I could find that didn't have grains, chicken, yeast, beets, soy, venison, peas, flaxseed, eggs or fish.  Wild Calling Trot'n Tommy 96% Turkey Grain-Free was the only thing I could find at the Pet Supplies Plus. She has been eating it since February without any allergic symptoms but she seems a bit underweight. She wont eat more than 3/4 of a can (5.5 oz) per day. She has always been really dainty about eating her food, yet she scavenges around the house for food.

Wild Calling Trot'n Tommy 96% Turkey Grain-Free (189 kcal/can)

The ingredients are: Turkey, Water Sufficient For Processing, Turkey Liver, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Cassia Gum, Xantham Gum, Taurine, Salt, Choline Chloride, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid.

I wanted to try a higher calorie food so I tried EVO 95% Duck. (216 kcal/can)

(Ingredients: Duck, Duck Broth, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Minerals, Guar Gum, Vitamins, Choline Chloride, Herring Oil, Salt, Sodium Ascorbate, Sunflower Oil, Taurine, Sodium Phosphate, Beta Carotene)

Within 4 days she had a reaction. I don't know if there is something in the "Natural Flavors" or if she is allergic to duck. I emailed EVO asking about the "Natural Flavors" This is the response:

"Thank you for your recent email.

The natural flavor in the EVO Cat Adult 95% Duck canned food is a  proprietary blend of amino acids, sugars and nucleotides designed to combine, to form a reaction of flavors and provide a savory taste in the finished product. The Natural Flavors are not derived from animal protein.

If there is anything else we can help you with, please let us know."

I put her back on the Wild Calling Turkey for another 12 weeks before I attempt another food.

 

[missmimz]

 
I have been struggling for years with one of my cat's allergies. The vet did an allergy panel on her that came up positive for chicken, wheat and yeast, and borderline for beets, corn, peanuts, soy, and venison. Also borderline-positive for dust mites and grain mites. The test also tested eggs as not allergic, but she's allergic to chicken so I thought that was weird. The test didn't check for peas or flaxseed.  I'm not sure how accurate the test is so I just bought a few cans the only food I could find that didn't have grains, chicken, yeast, beets, soy, venison, peas, flaxseed, eggs or fish.  Wild Calling Trot'n Tommy 96% Turkey Grain-Free was the only thing I could find at the Pet Supplies Plus. She has been eating it since February without any allergic symptoms but she seems a bit underweight. She wont eat more than 3/4 of a can (5.5 oz) per day. She has always been really dainty about eating her food, yet she scavenges around the house for food.

Wild Calling Trot'n Tommy 96% Turkey Grain-Free (189 kcal/can)

The ingredients are: Turkey, Water Sufficient For Processing, Turkey Liver, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Cassia Gum, Xantham Gum, Taurine, Salt, Choline Chloride, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid.

I wanted to try a higher calorie food so I tried EVO 95% Duck. (216 kcal/can)

(Ingredients: Duck, Duck Broth, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Potassium Chloride, Tricalcium Phosphate, Minerals, Guar Gum, Vitamins, Choline Chloride, Herring Oil, Salt, Sodium Ascorbate, Sunflower Oil, Taurine, Sodium Phosphate, Beta Carotene)

Within 4 days she had a reaction. I don't know if there is something in the "Natural Flavors" or if she is allergic to duck. I emailed EVO asking about the "Natural Flavors" This is the response:

"Thank you for your recent email.

The natural flavor in the EVO Cat Adult 95% Duck canned food is a  proprietary blend of amino acids, sugars and nucleotides designed to combine, to form a reaction of flavors and provide a savory taste in the finished product. The Natural Flavors are not derived from animal protein.

If there is anything else we can help you with, please let us know."

I put her back on the Wild Calling Turkey for another 12 weeks before I attempt another food.

Why not try some of the other limited ingredients brands like Nature's Variety or Merrick to see if she likes those better and to give some variety? If she's not eating enough of the food you're feeding her I think you have to add some other foods. You can buy a case of both of those on Chewy or at Petco. 

 

[lisahe]

I second the idea of Merrick's LID foods: our cats love the turkey and duck. They do have eggs but it should like those aren't a problem for you. (FWIW, our cats did not like Wild Calling at all! Maybe they have something in common with your cat?!)

 

[missmimz]

 
I second the idea of Merrick's LID foods: our cats love the turkey and duck. They do have eggs but it should like those aren't a problem for you. (FWIW, our cats did not like Wild Calling at all! Maybe they have something in common with your cat?!)

My cats don't like the NV LID but they like the Merrick's LID Chicken (I haven't tried the Turkey but i think they'd like that too). It's kind of a juicy pate, which is more enticing I think. 

 

[lisahe]

 
My cats don't like the NV LID but they like the Merrick's LID Chicken (I haven't tried the Turkey but i think they'd like that too). It's kind of a juicy pate, which is more enticing I think. 

Exactly: the Merrick food is juicier. Our cats don't like the Nature's Variety much, either.

 

[cinqchats]

Try finding a high-calorie goo to increase her calorie intake? Mr Squiggles has the same problem, he has allergies too and isn't an enthusiastic eater. I've tried a couple different brands, like GNC and Tomlyn. He's not a huge fan of it because it has the same texture as hairball goo but it does help. 

 

[lisamarie12]

Allergy panels in pets get an average of about 80% accuracy.   Having two cats myself with allergies to chicken (and sensitivity to fish and who knows what else), I would definitely appreciate the results of a food and environmental panel - even at 80%, at least you have something to work with.

NV's LID canned foods with the old labels, used to be a much drier formula. I've noticed that the food with the new labels is now much juicier. My cats never liked the food inside the old LID labeled cans but they would eat the newer ones.

Duck is definitely a fattier meat, as is lamb, if you are looking to add extra calories. Instinct's LID duck is too fatty for my IBD cat - any duck she can't tolerate well.

I've used Halo's Impulse guinea fowl (includes turkey and dried eggs) with success for my itchy cats. Guinea fowl is typically a leaner meat (and novel protein) than chicken and turkey, however, calculating the fat on a dry matter basis between NV's LID duck and Halo's guinea fowl, the latter comes up fattier so you may want to also consider Halo.

As far as natural flavors, that is a really ambiguous additive, it comes down to which company you trust as far as the explanation they give for the ingredient.  In some foods, NF comes down to something akin to MSG while in others it may be less benign.

Good luck, allergies are very frustrating to deal with.

 

[lisahe]

Another thought for a caloric food: our cats love Hound & Gatos lamb, which just has lamb plus duck liver. There are no fillers. It's pate and almost 200 calories a can.

 

[washu]

Thanks for the suggestions. I went through and compared calories in turkey only cat foods and found that Blue Buffalo Wilderness Turkey is 214 kcal/can. The only ingredient differences from Wild Calling are turkey broth (who knows what they can put in turkey broth), potatoes, flaxseed, carrageenan, and whatever they happen to use for "Natural Flavor"

She was supposed to not get any treats before I try another food but yesterday my sister gave her catnip. I'm not sure if I should hold off or not. I noticed a little red spot on where the fur is thin near her ears.

If all goes well with the Blue Buffalo Wilderness I would like to try offering a calorie dense kibble for treats.