Raw Food Diet For Cat W/colititis

[carebare]

My cat seems to have sudden, severe food allergy (colititis, miliary dermatitis, anorexia). I am trying different diets with a little progress.

I tried Hills prescription diet and boiled chicken but he rejects it. I have duck/peas and venison limited ingredients food for now, but he seems meh about it. I suspect fish and possibly chicken, and that is in almost all commercial cat foods including novel protein/ltd ingredients.

Has anyone tried the raw diet for a cat with ongoing GI upset and food allergy? I am considering buying some commercial raw cat food to give it a try (there is a Rad cat source here), but am afraid of making him sicker. I am reading a lot online about this, so I was hoping to get experiences of folks that tried it.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I can tell you there are LOTS of cats with digestive issues who've gone on a raw diet with great success. Specifically with Colitis I cannot say, but many cats with IBD have done very well. Your issue may be whether or not he'll eat it though. Many cats do not recognize raw food as food When I converted mine over to raw I had a heck of a time getting them to understand I was not trying to poison them

 

[carebare]

Thank you.

He ate a few of the freeze dried lamb. They are ~$5 an ounce so he needs to be more enthusiastic if he wants more of that. I wish I could buy sample sizes of Stella and Chewy food.

I am going to try some Rad food later today, starting with smaller portions. I got some Vital raw rabbit food but now see it has an ingredient of "herring oil" :-(. I am having a very hard time finding foods without poultry or fish, and he is picky on top of that.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

herring oil should not be a problem. For reasons that Ii cannot explain, although some folks here CAN, the fish oils are not the same as FISH, as an ingredient, even for cats with allergies or sensitivities.

Stella and Chewy used to sell sample size bags. Did you contact them? I know primal has a sample pack you can buy.

Remember, you can go with frozen OR freeze dried raw that you simply rehydrate with warm water. I think frozen is less expensive, but there is definitely a difference. My guys prefer the freeze dried, but every cat is different.

 

[Neo_23]

If your cat has digestion issues I would recommend going with frozen raw instead of freeze dried. The more processed a food is the less digestible, and I really don't think you get the digestibility benefits of raw unless it's frozen or fresh.

 

[carebare]

Thanks again. I am really hopeful that this is the solution, because it feels like he had a relapse from canned foods (and does not eat half of it). That is good news about fish oil and I will cross my fingers he's OK with rabbit.

It is OK for freeze dried and raw right--having both types? Right now I am trying to get calories into him because he lost a lot of weight in a few weeks. If he will eat it and it does not make him sick, I would like to give him both types just to hedge my bets. He started eating some types of foods like Hills then later decided he no likey.

 

[Neo_23]

Thanks again. I am really hopeful that this is the solution, because it feels like he had a relapse from canned foods (and does not eat half of it). That is good news about fish oil and I will cross my fingers he's OK with rabbit.

It is OK for freeze dried and raw right--having both types? Right now I am trying to get calories into him because he lost a lot of weight in a few weeks. If he will eat it and it does not make him sick, I would like to give him both types just to hedge my bets. He started eating some types of foods like Hills then later decided he no likey.

There isn't a lot of research (actually, to my knowledge there is none) on the benefits or harms of freeze dried. But there is some research to show that frozen or fresh raw can have digestibility benefits. Freeze dried may very well have the same benefits, but we just don't know. My personal experience with freeze dried was that it wasn't easy to digest for my kitten (it gave him the runs). But I haven't tried frozen raw yet.

 

[carebare]

They both are crazy wild about the raw food. But I am starting with small servings. He is meh about the lamb treats.

He relapsed. Maybe it was the duck because it's a poultry. I am going to switch to lamb unless he breaks out, or rabbit. I am going to a new vet and I am hopeful that vet can give him something to feel better until I can finish this trial diet. Unfortunately he has lost a lot of weight since I first took him in, as the other vet was worse than useless.

 

[carebare]

Ignore those blank posts above (somehow it triple posted and I can't delete posts).

I reached out to cat food makers for samples and to let them know about fish intolerances, and Royal Canin responded: "...our fish oils are purified and filtered to remove protein. Because of this there should be no allergy reaction."

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

When doing food trials to determine what foods your furbaby is allergic too, you need to allow several weeks before switching foods. I would start with rabbit. It seems rabbit or venison are two of the least allergic proteins.

 

[carebare]

OK thanks for the input. I will switch to rabbit. He runs to the food bowl for raw food,and I can't remember the last time he did that. He is rejecting the canned food (rabbit) and kibble now.

I thought it was seafood, and tried chicken with rice for a couple weeks and it seemed like he was getting better for a minute, then started acting sick again, and he seems to have a prompt reaction to chicken and duck now (or possibly he picked up a flea). Regardless, I should have taken chicken out sooner.

 

[carebare]

The new vet today was a lot more informative and reassuring. He outlined the options for next steps, and agreed on a steroid shot to alleviate my cat's self-trauma. He said it looked and sounded like food allergy, but there could be other things going on. He would have gone a different route on some of the past testing I bought which is why it's important to go to the right vet.

He said the metradonizal may have possibly been a cause, and sure enough...allergy/hives are a listed side-effect :-( Another reason that it's important to go to the right vet because I am not sure he really needed it in the first place.

He was cautious of a raw diet because of parasites, but seemed ok with it so long as I stop chicken for the food trial. The thing is I don't think there is any going back now that my cat has tasted blood.

 

[carebare]

Update:
My cat very soon did not have diarrhea but a very solid poop. I think pumpkin may help as he transitions to raw diet(?)
He loves the raw food, but not the rabbit meat pellets (just the bloody meat). He turns away from most other food but I am trying canned foods and freeze-dried rabbit or lamb.
I am keeping the cats separated during feedings and other times when he gets too agitated. I am going to try feliway.
He is scratching less (the shot helped a lot). I am going to try to lay off supplements, antibiotics, medications. He seems more like his old self.

 

[carebare]

So his dermatitis is slowly healing. Today I notice dark brown spots on skin of ears. Do they look like feline acne?