Stupid Question Re: Chicken Allergies :-)

[cheeser]

If your cat has an allergy to chicken, do you have to eliminate all bird type proteins from his diet? Or just the ones that don't seem to agree with him?

We've noticed that Buddy gets sick when he eats anything with turkey meat, broth, liver, etc. But he appears to tolerate duck and guineafowl just fine. So we're trying to figure out if we need to eliminate those from his diet anyway, just feed them every once in awhile, or what. :-)

 

[jcat]

There's no easy answer to thst, so you have to play it by ear.

Some cats with a chicken allergy can't tolerate all poultry, while others simply can't eat a certain type of poultry. Mowgli (IBD, chicken intolerance) gets ostrich or duck once a week and has for about 3 years. The past 3 weeks he hasn't finished his duck, which is very unlike him, though there haven't been problems like diarrhea, itching, or vomiting. I'm going to take duck out of his rotation for a couple of weeks or months just to be on the safe side, then reintroduce it to see whether he reacts the same way. It's possible that he's just sick of duck.

 

[cheeser]

There's no easy answer to thst, so you have to play it by ear.

Some cats with a chicken allergy can't tolerate all poultry, while others simply can't eat a certain type of poultry. Mowgli (IBD, chicken intolerance) gets ostrich or duck once a week and has for about 3 years. The past 3 weeks he hasn't finished his duck, which is very unlike him, though there haven't been problems like diarrhea, itching, or vomiting. I'm going to take duck out of his rotation for a couple of weeks or months just to be on the safe side, then reintroduce it to see whether he reacts the same way. It's possible that he's just sick of duck.

Thanks! That's very helpful, and most appreciated.

Some sources I stumbled across on the interwebs said that it's mostly chicken and turkey that you have to worry about because they're kinda "mass produced" for consumption, and often injected with antibiotics, hormones, and who knows what other kinds of chemicals. Then other sources said all poultry/fowl should be avoided since they're basically the same protein. *shrugs*

So we were thinking about maybe just allowing Buddy to have duck or guineafowl once or twice a week, with perhaps an occasional can of beef. He doesn't appear to have any problems with beef, but since we've read that it can be a pretty common allergen, we thought maybe we should err on the side of caution and feed it to him sparingly, just in case.

Thanks again!

 

[lisahe]

What jcat says about things differing fits with various comments I've seen on the site, too: some cats who can't eat chicken can eat other fowl. (And thank goodness because so many foods are chicken- or fish-based! And cats, as we know so well, can be so picky!) It seems to be very individual.

I think it's worth offering Buddy duck or guineafowl, and even beef, every now and then; I'd keep a food journal to track reactions.

 

[cheeser]

What jcat says about things differing fits with various comments I've seen on the site, too: some cats who can't eat chicken can eat other fowl. (And thank goodness because so many foods are chicken- or fish-based! And cats, as we know so well, can be so picky!) It seems to be very individual.

I think it's worth offering Buddy duck or guineafowl, and even beef, every now and then; I'd keep a food journal to track reactions.

Great! That makes me feel better.

We started keeping a journal awhile back when Buddy was going through a rough patch, and I can't believe how helpful it has been. We keep tabs on what he eats & how much, his daily meds/supplements/treatments and explanations re: any adjustments, his pee & poop, any hairballs and/or puking, ongoing or new symptoms, his activity level, etc. It might seem a tad obsessive, but our little journal sure comes in handy when we need to sort something out.

 

[_spadekitty]

My cat can't have any poultry at all. He can dolerate duck a little better than chicken/turkey, but he always ends up throwing up eventually. So, guess it just depends on the cat.

 

[missmimz]

In general you don't have to eliminate all fowl, so a chicken allergy shouldn't affect turkey, or duck, etc.

 

[cheeser]

My cat can't have any poultry at all. He can dolerate duck a little better than chicken/turkey, but he always ends up throwing up eventually. So, guess it just depends on the cat.

Oh, dear. Sorry your kitty's allergies cover the whole spectrum.

 

[cheeser]

In general you don't have to eliminate all fowl, so a chicken allergy shouldn't affect turkey, or duck, etc.

Hopefully that will be the case for Buddy.

The weird thing is that his allergies to chicken and turkey present differently. The chicken allergy manifests as ear and skin infections, and the turkey allergy as GI problems.

Now every time he develops a new symptom, we're like, "Okay, could this possibly be an allergy to something he's eaten, an environmental issue, something related to his FIV and/or herpes, or what?" Ah, never a dull moment!

 

[lisahe]

cheeser , that's very interesting about the varying symptoms. Figuring that out really shows the value of keeping a food diary!