My cat, male 2.5yrs old, is allergic to dry food. He is eating vet food. I have found out that one of his litter mates is also allergic to dry food. We have his mother and she is fine. Problem is, he will not eat meat. No meat at all. I had to put cheese sauce on his dry food to get him to eat that when he weaned off his mother. It took a month of giving him a little food that way (to make sure he actually ate something) to get him to eat the dry food as it is chicken flavour. Before the cheese sauce we bought almost every food we could to see if he would eat it (to no avail) and then put the cheese sauce on the food we are feeding the other cats. I have tried this with meat and he just licks off the sauce and leaves the meat. What can I feed him that will allow him to get the nutrients he needs?
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Very fussy cat with allergies, what should I feed him
- Thread starter JillBFrog
- Start Date
Hi and welcome to TCS! I have never heard of a cat being allergic to dry food in general. Maybe something in the dry food, but not just dry food altogether. What do you mean he won't eat meat - what kinds of food have you tried (besides dry food)?
Can you tell us a bit more? We'd love to help, but more details would really be beneficial!
Can you tell us a bit more? We'd love to help, but more details would really be beneficial!
One of my cats has a small face. If I give her meat with gravy she just eats the gravy. No chunks or dry food. There could also be something wrong with his teeth. I have a cat that doesn't like tuna! A cat in the wild only eats meat moning,mid day,and night. If he doesnt get any meat he could be protein deficient
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- #5
He does not like any kind of meat. When he was weaning off his mother we introduced wet food to all of the kittens, he would not eat it. The only way he would even eat the dry food is with cheese sauce on it. We have tried since then to see if he will eat meat and he sniffs it and walks away. The vet said he is probably allergic to the dry food and I have talked to one of his litter mates parents and they say their cat is also allergic to dry food but he will eat meat and wet food. I don't mind feeding him other things but I want to make sure he gets the correct nutrition.
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- #6
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Peanut has sensitivities to some food, litter and had a reaction to flea med ! what I find works best ... look for food with MINIMAL ingredients. the less fillers, the better. Its probably something IN the food (etc.) that's triggering the issue, but it would take much $$ to find out what it is ! I use tidy cats free and clear litter, ( no DYE or perfume) , Pure Harmony dry & wet food (no grains or fillers) stopped the flea med altogether. (she is indoor only ,and only cat so no need, really) .. a little detective work, and you will be better off. Good luck !! 
Oh, I'm sorry.
If you are where Chewy delivers, you might do a search on their site, or talk/chat with them to see what foods might work. I don't know how many of their brands allow for ordering just a few cans, but the information might give you something to work with to purchase elsewhere if needed.
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Hey, like others have said I doubt he is allergic to all dry food, but maybe there is some common additive to dry food that he does not like or is allergic to. He may also just be VERY picky, which is a stressful combo.
Since you are in Canada maybe I can be of some help. I am too, and I’m currently in the process of switching my cat food and so far both of my cats (including my EXTREMELY picky senior girl) love the new food. It is limited ingredient too, so good for cats with suspected allergies and intolerances. The brand is called First Mate and they are a Canadian brand. They make wet and dry. I am having good luck with their grain free chicken meal with blueberries dry food and am also going to try their duck. All of their wet food has been a hit, too. I am not sure of all of the stores that carry them, I got my first batch of their food at Shar-Kare, but they have a “store finder” on their website and are also available on some online stores.
Since you are in Canada maybe I can be of some help. I am too, and I’m currently in the process of switching my cat food and so far both of my cats (including my EXTREMELY picky senior girl) love the new food. It is limited ingredient too, so good for cats with suspected allergies and intolerances. The brand is called First Mate and they are a Canadian brand. They make wet and dry. I am having good luck with their grain free chicken meal with blueberries dry food and am also going to try their duck. All of their wet food has been a hit, too. I am not sure of all of the stores that carry them, I got my first batch of their food at Shar-Kare, but they have a “store finder” on their website and are also available on some online stores.
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- #10
My only issue is most cat food has meat in it.Peanut has sensitivities to some food, litter and had a reaction to flea med ! what I find works best ... look for food with MINIMAL ingredients. the less fillers, the better. Its probably something IN the food (etc.) that's triggering the issue, but it would take much $$ to find out what it is ! I use tidy cats free and clear litter, ( no DYE or perfume) , Pure Harmony dry & wet food (no grains or fillers) stopped the flea med altogether. (she is indoor only ,and only cat so no need, really) .. a little detective work, and you will be better off. Good luck !!
I think it's something in the food and my vet said to try a bunch but he won't eat it. I will look into that food and see what I can find. The only thing he will always eat is dairy. We try to get him to eat anything he shows interest in but always sniffs then walks away.
The food is causing him to scratch a lot and he has gotten infections from the scratching. His brother's family went through many different dry foods and their vet said it has to be one of the binders and that's hard to determine. Since I know Fred will not eat the other dry foods I don't even want to try.
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Cats are obligate carnivores. Cutting out meat altogether is not an option. Your cat has to eat meat, no ifs ands or buts. It will not survive long if it does not regularly eat meat, so please don’t let yourself believe meat in and of itself is the issue here. While it’s possible your cat has an allergy to one or more different meats, there is no way it is allergic to all meat. Start with eliminating fish first as it is a common culprit. Many cats are also lactose intolerant/allergic to dairy. It is very possible the cheese is also causing an issue, even if he seems to enjoy it. Dealing with allergies is hard when you don’t know the exact cause. The only way you’ll be able to tell exactly what is causing the problem is by cutting out all dairy and trying limited ingredient single protein foods, one at a time, for a good amount of time each, and logging his response re:the itching and stuff. This takes time and is a process of elimination type of thing. Many brands have a guarantee, meaning you can return the food even after it’s opened if your cat continues to refuse it, ask about this while shopping around. If he prefers wet food, feeding wet food only is a good option, he does not need to eat dry to live a healthy life, many people only feed their cats wet food and prefer it as it is lower carb, provides more hydration, and is overall a “purer” food option.
Out of all the wet foods I have tried, my picky senior girl will only eat two of them. With these two wet foods, she will ONLY eat them when I have added hot water to it and made it like a thick soupy paste that she can lick instead of munch (if you try this stir it well and make sure it is not too hot when you give him it). She will turn her nose up at it unless I do this. If I don’t add enough water for her liking, she will turn her nose up at it. She is very specific about how she likes it. In general, the hot water brings out the smell, and makes it more appealing to them, and she also just prefers the soupier consistency. She’s a strange girl. Some cats are picky weirdos with how they take their food, maybe you could try this.
What brand are you currently feeding him/trying to feed him?
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- #12
He will not eat meat at all. We want to give it to him but he refuses to eat it. The food he eats now is Royal Canon SO Calm Urinary. It's a chicken flavour that took us 2-3 months to get him to eat. We would put cheese sauce on a bit of it so we knew he was eating and he eventually got hungry enough that he started eating it without the sauce. I have found some food that is chicken and has cheese but grain free. I have 3 other cats so switching up the food too often will not work and I have one that has to be on the vet food as he has already had urinary issues.
We have had this cat from day 1. I rescued his mom from a farm where she was dumped and she was already pregnant. His litter mates all had no issues transferring to regular cat food and one of them cannot have dry food either.
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OK, your meat comments threw me off, I guess you meant “meaty food”, but there is definitely meat(chicken) in the Royal Canin Urinary SO, so he is getting meat/protein, so that’s good. I thought you meant he wouldn’t eat anything with meat at all and were looking for food without meat altogether.
With the Royal Canin Urinary food, it could indeed be a chicken allergy, but more than likely it’s a filler in that food that is causing his issues, I know that food is very filler/grain heavy, brewer’s rice is the first ingredient and it also contains a lot of corn. Those are the two ingredients I would be most suspicious of for starters.
We actually have a lot in common as the dry food I am currently transitioning my senior girl off of is also the Royal Canin Urinary SO lol. So basically the exact same food without the “calm” ingredients added. I was in the same situation as you, my older male cat had had a urinary blockage six or seven years ago and was on vet prescribed urinary food for the remainder of his life. Out of convenience and because she got a taste for it and started refusing all other dry food, my picky girl without urinary issues also ended up on that food, so I understand your debacle. Unfortunately though, if he is allergic or sensitive to an ingredient in that food, the itching and stuff will continue until it is eliminated.
Just a note that chicken is actually a commonly allergic food for cats, surprisingly, as well as beef, fish, and dairy per mentioned by Biomehanika. If he is allergic, try turkey, lamb or rabbit. You'll have to check the ingredient list to see what is specifically in the food. Sometime they'll say it's this flavor but contains other meat.
When you said he doesn't like meat, is it a certain texture of meat? Have you tried different textures like pate, grilled, gravy, or rehydrated nuggets like the ones from Stella & Chewy? Adding water to pate can also help with softening up the texture. You probably already tried a lot of different food, just wondering if it's a texture thing?
Also, instead of cheesy sauce, have you considered Flortiflora? It's a probiotics that for some reason is very attractive to cats as a food topper. I've used it for my ckd cat but all my cats go crazy for it. It might be worth it to consult your vet on it and may be more agreeable to a cat's digestive system. You can try sprinkling a little on the food to entice him and gradually get him used to eating meaty food.
When you said he doesn't like meat, is it a certain texture of meat? Have you tried different textures like pate, grilled, gravy, or rehydrated nuggets like the ones from Stella & Chewy? Adding water to pate can also help with softening up the texture. You probably already tried a lot of different food, just wondering if it's a texture thing?
Also, instead of cheesy sauce, have you considered Flortiflora? It's a probiotics that for some reason is very attractive to cats as a food topper. I've used it for my ckd cat but all my cats go crazy for it. It might be worth it to consult your vet on it and may be more agreeable to a cat's digestive system. You can try sprinkling a little on the food to entice him and gradually get him used to eating meaty food.
J
JillBFrog
Cat food needs to have meat in it as cats are obligatory carnivores.
For allergies, generally, you start with one called hydrolyzed protein which means they process the meat protein until the cat's body won't recognize it as belonging to any specific meat. It's not likely that your cat is allergic to all meat or all dry food but of one or some of the ingredients inside.
In Canada, you'll likely need to get the hydrolyzed diet from the vet. Or something like myvetstore.ca
After 6-8 weeks you try a single protein diet. This will be a Limited Ingredient Diet, called such as the cross-contamination to that diet is also limited. Many brands have both wet and dry available and every major pet store carries at least one brand. Something like Dr. Elsys. If your cat reacts to that protein, you'll then try a different one instead. So for example Magnus was allergic to beef, then we tried chicken and he's not allergic to that. He also has an allergic response to carrots which is an ingredient in some foods like Wellness.
You could also try Catit Nuna which is a dry food made with insect proteins. You can get it at pet stores or order directly from Catit in Canada. However it still has meat protein so you'll need to follow the steps above to determine which meat protein(s) your cat is allergic to first.
Allergies in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals
Food Allergies in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals
For allergies, generally, you start with one called hydrolyzed protein which means they process the meat protein until the cat's body won't recognize it as belonging to any specific meat. It's not likely that your cat is allergic to all meat or all dry food but of one or some of the ingredients inside.
In Canada, you'll likely need to get the hydrolyzed diet from the vet. Or something like myvetstore.ca
After 6-8 weeks you try a single protein diet. This will be a Limited Ingredient Diet, called such as the cross-contamination to that diet is also limited. Many brands have both wet and dry available and every major pet store carries at least one brand. Something like Dr. Elsys. If your cat reacts to that protein, you'll then try a different one instead. So for example Magnus was allergic to beef, then we tried chicken and he's not allergic to that. He also has an allergic response to carrots which is an ingredient in some foods like Wellness.
You could also try Catit Nuna which is a dry food made with insect proteins. You can get it at pet stores or order directly from Catit in Canada. However it still has meat protein so you'll need to follow the steps above to determine which meat protein(s) your cat is allergic to first.
Allergies in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals
Food Allergies in Cats | VCA Animal Hospital | VCA Animal Hospitals
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #17
My cat isn't allergic to the meat. He doesn't eat meat. Doesn't like any meat, red, white or fish. We've tried to get him to eat it all. He will only eat dairy and even that he is picky with.
I currently use myvetstore so I will look at that to see if I can find anything that might work for all the cats.
I currently use myvetstore so I will look at that to see if I can find anything that might work for all the cats.
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- #18
I think I have bought every flavour of dry and wet food that I could get from the big box stores. We tried everything when he was weaning off his mom so the allergy thing wasn't a factor. We try to give him meat when we cook it (plain with no spices) and he just walks away from it.
I did get some cans of lamb and duck(from a specialty store) to see if he might like that. I will look for the Flortiflora and try that too. I have 3 other cats that will eat anything so thankfully nothing will go to waste!! Thank you!!
Hi, in case it hasn't been mentioned yet, (sorry if this is duplicate information) there's a relatively new brand called Mouser that is available through Incredible Pets.
You might not be able to get something that will work for all the cats while you determine what his allergies are and what he will eat. You may have to consider feeding them separately. It's a pain, but hopefully only for a short while.
