Food allergy

luxum

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So, in the continuing saga of Rajah...

A little background if you missed it - to make a long story short, she developed anorexia after dental surgery rather than eat the wet food she was supposed to eat, and also refused her old dry food (Iams - wish i had realized how much it sucks earlier), and many other brands of dry that i offered her until i finally found one that she likes - Chicken Soup. Her weight has come back up from 6 lbs 1oz to 6lbs 12oz today, she's eating normally and she looks much better.

Except... her poor little head. She's been scratching it and has big bald patches all over it. The last time i took her in for it was right after she had started eating the Chicken Soup - since she had just started eating the vet wanted to approach it conservatively, he didn't want to risk doing anything that might upset her and put her off her food. He gave me some eyedrops with hydrocortisone and an antibiotic to put on the bald areas, and the hair on those spots grew back, but then she got new spots and i ran out of the drops. I took her back to the vet for it on Monday and he did a scrape to check for mites and said it was negative. Her ears are clean, no mites there either. He suspects food allergy. And Chicken Soup has multiple protein sources in it - chicken, "ocean fish", salmon, turkey, duck, egg, plus some more exotic grains and veggies. Now, as i understand it, cats develop allergies to foods they have eaten for a long time, and that of the foods she has been exposed to for a long time, fish is the most likely culprit. He prescribed a topical oatmeal spray and antihistamine and recommended a food trial.

She refuses to eat the Venison and Green Pea Natural Balance. So here's what i'm going to try, tell me if you think it's a good idea. I'm switching her to California Natural chicken and rice (i bought some yesterday and mixed some of it into the Chicken Soup and she didn't seem to care, she ate both). I figure with the ingredient list so simple that while it won't work as a true food trial, it will help me to at least figure out if it's the chicken (or possibily the rice) versus everything else that's in her current food. If that doesn't work, i was thinking of ordering Nature's Logic rabbit as recommended by that poster here with the Gizmo cat that's allergic to poultry. Unfortunately it's not carried at the convenient local stores. Do you think that would work? Should i just move on to the rabbit formula and not waste time with the California Natural?
 

sharky

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Fish first then duck....

I would suggest trying to find a lamb based food .... try the cal natural as I have only seen four true chicken allergies in cats in about 4 yrs of dealing with pet food
 
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luxum

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OK, thanks, i will gradually switch her over to CN and see if that helps, and consider my options afterwards if it doesn't.
Fish first then duck....
I beleive that CS was her first exposure to duck. That makes it less likely to be the issue, right?
 

lyric

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I just saw your post and one of my cats also has a food allergy. It causes scabs all over her head and neck progressing to her chest and other parts of her body. I tried so many different dry foods to no avail.

Finally I tried Wysong Vitality and Wow, the scabs started to go away. Now they are almost completely gone. The difference that I found between Wysong Vitality and the others was that it doesn't contain any Wheat.

I am fostering another cat and was feeding that cat Purina One with Oatmeal. My allergic cat would eat that food too and the scabs came back with a vengeance. Well, Purina One with oatmeal contains wheat. Now I have all the cats on the Wysong Vitality to avoid her eating th eother food and the scabs are clearing up again.

Note: the other Wysong foods contain wheat; it's the Vitality that is wheat free.

I don't know if that helps but that was my experience. I also feed Natural Balance wet food but that didn't seem to be the problem.

Good Luck. These food allergies are frustrating.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by luxum

OK, thanks, i will gradually switch her over to CN and see if that helps, and consider my options afterwards if it doesn't.

I beleive that CS was her first exposure to duck. That makes it less likely to be the issue, right?
for an allergy to present exposure to the agent only needs to be twice ....
 
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luxum

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for an allergy to present exposure to the agent only needs to be twice ....
Well yes, but as i understood it, it was much more likely that the culprit is something that she's been exposed to for a long time. Have i been misinformed?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by luxum

Well yes, but as i understood it, it was much more likely that the culprit is something that she's been exposed to for a long time. Have i been misinformed?
Yes and no ... at least in my house allergies come on suddenely .... like Gigi who is now allergic to rabbit duck and venison yet her exposure to any of them has only been minimal .... long coming allergies are usually present in minor form
_

Yet she can eat chicken which she has been exposed to for at least the six yrs I have her ...no allergy at all.... beef and salmon she is intolerent ( i call it minor allergies, it acts like one but isnt truely()
 
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luxum

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Interesting, thanks. Crossing my fingers that it's not the chicken or the rice.
 
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luxum

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I just had a thought. How likely is it that she's allergic to the sprouted wheatgrass in her Drinkwell? I had forgotten about it totally and i'll pull it out now. I got the inserts about the same time i switched to the Chicken Soup food.
 
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luxum

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Anyone know if the sprouted wheatgrass might be the issue?
 

sharky

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it could be but since wheat grass is still a spout in essence I would say not likely
 
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luxum

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Hmm, i suppose you are right. Thanks for the response.
 
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