So frustrated with food!

Originally Posted by luxum

Yeh, i already noted that i know it's not complete, i will only be feeding it supplemental.

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just making sure as I didnt see that"_

That's ok, it was a page back by now. I'm going to leave them on IVD dry for the moment even though the huge stools are just awful. I'm starting to get a little worried though, Rajah is ~still~ scratching. Am i going to have to go through a 2 month wait after everything i try that triggers her? Arrgh!

No after the basic finding s you should note any issues likely in a week of a new item being introduced... on the venison and pea there is STILL itching???

I have been feeding my cats Maxximum Nutrition from WalMart. It's made by Doane Pet Care Co. and as far as I know it's not been recalled.

they are pretty picky eaters, but eat it right up. Maybe your kitty will too.

No after the basic finding s you should note any issues likely in a week of a new item being introduced... on the venison and pea there is STILL itching???

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Pea and rabbit. But there is a lot of smoke and ash in the air over the past week... wildfires to the north. Could be irritating her skin, it's irritating mine. Otherwise maybe she's sensitized to the peas or rabbit now, eh?

PEAS can be a ALLERGEN in cats ....

Originally Posted by happy cat

I have been feeding my cats Maxximum Nutrition from WalMart. It's made by Doane Pet Care Co. and as far as I know it's not been recalled.

they are pretty picky eaters, but eat it right up. Maybe your kitty will too.

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This is a low end premium and NOT for allergies at all

PEAS can be a ALLERGEN in cats ....

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Great...

I know .. Peas like venison and duck and long ago lamb were only used in RX formulas and thus were HYPO allergenic for most animals..... Due to low to no exposure

pm me if you want some ideas..

Well, she was doing ok on it before i stupidly added so many things at once, although i think it has way too much peas and that probably explains the stools as well. She had not been exposed to peas previously unless you count the three days or whatever it was on Natural Balance GP&V dry. She hadn't been exposed to a lot of things including duck before the Chicken Soup, but you are right that she has had lamb (and never seemed to tolerate it well gastrointestinally).

Part of me thinks that i should give it a little longer on the IVD, see if it clears up. Part of me thinks that maybe she's sensitized to it now? I'd like to get rid of it. I'd like to transition her to more wet food, but i feel like i need to find her a dry food in the meantime (as i said they tend to throw up bile if they can't snack at night) - i doubt her digestion would take kindly to a sudden switch to wet after a lifetime of dry. This leads me to Raw Instinct and Timberwolf Serengeti which seem to be chicken based but contain kelp and alfalfa and such...

Raw instict is a good food .... NO low grain is really helpful with Hypo allergenic as of yet ....

California natural or Natural choice are both simple food s

The Nutro Natural Choice? Chicken meal, ground rice, corn gluten meal, rice protein concentrate and rice flour, beet pulp,... uh, that doesn't sound that great to me, especially with the corn - i am reasonably sure that she is intolerant of corn (pukes it up). And all those glutens and concentrates give me the recall shakes. Were you talking about a different formula or something?

California Natural i am frankly scared of after the bad bags... terrible diarrhea. But it may be the best option to try it again i guess. It did work for the scratching for that first bag. I haven't seen anyone else report problems with it, so maybe they really were just bad bags, but it makes me nervous.

Do you think the Raw Instinct is likely to trigger her? Meh, i guess there is really no way to know unless i try it on her, my poor little kitty allergy experiment.

Originally Posted by luxum

The Nutro Natural Choice? Chicken meal, ground rice, corn gluten meal, rice protein concentrate and rice flour, beet pulp,... uh, that doesn't sound that great to me, especially with the corn - i am reasonably sure that she is intolerant of corn (pukes it up). And all those glutens and concentrates give me the recall shakes. Were you talking about a different formula or something?

California Natural i am frankly scared of after the bad bags... terrible diarrhea. But it may be the best option to try it again i guess. It did work for the scratching for that first bag. I haven't seen anyone else report problems with it, so maybe they really were just bad bags, but it makes me nervous.

Do you think the Raw Instinct is likely to trigger her? Meh, i guess there is really no way to know unless i try it on her, my poor little kitty allergy experiment.

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My sensitive girl ... who is wheat , corn and soy sensitive ... Eats Natural choice no problem ( the gluten is protein and should trigger but in some cats it is acarb reaction)mixed with Wellness Core and so far she is okay.. I use the kitten one due to no extra rice ( ie concentrates) and more protein and fat

I havent been able to use Cal natural since she hated the shape ...


Senisible choice is also simple


Felidea s chn and rice is somewhat simple


I wont say yes or no to Raw instict but it HAS ALOT of new things

What does the vet say??.
I dont use Natural Balance venison & pea anymore since it was in the Recall.
I would advise Wysong's Anergen or Serengeti (made by Timberwolf Organics) One of my cats pulled out his fur & scratched himself to death on Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. He's a lot better on the Serengeti

Look at its ingrediants. There are tons of grains. Grains cause digestive upset in cats who cannot process all those grains.Also cause crystals to form in their urine and yeast to grow. I use GRAIN FREE dry foods only now & tons of wet food.

Originally Posted by empire

I dont use Natural Balance venison & pea anymore since it was in the Recall.

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Luxum is aware of this already...but just to clarify for other people... The CANNED NB Venison and Pea for CATS was NOT recalled.

right. and I used to use that too. I'm still scared to go back to v& p canned . I'm nervous about the whole natural balance line. I miss it though. My cats loved the dry & the canned. I hope to feel safe with it again someday.

My sensitive girl ... who is wheat , corn and soy sensitive ... Eats Natural choice no problem ( the gluten is protein and should trigger but in some cats it is acarb reaction)mixed with Wellness Core and so far she is okay.. I use the kitten one due to no extra rice ( ie concentrates) and more protein and fat

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Hmmm. I hate to discard your good ideas, but i'm not comfortable with the corn gluten. I find it interesting that the Wellness Core is ok for her, i wasn't even considering Core because of all that fish.

I havent been able to use Cal natural since she hated the shape ...

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Both of mine really liked the CN until it started giving them diarrhea, heh. I'm trying to talk myself into trying it again, it does seem to be the simplest choice and i'm reasonably certain that she's ok with chicken and rice.

I wont say yes or no to Raw instict but it HAS ALOT of new things

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Fair enough - but if i was going to go with one of the grain-free drys to try, which would be my best bet? Raw Instinct or a different brand?

What does the vet say??.

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I haven't gone back to him lately - basically he said "she has a food allergy, do a food trial, and we can run blood tests that aren't very accurate if you want to spend $250 or so on it, but i don't recommend it because it's not real helpful for cats". Beyond that he's basically useless for this problem, i'm already feeding from my vet's allergy line with mixed results but i have been able to confirm that it's a food allergy, i just haven't been able to narrow it down.

One of my cats pulled out his fur & scratched himself to death on Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul. He's a lot better on the Serengeti

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Serengeti is one of the grain-free drys i am considering, thanks for the input.

I tend to lean instinctively towards your reasoning that grains are more likely to be the problem in the equation than other factors, but i'm not sure if that view is really supported by the empirical evidence or not. Has anyone found a list of cat allergies by likeliehood? I'd rather gamble with something that triggers allergies only rarely than something than something that triggers them frequently.

Most likely allergies in cats food related.. from my reading and first hand knowledge

FISH .. usually white not salmon

Wheat ( include barley rye )

Corn

Beef ( strange as few foods have it)

SOY ( includes tofu and protein isolate )

Peas

Potato( I include this as the numbers are skyrocketing)


Core sureprised me too ... I TOTALLY ununderstand the corn worry


I would try the raw instict if you want grain free and see ...

If you would like a basic home cooked allergy trial drop a note in my pm box

You just keep experimenting . Thats the best you can do. I wont stop learning about cat nutrition until my babies have the most perfect, safest food. Am looking into the raw diet. dont know yet.

Thanks Sharky, that is very helpful, especially the part about salmon being different than whitefish. That opens up a lot more possibilities since so many premium foods include salmon. I think that Serengeti may be a better choice after considering... Raw Instinct has alfalfa pretty high on the list.

Regarding Rajah - i think i figured out why she is itching. Air fresheners. I had recently got one of those Febreeze noticeables (it's a heated oil plug in that cycles between 2 different fragrances, very nice). I plugged it into a socket in the living room and it smelled so nice i went back for another for the bathroom which is where the litterbox is. I came home yesterday and found some kitty (probably Rajah) had pooped in the hallway, but the box was clean. I cleaned that up and went to the restroom - and realized my eyes were stinging from the air freshener in that small space. Rajah has been rubbing and scratching at her eyes and avoiding the bathroom which is odd since she usually loves to be in there with me so that i can cater to her demands to drink from the tub faucet. I decided that the air fresheners might be to blame and unplugged them both, and only saw her scratch once (not intensely) after that, and she stopped rubbing her eyes. She used the litterbox a few hours later - i left the exhaust fan going to try to clear out the fragrance.

Hopefully that's the problem, she'll stop scratching, and i'll be able to try some different foods for her soon. Unfortunately i think i have to buy another bag of the IVD since i won't have enough to ease her into a food change unless i start really soon. Which i may do anyway, have i mentioned that i hate this food?