Hypoallergenic cat food - prescription or store-bought?

I need to find a hypoallergenic cat food for Kinah. Her diarrhea keeps getting worst and probiotics didn't help at all.

I tried EVO to see if maybe it was the grain she was allergic to, but it didn't help at all (in fact, it kept getting worst). She's been on that food for about 3 weeks. I know it's not very long... but I just don't want to see things getting worst (although I'm not sure how much worst it can get, her stools are completely liquid now)

My vet suggested prescription hypoallergenic food. They have Science Diet and Hills, if I remember correctly.
I would rather feed my cats more natural food (with real meat, little corn, etc.) so I am also considering some pet store brands of hypoallergenic food. (I can't remember the exact brand, I'll look that up.) They were eating California Natural before I switched to EVO.

Any opinions?

LOOK at a NON chicken formula ... many say beef is the top meat allegry ( true for dog s not cats )

http://www.naturesvariety.com/conten...DE3FMnL350B4F8

http://www.naturesvariety.com/conten...DE3FMnL350B4F8

natural balence s pea and duck

http://caninecaviar.com/felinecanned.html these are canned

Damita has food allergies, to who knows what.

The following have worked for her:
Fromms Duck a la Veg
Nature's Variety Lamb & whatever
Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck

Originally Posted by sharky

LOOK at a NON chicken formula ... many say beef is the top meat allegry ( true for dog s not cats )

http://www.naturesvariety.com/conten...DE3FMnL350B4F8

http://www.naturesvariety.com/conten...DE3FMnL350B4F8

natural balence s pea and duck

http://caninecaviar.com/felinecanned.html these are canned

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I'll have to see if I can find these brands in Canada.

The Nature's Variety with salmon actually has chicken (chicken liver, freeze dried chicken, etc.)
I think California Natural also has a variety that is made with fish rather than chicken, but it also has a small amount of chicken.
I guess I would be better off with a food that has no chicken at all, right?

IMHO yes... sorry on occation I dont catch all

Originally Posted by marie-p

I'll have to see if I can find these brands in Canada.

The Nature's Variety with salmon actually has chicken (chicken liver, freeze dried chicken, etc.)
I think California Natural also has a variety that is made with fish rather than chicken, but it also has a small amount of chicken.
I guess I would be better off with a food that has no chicken at all, right?

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I think California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato has Chicken Fat only.

Originally Posted by kittylover77

I think California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato has Chicken Fat only.

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correct.. my worry is the main starch is Barley to close to wheat for me in a "low allergen food"

I have been feeding my cat, Toby, natural balance duck/green pea dry for the past 6 days. Too soon to tell if it helps (he's still grooming his hair off) BUT he did take to it right away, and it is WAY cheaper than perscription diets.... about half the cost, at least. I got my bag at my local petco, so you may be able to find it there if they have stores in canada.

Natural balance also makes a greenpea/duck and greenpea/venison canned food (which I also bought some of and it's been well recieved) so you could feed those in addition to the dry and still be feeding hypo allergenic food.

EVO also has 95% meat cans, in duck, rabbit, and venison (plus the beef and chicken/turkey) so you could use those as well.

HTH,
Art

Eggs, fish, and chicken are top food allergies for cats. I would try to find a formula that doesn't have any of those meats. A limited antigen diet is best (one meat and one carbohydrate that the cat has NEVER eaten before), and if you have access to store bought limited antigen diets, then those are just as good as the prescription diets. I feed my own food allergic dog Natural Balance, and I've found it to be a much better food than the Eukanuba prescription food he was eating before, and it was about 2 dollars cheaper for 30 pounds.

Originally Posted by artgecko

I have been feeding my cat, Toby, natural balance duck/green pea dry for the past 6 days. Too soon to tell if it helps (he's still grooming his hair off) BUT he did take to it right away, and it is WAY cheaper than perscription diets.... about half the cost, at least. I got my bag at my local petco, so you may be able to find it there if they have stores in canada.

Natural balance also makes a greenpea/duck and greenpea/venison canned food (which I also bought some of and it's been well recieved) so you could feed those in addition to the dry and still be feeding hypo allergenic food.

EVO also has 95% meat cans, in duck, rabbit, and venison (plus the beef and chicken/turkey) so you could use those as well.

HTH,
Art

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All excellent options... just wanted to add that pets should eat the limited antigen diet and NOTHING ELSE (no flavored heartworm pills, no people food) for 12 weeks before deciding if the diet is working. Most animals will relapse at least once during the 12 weeks, so don't give up unless your kitty is having a bad reaction to the food such as vomiting, diarrhea, etc.

Also, if your kitty has secondary bacterial infections, those will need treated with antibiotics...the food can only prevent future infections, it will not cure current infections.

Thought I'd post back and let the O.P. (and anyone else interested) know that petco has the natural balance larger bags on sale now...I bought a 10lb bag of the greenpea/duck dry food for $20.99, $4 off the normal cost. They also have the cans on sale 10/$7, BUT they are the small 3oz cans, so not that great of a deal.

Art

Thanks for the suggestions.

Unfortunately, I can't find Natural Balance or Nature's Variety around here. I don't think Nature's Variety is available in Canada at all.

I also don't really want to go with canned because, first of all, it's expensive. It's also very inconvenient for me since I don't have a car and the pet store isn't very close. Plus Joshua has always refused to eat canned food so that would make the whole feeding thing rather complicated.

I did find California Natural without chicken. Funny that the ingredients listed online included chicken fat, but not on the bag I bought. I don't know how Kinah will react to the barley, but I guess we shall see.

It's so frustrating to see how many hypoallergenic dog foods there are around, and it's almost impossible to find them for cats.

Could you order online, maybe?

When my cat had to have an allergenic food trial, I went with the Natural Balance. My vet said that it's virtually identical to a prescription allergenic diet and is a good option. Also, my cat loved the taste.

I discovered the same thing, hypoallgenic dog diets are plentiful, but cats....nope.

this works!!

UPDATE: The cats have been eating nothing but California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato for about a week and Kinah's stools are finally solid. They are still soft, but it's much better than the completely liquid diarrhea she had before.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things keep improving

Unfortunately Joshua wasn't happy with the change of food. He loved the EVO and went on a bit of a hunger strike when I progressively switched (he wouldn't even eat the old food because it was mixed with the new yucky food ) but he got over it and now eats happily.

The EVO beef works well for my chubby allergic cat except that the fat content is high, 10% . Our skinny senior siamese also loves it and now eats wet food four times a day. Good luck!

Have you tried Addiction? addictionfoods.com. You're right in that there are a lot of hypoallergenic dog not cat foods, but this brand has several hypoallergenic cat formulas that might work for you. A friend got us to try it and the experience has been really good so far. My grandma's cat is eating their brushtail & veg, he likes it!

Originally Posted by marie-p

Thanks for the suggestions.

Unfortunately, I can't find Natural Balance or Nature's Variety around here. I don't think Nature's Variety is available in Canada at all.

I also don't really want to go with canned because, first of all, it's expensive. It's also very inconvenient for me since I don't have a car and the pet store isn't very close. Plus Joshua has always refused to eat canned food so that would make the whole feeding thing rather complicated.

I did find California Natural without chicken. Funny that the ingredients listed online included chicken fat, but not on the bag I bought. I don't know how Kinah will react to the barley, but I guess we shall see.

It's so frustrating to see how many hypoallergenic dog foods there are around, and it's almost impossible to find them for cats.

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Nature's Variety is available in Canada...go on their website to find retailers.

Just an FYI that the OP last posted in this thread OVER one year ago

Hi I have a cat, only had him 6 weeks, he had a severe infection due to flea allergy, so the vets thought. He had a steroid injection and was fitted with a collar to stop him licking and scratching. I dont think the steroid has helped him. The vet is thinking of giving him a stronger steroid, which I dont think is the answer. So I googled hypoallergenic wet cat food and came up with James Wellbeloved, Natures Menu,Royal Canin. Im not too sure if these are available outside of Great Britain but you could google(if you have a laptop/pc. I think my cat has an allergy to additives in the cat food so I will change to one of the foods Iv mentioned. Hope this helps a little