Food allergy questions

Which of these ingredients is a cat more likely to be allergic to: chicken, corn, or rice?

If a cat is allergic to one (or possibly more) of these ingredients in a dry food, how likely is it that he would be allergic to it in a canned/wet food?

Originally Posted by lilblu

Which of these ingredients is a cat more likely to be allergic to: chicken, corn, or rice?

If a cat is allergic to one (or possibly more) of these ingredients in a dry food, how likely is it that he would be allergic to it in a canned/wet food?

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Corn.

Corn is a very popular allergen among cats - along with soy, wheat (gluten), and fish.

Other common allergens include any grain (any - including rice, barley, oat), beef, and venison.

My cat doesn't have any of the above allergies (none that I know of), but I always stay away from grain-containing and "fishy" flavored foods anyway. Fish isn't good for cats in high amounts, even if your cat isn't allergic to fish - and cats aren't really designed to eat grain.

Does your cat appear to have an allergy? I wouldn't just assume it was corn - try a food that has NO corn in it, and see if it allergies go away. If they persist, try one with no grain, if they persist, try a grain-free chicken variety.

Most cats can handle chicken. If yours is allergic, try duck, quail, or rabbit.

If he is allergic to it in dry food, he will likely be allergic to it in wet food, too. I wouldn't risk it.

corn and chicken actually are about the same in frequency of cat allergies ..... rice would be higher ...

Fish , wheat and soy are the top

My cat has to be on a prescription diet for other health problems. I've already tried two foods and he's allergic to both. These are the only ingredients they have in common: Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Pork Fat, and Chicken By-Product Meal.

He's trying out a third food now but it's not any better. It has corn gluten meal, chicken, poultry by-product meal, brewers rice, and whole grain corn.

All the other prescription foods have chicken, corn, and rice except for one brand. But it still has chicken and corn.

The only allergic symptoms he has is itching and scratching of the head, face, chin, and ears. The vet says he doesn't have parasites or fungal infection. Skin scrapings didn't show anything. No antibiotics were ever tried. I don't know if they should've been.

What are the other health problems? And what is the vet getting you to feed your cat? Was your cat scratching and overly licking before put on the new foods?

All of the ingredients you mentioned can cause allergies in cats.....

He's (somewhat highly) prone to calcium oxalate stones and crystals. He's currently eating prescription Purina UR St/Ox which is to prevent both calcium oxalates and struvites. It aims for a pH of 6.0 to 6.4, which I'm not happy about. The dry (which he primarily eats) has corn, chicken, and rice as the main ingredients. He's also getting the canned formula but eats very little of it, it contains chicken and rice.

With the previous two foods he was scratching a lot. I haven't seen him scratching as much with this new food but he's only been on it for about two weeks. He still scratches though. He has scabs under his chin, most of his whiskers are either missing or broken, the outside of his ears are nearly bald. The inside of his ears are spotless though. Clean as a whistle.

At some point, he's probably going to need a food for kidney problems. I need to ask the vet about this again though. I think he said one kidney was working fine and the other was questionable.

IMHO I would ask your vet if either science diets Z/D might work or any of the rx or otc allergy foods ...

Allergies can develop at any time .... it is simply the immune system attacking something it sees as a threat ... ANY protein is suspect but in cats since they are carnivores grains , legumes and veggies are usually the problem as their systems seem to not know what to do with them... An allergy test would be to try something with ingredients currently NOT being feed for 8-12 weeks : ie lamb and potato... BUT talk with your vet due to the other issues

do you know about natural balance limited ingredient diets
if you use the forum search youll see people who use these
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/cat...s/allergy.html
and also from wysong for kidney etc..
http://www.wysong.net/prescription-cat-dog-foods.php
http://www.wysong.net/products/ureti...l-cat-food.php
http://www.wysong.net/cat-dog-supplements.php

hope these help

Originally Posted by lilblu

If a cat is allergic to one (or possibly more) of these ingredients in a dry food, how likely is it that he would be allergic to it in a canned/wet food?

Click to expand...

My cat is allergic to chicken in kibble and canned form, but he is fine with it when it is cooked or raw (the fresher, the more tolerable).

Originally Posted by sharky

IMHO I would ask your vet if either science diets Z/D might work or any of the rx or otc allergy foods ...

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The vet did suggest the canned z/d. Unfortunately, there's no way I can afford to feed canned only. I can do canned and dry depending on the cost. The thing that concerns me with the z/d is the amount of carbs. It has 42.4% on a dry matter basis or 39.2% as fed (whatever that means). That amount seems too high. The d/d doesn't look to bad as far as carbs go. But the problem with Hill's is that they use BHA, and I hate that. Royal Canin and Wysong are too expensive. Purina doesn't make a hypo-allergenic formula. And I refuse to feed my cats Iams canned food after that 2007 recall. That doesn't leave any prescription foods. Unless I go back to Hill's.

Maybe I'm being too picky?

I had to feed my boy hills i/d when he was sick I hated it
have you tried adding water to the dry food if he will eat it
I recently started and it seems to help hydration and motility
best of luck
pet food direct has coupons
http://www.bing.com/search?q=coupons...c=IE-SearchBox
If these would help with wysongs

Lilblu,
I would stay away from any Purina Prescription food. That stuff is not very good. Cats shouldn't be eating anything that have grain in it especially corn. THe first ingredient is corn gluten meal..yuck! I looked at the ingredients of the dry and the wet and they are full of grain. These are expensive foods because they are prescription. You could get a good natural food like The Honest Kitchen Prowl that has a neutral ph of 7.0 and if you wanted to make it higher use Wysong Biotic pH+. A raw food diet like Primal would be good as well. The Honest Kitchen has coupons on their website for $2 and $5 depending on the size. By the way, no prescription food was ment to be permanent. Here is a good article you can read about urinary problems.
http://www.lukesallnatural.com/infec...uses-a-35.html

Originally Posted by lukedown

Lilblu,
I would stay away from any Purina Prescription food. That stuff is not very good. Cats shouldn't be eating anything that have grain in it especially corn. THe first ingredient is corn gluten meal..yuck! I looked at the ingredients of the dry and the wet and they are full of grain. These are expensive foods because they are prescription. You could get a good natural food like The Honest Kitchen Prowl that has a neutral ph of 7.0 and if you wanted to make it higher use Wysong Biotic pH+. A raw food diet like Primal would be good as well. The Honest Kitchen has coupons on their website for $2 and $5 depending on the size. By the way, no prescription food was ment to be permanent. Here is a good article you can read about urinary problems.
http://www.lukesallnatural.com/infec...uses-a-35.html

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1. No online advice can replace direct veterinary intervention. If you suspect that your cat may be ill, please contact your vet immediately. You are welcome to look for advice in the health forum while waiting for that appointment, but never delay proper veterinary care waiting for Internet advice. Remember that cats, and especially kittens, are very adept in keeping pain to themselves and delaying treatment may cause irreversible damage.

By far the most common substance in pet food that cats are allergic to are the preservatives - which are always present in dry food, what ever the label may say. No healthy cat should be allergic to good quality red meat, chicken or fish, provided it hasn't been washed in chlorine - a practice to help extend the life of the meat.
I feed mine raw human grade meat.
http://bestcathealth.blogspot.com/

Originally Posted by MadeleineI

By far the most common substance in pet food that cats are allergic to are the preservatives - which are always present in dry food, what ever the label may say. No healthy cat should be allergic to good quality red meat, chicken or fish, provided it hasn't been washed in chlorine - a practice to help extend the life of the meat.
I feed mine raw human grade meat.
http://bestcathealth.blogspot.com/

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I have studied this both humans and animals ... YES a cat CAN be allergic to ACTUAL fresh no preserving agent s.Yes any dry or canned meat can have a agent not listed in some countries do to the processing chain.Proteins are the MAIN source of allergens . I have had animals allergic to the raw form and not the cooked and vice versa ...

FYI:I would encourage some extra reading maybe of a legit book source that can be backed up .. not a blog which can be a person who has an idea( not always wrong but not always well researched )... I read the profile...lmao.. in that case I must be a "true" expert as I have been practicing things like homeopathy for decades ...I am not and still learning daily...

Originally Posted by MadeleineI

No healthy cat should be allergic to good quality red meat, chicken or fish, provided it hasn't been washed in chlorine
http://bestcathealth.blogspot.com/

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I have a cat who cannot eat chicken no matter how it is prepared, i.e. canned, dry, fresh raw or fresh boiled, etc. and I assure you he is perfectly healthy despite food allergies.

I think it is important to check with your vet on anything that you think is wrong with your pet. Some though will push prescription food and not give healthier food alternatives. There are holistic vets that will give you other options. I guess it depends on where your at. There is one that I know of that you can email and get phone consultations. He also comes to your house, but you would have to live in South Florida. His name is Dr. Russell Swift. I'm sure there are more of them out there, if you are interested.

I have spoken to many people with cats and dogs with allergies. All with different reactions. Some make hacking sounds after they eat, throw up, pull out hair, scratch, chew their paws, you name it. Allergies can be caused by any number of things. My friend was feeding her cat raw food and he threw up every time he ate the chicken Rad Cat. The Cat was fine with the other formulas. Another friends cat gnawed at her tail until it was bald. She is trying a venison cat food and so far it's gotten better. We're not sure what the cat is allergic to but one step at a time. She is giving her a single protein limited ingredient food to see if it will help. And yes I agree don't just take a blogs advice and do some more research.