Food trial question

The vet thinks my cat may have a food allergy. The suspected allergens are corn, chicken, and rice. We think it may be the corn but are just going by our gut instinct. Would it be better to temporarily (like for two months) put the cat on a hypoallergenic food that doesn't contain corn, chicken, or rice to see if he still itches? Or would it be better to first try a food that only has two of the three suspected allergens? This food would contain chicken and corn but no rice.

The vet and I have been discussing this issue and we're both torn as to what to do. There's other health problems to consider such as urinary problems and potential kidney problems. I just wanted to get some opinions on the problem.

I would do blood work to clarify if there are kidney issues ...

I am rather SHOCKED that your vet does not have an allergy suspect protocal... Yes , Try a food WITHOUT ANY of the ingrdiants in current foods . There is a expensive RX food called z/d by science diet that is worth a 8-12 week trial to rule out food allergies ... After the 8-12 week trial of "allergy" food ( and NO treats unless same ingrediants as the trial food) you add one thing back every few days to a week .

Thanks. I noticed with the z/d dry that it contains brewers rice. Two of the previous foods contained brewers rice and therefore it's a suspected allergen. It seems like it wouldn't be a good idea to try the z/d because of that. I was thinking that maybe the d/d duck and green pea might be a better choice. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Also, my cat is prone to calcium oxalate stones. The d/d and z/d look like they acidify the urine. If my cat eats one of these foods, should he also be getting a potassium citrate supplement?

He would have to get the dry food because the canned food of the z/d and d/d costs too much. Once he gets settled onto a food he can eat permanently then I should be able to feed him canned food.

First and foremost, if you have not already done so, I would suggest a full blood panel, stool test for protozoa or bacteria and UA to rule out a disease and as a baseline for later.

This is how it went for us...
Isis was sensitive to an unknown ingredient in food. She had pudding stools.
To rule out illness, she had blood work, various antibiotics for protozoa, bacteria, probiotics, etc. ...
still she had pudding stools.
We tried Z/D...
it did not help.

Finally, we changed to Royal Canin prescription limited ingredient Pea and Venison dry.
From Isis's first stool after changing to Pea and Venision, her stools were firm and healthy.
The conclusion from this is that Isis does have a food sensitivity.
From what, at this point, we don't know.

I am now ready to begin slowly adding other food to her diet.
If the pudding stools return, I will have found the ingredient that she is sensitive to...I hope.

It is a long and drawn out process.
Patience and the attitude that you will find what food/foods are causing the problem is a must.

Good luck with your sweetie pie.

If brewers rice is in current food then ask about the other "hypoallergenic " foods ... Hypo = less not NONE...

If memory serves Z/D is micronized proteins , this means it has it s proteins that have been made so tiny that the body does NOT recognize them as proteins and thus does not react