Hill's went and changed the formula...

laylacat

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...and now my cat isn't holding her food down.

I gradually introduced the new formula of d/d Duck and Green Pea in to her existing food, also d/d Duck and Green Pea, and things seemed to be going okay. Today, however, she threw up three times. All three of those times, it was food in the vomit.

Hill's added Ground Yellow Peas and "Chicken Liver Flavor" to the d/d Duck and Green Pea food. After e-mailing the company to express my concern over why they would add such a vague chicken ingredient to a hypoallergenic food, they informed me that the Chicken Liver flavor comes from hydrolyzed chicken liver. If I remember correctly, that is how the z/d food is made. Big surprise? My cat can't hold down z/d either, so it's no wonder this food is causing trouble.

I have a few days' worth left of her old food and am seriously starting to panic. I know that IVD makes a Duck and Green Pea food, but the ingredients are abysmal, IMO. They may as well call it Duck By-Product Meal and Green Pea.

I started looking in to Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea and was happy to see that the ingredients are very similar to the old formula of d/d (the food my cat can eat). The biggest differences I found were that NB Duck and Green Pea has Canola Oil and Flaxseed in it, while d/d does not. Are those two ingredients that I need to be concerned about producing an allergic reaction in my cat?

Her reactions are threefold - she has developed skin sores/lesions in the past (I made a thread about this a couple of months ago), she has had extreme difficulty breathing, and she also has digestion issues. So, finding a food is really tricky, and I am beyond upset that d/d went and changed things.

Any thoughts? I am going to call my vet tomorrow and see if I can get my hands on a bag of the old d/d formula just to give me some more time to work through this mess, but I'm not hopeful that I'm going to be able to find one.
 

mews2much

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Cleo and Wrinkles eat the N/B Duck and Green Pea food with no problems.
I would try it.
My Wrinkles was a mess before she was on it and Cleo would have blood in her stool.
 

auntie crazy

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Wow, your kitty's had a rough time of it!

Have you tried switching her off kibble altogether? Maybe a grain-free canned product closer to her natural diet would ease her tummy troubles a bit?

My brother has two sisters and one of them had a lot of trouble for a long time. She was constantly throwing up and he spent a lot of money at the vet's ordering tests. One day he started feeding her canned, and today, she's been trouble-free for several months.

You might find some helpful info on Dr. Pierson's site Cat Info.org.

Good luck! Hunting for a healthy, acceptable food for our beloved kitties is no fun!
 

mizmelzy

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I know how frustrating it can be when a place changes their ingredients. Smokie used to be able to eat Eukanuba, and they went and changed their formula. Smokie was throwing up so bad he was throwing up blood. I had to find a balance between wet and dry that would help him keep the food down.

I hope that you find something that works for your cat soon!

Sending
and lots of
 
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laylacat

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Thanks, guys. Believe me, I know that Hill's isn't exactly top of the line, but it's worked for Layla for years.

My last few attempts to add canned food in to her diet have not gone well. Back when she was on z/d, she couldn't tolerate the canned formula whatsoever and would always vomit it up. I tried Wellness CORE recently, but she had an awful allergic reaction to it. I do have a couple of cans of the d/d. I'm hesitant to introduce it right now since she's already out of whack due to the kibble but do plan on doing so.

I've looked in to pre-made dehydrated raw for her, but I can't locate one that has Duck (or even Venison, Quail, etc) as the only protein source. They all seem to have Chicken Liver, or Beef Flavor, or something else in it.

I called my vet and they're going to try to track down a bag of the old formula to give me some more time to work through this mess. Right now, I'm thinking that NB (hopefully the canned formula too) might be the best way to go.
 

darlili

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For me, if you're on a prescription food (as my male cat is), I wouldn't be switching to anything without your vet's guidance. She's the one who's seen the cat. No matter how good anyone, even a vet, is on the net , only your vet and you have physical interaction with your cat. And, as you know, prescription foods are formulated for specific reasons - it's just a shame that there's nothing in the world that some won't be allergic to.

Other than looking for an older version of the food to ease the transition, what did the vet suggest trying? Or did Hills have any suggestions when you told them the hydrolized ingredient seems to be the common culprit? Do any of the other manufacturers carry a prescription line similar to d/d?

I know it's a pain when there's a formula change - I went through that a bit when Hill's changed the CD wet a bit - and my boy simply cannot eat the fish wet CD, but has no issues with the regular flavor - go figure.
 
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laylacat

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darlili, I'm NOT switching anything yet. I'm simply speculating as to what I might switch to if push comes to shove. I have made NO diet changes without consulting the vet first (including the recent Wellness CORE that made everything go haywire).

Royal Canin's prescription IVD food does have a Duck and Green Pea, but the ingredients do not impress me whatsoever. If I have to switch to a different Duck and Green Pea food, I'd much rather try NB first (again, none of this is happening until I speak with my vet. Maybe they'll say that IVD is better suited for her).

It's entirely possible that she just had one bad day and may hold the food down, but based on my previous experiences with her and her food, I'm not entirely optimistic.

The vet's office is first going to try to track down a new bag of food. If they can't find one, then we'll have to "figure something else out." I didn't speak to the vet - it's the techs who are going to call around to find an old bag of food at one of the other vet's offices.
 

xocats

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Isis tried all of the "easy to digest" dry, Hills prescription foods without luck.
Finally we tried the dry Royal Canin (formally named IVD) prescription Limited ingredient venison & pea. It works for her.

We also tried natural balance dry venison & pea and Royal Canin limited ingredient Rabbit and pea...they did not agree with her either.

Oddly enough, see seems to be able to eat non-grain canned food without issues.
Good luck...
I know how scary this can be.
 
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laylacat

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Thanks. It sure is scary!

So far, she hasn't vomited today.. I'm glad for that, but I'm still not hopeful that the new d/d is going to work long term. Haven't heard back from the vet's office yet.
 

darlili

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I apologize - I got confused when you mentioned the Core, and I think I was overreacting - there's so much information on the internet, and so many people take it all as gospel over what their own vet may say, and, with prescription food, I get really leery about that. And it seems a lot of internet sites really dislike Hills.

I agree that to a lay person some of the prescription foods don't like 'internet worthy' but, for a lot of pets they work. I just wish your poor little girl was having an easier time of it. I'm still thankful that mine think CD is just yummy.
 
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laylacat

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Originally Posted by darlili

I apologize - I got confused when you mentioned the Core, and I think I was overreacting - there's so much information on the internet, and so many people take it all as gospel over what their own vet may say, and, with prescription food, I get really leery about that. And it seems a lot of internet sites really dislike Hills.

I agree that to a lay person some of the prescription foods don't like 'internet worthy' but, for a lot of pets they work. I just wish your poor little girl was having an easier time of it. I'm still thankful that mine think CD is just yummy.
No need to apologize! But yes, I am just using this thread for guidance, and to see what has worked for other people.
My dog has me spoiled - I can feed her many premium brands with little trouble. My cat, OTOH, has been eating the same food for probably 5+ years, so switching is extremely daunting!

The whole CORE thing was a mess - long story short, I went to my vet and told her that I really wanted to get Layla on some wet food. She's getting older (12ish) and kidney health is always a concern. She told me to give one of the better brands a try but didn't really specify otherwise, so I tried CORE.. not realizing, in my haste to try it, that Fish flavors aren't good for cats with allergies.
I don't know if it was just a miscommunication between my vet and I or what. At least that's behind us now, though. It could have been worse.

I agree with you 100% - I have always supported my decision to keep Layla on d/d despite the fact that there are "better" foods out there. It has been working for her for years. But, like I said, if I do wind up having to change, I would prefer to try a food with "better" ingredients, if possible. The "Duck By-Product Meal" in Royal Canin's veterinary formula food really is off-putting to me.

Still haven't heard back from the vet's office. Will call tomorrow if I don't hear anything tonight.
 

furryfriends50

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Have you tried some of the 95% meat canned foods. I had a list somewhere of all the novel protien wet food and I'll try find it.

I've seen wet foods with protien sources such as venison, quail, duck, buffalo,...even beaver.
 
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laylacat

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furryfriends, are you talking about Merrick's Before Grain line? Those are 100% meat as far as I know. They are intended for supplemental feeding only. I do believe I saw a BG Quail, though, which I could ask my vet about.

I guess I'm hesitant to move away from Duck since she's obviously not allergic to it. She's never had quail/venison/kangaroo/etc. before though.

ETA: Nevermind, it appears Merrick changed the BG line and Quail is now Quail and Chicken. So frustrating!!!
 

furryfriends50

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Before Grain was recently made a complete diet - but in doing so the quail is now quail in chicken so that is out then right?

I can't find the list I had but EVO makes 95% meat wet food - they have a duck flavor.
 
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laylacat

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The EVO food looks really good and I've looked at it before, except that I see Herring Oil is an ingredient. I am 95% sure my cat is allergic to fish (hence the Wellness CORE debacle) - yet I know that there is "Fish Oil" in her current food. Hmm. Can a cat be allergic to fish but tolerate fish oils? Would "Herring Oil" be any different from "Fish Oil?"

(Don't worry, not changing anything without asking the vet, just asking out of curiosity
)
 

sharky

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Technically fish oil is not a allergen... As oil should be 100% pure fat... but with processing fish oil may be as little as 90% fat and 10% proteins and other impurities...

Some companies claim to use PURE fish oil ( IMHO I rather doubt this claim but if true it likely is SO processed the value is no longer their)...

Do consult the vet. I am so glad you are...

At this point a NAMED by product likely would not cause to much alarm... I would look at the mineral levels to see if the meal is obviously bone heavy ( the main worry with by products of name origin in a dry food... ) I feed by product wets with decent results..
 
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laylacat

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Sharky, thanks for that info about oils. Didn't know that. Like I said, delving into nutrition this deeply is definitely a new experience for me. I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable on what's good and what's bad, but all of that knowledge goes out the window when you have a cat whose immune system makes up its own rules!!!

Interesting to know about the by-products. If the minerals are high, does that mean that the product is too high in bone?

Will definitely consult the vet before making any changes. Her diet is way too delicate for me to do any tampering on my own. The tech didn't call back, so I am assuming that means that they couldn't find any old formula bags.

She has eaten a bit today and hasn't vomited, so we'll see where the weekend takes us.. I should have enough of the old formula to last me until about mid week.

And just to lighten the mood, here is a picture of the fuzzy creature whose diet we are speaking of


http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/insane_sam/Marge2010/Aug10/?action=view&current=IMG_0679.jpg
 

sharky

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what a lovely kitty
...

High minerals would give a tip off to having high bone... it does not = it but for me a clue is a clue
 
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laylacat

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Well, we went through the whole week and Layla seemed to be doing OK.. but then she threw up twice yesterday, and again this morning.

I called the vet's office and the vet said to try the Natural Balance Duck and Green Pea. So I went and bought a bag, and placed just a few pieces in her bowl with her other food.. fingers crossed that this works.
 
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