Allergic to PEAS???

Hello everyone!

It's been a really long time since I've written and I'm no longer a "new foster mom", but I need a little guidance. And, of course, this forum is the second place I turn (frantic google searching takes first place).

Here's my question:
Have you ever heard of a cat allergic to peas or flaxseed?

The issue:
Our lovely tortie, Fiona, is a year and a half. She's had waxy, itchy ears for the majority of the time we've had her. I regularly clean out her ears, which she appreciates and allows me to do, but I realized recently that she must have a food allergy. Honestly, I can't believe it took me that long to come to this conclusion - especially as all the humans in this house have one allergy or another!

Anyway, when we got back from holiday recently, I noticed that the scabs behind Fiona's ears had gone away. My sister had her on Nutrience.
I don't want to keep her on this as it's WAY too fatty (and Fiona is already a chubby pants). I switched her to Natural Balance Limited Ingredients - which she's begun to react to!

OMG - what trial and error!

So, I created a long list of all the food she's ever been on and all the ingredients. As major ingredients go, the Nutrience doesn't have peas or flax, where the other ones do.

Have you ever heard of this before? Am I grasping at loose ends?
It strikes me as strange (and terribly ironic) that our little Fi might be allergic to hypo-allergenic ingredients.

Thoughts? Food recommendations (that aren't so high in fat content)? I live in Toronto Canada.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Peas aren't hypo-allergenic. Their use was originally beneficial because they where aa novel ingredient. But as you've noticed, many food makers use peas now - so there has been an increase in pets that have become allergic to them.

I'm not sure about flax, I've not seen anyone mention it on here, yet. But that doesn't mean it's not possible.

How old is Fiona now? Have you been able to figure out other possible allergens? Have, or will you be discussing this with her vet?

What stores do you have to shop for petfoods at? (Or are you willing to order food online?) And does she like wet food?

new foster mom, it sounds like your kitty definitely has some food sensitivities. Trial and error to find out what she can tolerate is the only way to deal with this. You may have to try grain-free and fruit/vegetable-free canned foods to see if she can do all right on those, then include ingredients one at a time to see how far you can go.

My Amy can't tolerate peas and, it seems, foods in general that contain fruits and vegetables. Canned or dry, makes no difference. Grains have also been a problem with her ever since she was a baby. (The problems started right after she was weaned.)
She also can't tolerate fish oil supplements that should be good for kitties like her.
I reached the point a long time ago where nothing surprises me any more when it comes to food sensitivities.

I know several kitties who have had serious reactions to flax seed or flax seed oil. So if you suspect a sensitivity, don't ignore your feeling about it.

A little bit of info on flax seed:

http://www.flaxseedshop.com/content/...ed-Allergy.asp

http://www.new-omega-3.com/flax-seed...e-effects.html

Hi Strange_wings,

Thanks for responding.
We haven't yet figured out Fiona's other allergies - she's a year and a half now. But I can assume since she was on the Nutrience without much of an issue that she's not allergic to the ingredients in that food (Chicken and Rice).

She's been on a few different foods where she's had reactions:
Taste of the Wild
Chicken Soup...
Healthwise
Natural Balance, Chicken and Pea

We probably won't be heading to the vet any time soon. She's a happy girl (except for her scratching) and I've been out of a job for the last 5 months. She's not picky at all and will eat anything we put in front of her - including the ones she reacts to. I think this is why it took so long for us to put it together.

She's also a stinky farter and has loose stools. I think it's all wrapped up together. Once we find a good food for her, everything should settle up.

We'd go with the Nutrience if it weren't for the facts that it's much more expensive (read: unemployed) and that the min. fat content is 20%. !

We've got Pet Valu and a few holistic independent shops nearby. I'd rather not order online just for the lead time that's necessary. I usually notice last minute that they need more - and Canada Post is, well, Canada Post.

Another thing...we have another cat. It would (obviously) be helpful if they could stay on the same food. He's nearly 8 months now and a ferocious eater. I'm not concerned about allergies in him but I do need to keep him in mind when it comes to price point.

Thanks again!!!

Wow, thanks Violet.
I knew I wouldn't be alone in this! That's why I posted here.
My gut says it's the peas, but it could be the flax.
What do you have your Amy on?

As mentioned Both are actually relatively common cat food allergies...IMHO peas are more likely ... flax is hard to digest

You never mentioned her age. If she's a senior kitty (7+ years) it may not be a good idea to put her on the higher protein grain free foods. Again, discuss that with your vet. If you say she's good with rice and chicken, that may be your best bet food wise.

Hi again,

Thanks for all the great comments.
Sharky - I'm inclined to believe it's the peas as well. It's my mama gut reaction.

Strange_wings - I actually mentioned Fiona's age twice, in my first post as well as in response. She's a year and a half.

She's been on grain-free, high protein diets most (if not all) of her life. We'd like to keep her on a high-quality food for sure. It's just a matter of finding something without peas - or flax, I guess.

I don't know if you have access to a Costco, but their Kirkland brand cat food is a good quality dry food at a bargain price - less than $16 for 25 lbs.

Reading the ingredients from the link above, I don't find any peas, but it does contain flax seed. If you think the problem may be more likely peas than flax, I'd give it a try. My cats love it and have had no problems at all from the food.

Some vets offer food allergy testing to determine the exact allergies. We did it for our dog who IS allergic to both peas and flaxseed. Unfortunetly flax is almost every food out there nowadays.
I have 1 cat who is allergic to beef. He was always getting scabby, pink ears, itching chin sores etc. Once we eliminated the beef he was fine.

Originally Posted by pamszoo

Some vets offer food allergy testing to determine the exact allergies. We did it for our dog who IS allergic to both peas and flaxseed. Unfortunetly flax is almost every food out there nowadays.
I have 1 cat who is allergic to beef. He was always getting scabby, pink ears, itching chin sores etc. Once we eliminated the beef he was fine.

Click to expand...

Allergy test by prick and blood are not very accurate ...

So glad I found this recent thread while googling away this morning!
I just had an epiphany last night and I think my 7 month-old cat is also allergic to peas or flax seed... but most likely peas!
I got him a little over a month ago and sarted feeding him a chicken-based holistic mix which seemed to give him mild symptoms (sneezing/watery eyes). I then switched him to Halo Spot's Stew and my cat started scratching his ears, face and neck a lot. I changed a lot of things around the house (litter, litter mat, bowls, cleaning products) and fed him NB duck and peas, but his symptoms didn't improve one bit!
I took him to the vet's office last week, and the vet was more than happy to prescribe a few overpriced drugs for him... But the fact that my cat's symptoms hardly respond to antihistamines and prednisone seems to indicate it is indeed a food allergy.
I went over the ingredients of everything he's been fed so far and while the holistic mix just had "some" peas, Halo Spot's Stew has a lot of pea protein and peas are the MAIN ingredient in the NB duck and peas dry kibbles... which give my cat diarrhea, by the way!
I'm aware food allergies typically develop after eating the same food for a long period of time, but peas are anything but a natural food for cats, and my kitty may very well just not be equipped to digest them properly.
This situation makes me sad and I can't wait for him to get better since he's normally very sweet but has been pretty antisocial due to all those annoying symptoms.
I was advised to give him digestive enzymes (1/8 tsp mixed with wet food twice a day) and I'm considering it, but I'm also completely giving up on peas and flax seed (I've even been giving him extra flax seed oil, hoping the Omega-3 fatty acids would help with his allergies...!)
Also, I just started using witch hazel to soothe the itching on his ears and I've already gotten better results with it than with the rather expensive anti-itch spray for cats I got from Petco.
Apparently, it can take 8 weeks for food allergy symptoms to clear...
I hope our gut feeling is right! Best of luck with your kitty!

Hi There,

I feel relative certain that my cat is allergic to peas -- he had a similar experience on the Natural Balance Green Pea and Venison.  If your kitty previously tolerated chicken and rice, I would recommend California Natural Chicken and Rice.

Good luck! 

I would love to know if anyone has found any good allergy pet food (not too spendy) that does not contain peas? My cat is allergic to fish, chicken, duck, yeast, oats, milk, rice, pork, lamb, potatoes, peas and barley (according to her panel) and reacts even to the highly allergen free Hills feline z/d (which i'd rather not feed her because it's expensive and i think crap for nutrition!).

So...weirdly she can eat some of the common allergens like corn and wheat and soybean, but since she needs odd protiens, i find that food made with venison and rabbit always seem to have peas and rice and things she is allergic too.

Any suggestions?

I too am wondering about Peas now. My cats have been on Wellness for most of their lives. One girl has developed itchy waxy ears and digs at them. Vet said to switch off of wellness onto >> Natural Balance. OH MY, she started sneezing hysterically after a week or two. I noticed all the grain-free cans I fed her (venison with pea, duck with pea, salmon with pea etc..) all had PEAS. Welness had flaxseed, but didnt' bother my other cats. I am now gong to try Primal Raw Meals for cats. Pet Food store said all of their customers who buy it love it!! I've tried Nature's variety before and found them constipated more & anal gland issues. After looking at the ingredients & having researched nutrition for years in humans/pets I think it was the Clay which can be drying and bindnig if a lot of water is not consumed with it. Returning the rest of my natural balanced and Primal raw here we come!!

Hey,

My cat has almost the EXACT SAME allergies- chicken, beef, tuna, peas, barley, yeast, oat- I have her on california naturals venison and brown rice canned food- expensive but inexpensive for what you get which is good quality food, no allergens, and a happy non-scratching kitty!! Worked wonders on my insanely allergic cat who has been wearing a cone for a long time and is for now cone free!!!

Good luck- this brand really is great, you don't need that fancy perscription stuff- it's just all about doing your home work and checking ingredients and you can save a bundle!!

Oh I didn't see the rice allergy- don't do the california naturals venison and brown rice one then- that stinks your kitty is allergic to that as well! Check out EVO canned venison formula (I believe that's the name)- it's like 95% venison- expensive but it may do the trick!

Thanks for the continued comments regarding peas and the food recommendation (moonbunny). I did try her on one of the "Before Grain" foods (by Merrick) which was 95% turkey, to which she is not supposed to be allergic. Weirdly enough, she reacted to it. I know that "salmon oil" and things of that nature are commonly added and that it isn't supposed to (i think) cause a reaction in an animal that is allergic to fish....but i keep wondering if some of that 5% in the "single protien" foods has something to do with her allergies.

I am considering trying out a raw diet. I'd love to see her get over 6 lbs (and not show ribs!) and between my other cat stealing her food if we aren't looking (and we monitor very closely) and the lack of nutrition in her feline z/d, i'm wondering if it might be a solution....my only concern is monitoring how long it is left out, etc...we pick up their food after they've eaten, but i'm out of the house working all day and my 19 and 21 year old boys don't seem to think it's as big of a deal and I worry about them leaving it out and Cleo or Jax getting into some spoils....and at this point Cleo turns her nose up at anything but her z/d...and of course Jax's food - to which she reacts.

Ugh! It's as bad as having a child with severe allergies - i just can't imagine....you have to really watch and worry about everything our little one's digest!!

I do hope at her next urinalysis, her crystals are down...i bought them a water fountain and i have to say, it was a good investment, she just loves it!

ETA: Crosswinds - my cat also gets very waxy ears and is shaking her head and pawing at them....the sneezing, wheezing, etc....she has even gotten to the point of having a fever with trouble breathing and very lethargic, and that was also allergies....those times she didn't even break out in the pistules...but it was still a reaction...i haven't figured out if it's common for reactions to change, a sign it's more severe, or if there are different reactions to different allergens, i suppose that makes sense....

The waxy ears can be cleaned, might make her more comfortable.

Re; the waxy ears; a better word would probably be "congested" since her whole respiratory is affected, i think it's more about being swollen, etc. than waxy per se, (if that makes sense) and the minute she's done reacting she is fine, i don't notice any wax buildup, etc.

I am wondering with the Better than Grain foods (single protien, 96% beef or turkey, etc.) that she surprisingly reacted to, even though it didn't have any allergens (i thought) and now that i've read the ingredients again i see that it doesn't have fish oil. However, it does list yeast extract, as a lot of cat food seems to do....and she is allergic to yeast....i'm assuming she is reacting to that.

Went on another food search and came up short again, still can't find anything online or in stores (even the specialty shops - i'm in Los Angeles so lots of availability) that she would not be allergic to.

So sad :-(