Queen Eva has a food allergy

Queen Eva has a food allergy to chicken. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find cat food without chicken. You have to read the ingredients because chicken is often added, even if it isn't in the flavor name on the label.

And it is even more difficult to find foods without chicken that Queen Eva will eat.

A few weeks ago, Queen Eva started having diarrhea. After ruling out parasites, I tried regulating her with probiotic. This seemed to help, for a few days, and then the diarrhea came back. I increased the probiotic, and again, her stool firmed up for a few days, but then it came back.

So I took her off all foods with chicken, which means I had to go out and buy some different foods. I have the Before Grain Beef and the BG Turkey already. But Queen Eva only likes those for one meal, in spite of my efforts to keep her from turning finicky, she will only eat any given flavor of food once in a 24 hour period.

It was very difficult to find any foods without chicken, that I haven't tried with her before. I finally ended up with California Natural Venison (which contains fish), which she has eaten with enjoyment before, and Wellness Beef and Salmon.

I don't like my cats eating fishy foods at all if I can avoid it, but I may have to break that rule with Queen Eva.

Anyway, so she has not had any food with chicken in it in three days, nor had she had any probiotic for those 3 days, and her poops are back to normal.

I have had to HAND FEED her the non chicken foods, because otherwise she will only take a lick or two and then run off.

Last night Tolly left his dish with some Soulistic Chicken in it ( Queen Eva and Tolly's favorite both) and Queen Eva DOVE into that dish with great joy, and when I snatched it away from her she gave me the saddest look.

So I have got to find other foods that don't contain chicken that she will enjoy eating. I may have to go to Fancy Feast, simply for variety, and cost. I hate to do it, because Fancy Feast has artificial additives. Not only that Queen Eva has been mostly grain free since she was 8 weeks old. I can avoid the FF flavors that have wheat gluten at least. But I need to find something this cat can eat!

Oh yeah, and I have to find a high quality kibble for her snacks too.

Otto, hi .....Before Grain is a brand that doesn't mix protein sources. The foods (canned) are completely balanced, contain no grains, etc, and there is only one protein source in one kind of food. Which makes it very easy to avoid a troublesome protein source.

Thanks Violet. Yes, that is one of the things I like about GB, that they do not blend.

I do feed Before Grain in my food rotation, the Beef, the Chicken and the Turkey. Obviously I am not giving Queen Eva the chicken any more

The problem is, she won't eat BG, or any other food, with any consistency. The only food I have found that Queen Eva will eat regularly is Soulistic Chicken, and that seems to be the worst culprit of all in causing her diarrhea. However eliminating JUST the Soulistic didn't work, the other chicken foods (BG, castor and pollux, wellness, avoderm and weruva), continued to cause problems.

I've really got a challenge facing me here and I am not thrilled about it. She likes shredded foods best. Any suggestions on good quality shredded that do not contain chicken or too much fish? (I do not like to feed my cats fishy foods)

Sorry about this. Sorry for QE that she can't have her loved chicken anymore. And sorry for you that you have to deal with this problem. And of course she doesn't understand. And your others have dietary restrictions also.

Have you looked at Natural Balance? They are very popular with my crew. They also like (about once a week) TOTW (venison and salmon).

At the shelter they have an occasional cat that eats venison patty that comes frozen. I don't know the brand, or where they get it, but I could find out if you want to know.

Does QE also have her own restrictions on whether she'll eat only chunks/shredded or pate?

Robin

If you read all the information that has ever been written on food allergy you'll find that foods causing the absolute worst reactions are the ones that the patients are addicted to in the worst way. And that applies to cats as well. So I completely understand your problem.
Unfortunately, allergy = addiction. If you're interested in reading materials on this subject, let me know.
From what I've seen over the years, cats, being as stubborn as they are about some things, are really not worse than humans when it comes to preferences that are sure to harm them.
So my advice would be, if you possibly can, find a holistic vet who has an open mind when it comes to food sensitivities. There are treatments that can help with that.

Sorry, just read that TOTW has lots of chicken.

I googled and found that Nature's Variety sells raw frozen beef, lamb, rabbit and venison for dogs and cats. It is raw, though. Don't know if you want to go there.

Robin

By the way......there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding fish. The simple facts: fish can cause digestive problems and bladder inflammation in susceptible cats. It will not cause the problems people thought it would 10 + years ago.
If you don't see digestive problems (vomiting is the most obvious one) or bladder inflammation that requires anti-inflammatory medication and a need to avoid all fish, there is no reason not to feed fish.
(Reaction to fish requiring anti-inflammatory medication will cause pain, burning sensation, bloody urine, but it will not cause crystals, stones, or a bacterial infection.)

Oh, sorry to hear The Queen is having food issues!! I was going to recommend Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets, the duck or venison or salmon, but you say she likes shredded, and they're pate.

Hmm... isn't Carolina's Bugsy allergic to chicken? She might have some food ideas..

Good luck!!!

I'm so sorry you're facing this problem with Queen Eva. When I read this I immediately thought about that picture you posted when you cooked up some chicken and she was standing on her hind legs with her front paws wrapped around the bowl with your comment "mine" above the picture! No more of that...bummer.

I have no recommendations for you because the only wet food any of mine like are the fish flavors, and the cheap ones, to boot. They immediately walk away from anything costing more than $1 per can, silly kitties. (in one way, I guess I should be thankful, as long as they stay healthy!!)

Is raw an option? If she'd eat it that would really open your options, buying straight up beef, pork, turkey is pretty cheap. Also might be worth seeing if she can handle chicken raw, I know it's common that allergy animals can't take processed meats but raw fine or vice versa. I'm no help on foods without chicken though, my cat does awesome on poultry but has issues with pork and beef.

All I can give you are my condolences. When I had to switch Chester to a urinary diet it was horrible. He was not happy with the recommend foods and refused to eat any of it.

Good luck on your search. At least she can eat regular foods. That's a plus.

Originally Posted by Violet

By the way......there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding fish. The simple facts: fish can cause digestive problems and bladder inflammation in susceptible cats. It will not cause the problems people thought it would 10 + years ago.
If you don't see digestive problems (vomiting is the most obvious one) or bladder inflammation that requires anti-inflammatory medication and a need to avoid all fish, there is no reason not to feed fish.
(Reaction to fish requiring anti-inflammatory medication will cause pain, burning sensation, bloody urine, but it will not cause crystals, stones, or a bacterial infection.)

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Violet, very interesting info. Do you have a link for that info? I would very much like more info on this.

I am so sorry you have to deal with this situation. It's got to be a real pain. I'm sure you've asked the vet this but is this just a protein allergy or an allergy to any type of ingredient derived of chicken? If it's the latter I really feel for you and it sounds like that is the problem from what I read in your post.

I just gave someone a list for a ton of chicken (and grain) free foods for their allergic cat and as soon as I get home, ill give you that link.

Originally Posted by NutroMike

I am so sorry you have to deal with this situation. It's got to be a real pain. I'm sure you've asked the vet this but is this just a protein allergy or an allergy to any type of ingredient derived of chicken? If it's the latter I really feel for you and it sounds like that is the problem from what I read in your post.

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It appears to be chicken only. Probably an intolerance to chicken is a more appropriate phrase, rather than an allergy to chicken, but it amounts to the same thing. When she eats chicken cat foods she has diarrhea. When she doesn't, her stools are normal.

Taking her off all foods that contain chicken has completely eliminated the diarrhea.

My appreciative thanks to all of you who have taken the time to reply with your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, or just sympathy. I'm sorry I have not replied individually but this forum is still not working properly for me and it would take hours of constantly refreshing, and logging out and back in, or having to restart my computer completely, to make that many replies.

But I am taking it all in. Your posts are very helpful to me while I try to find a diet that is going to work for her, a diet she will eat which does not go against my own beliefs and principals. Finding foods that she will eat enough of to keep her from wasting away is now the challenge, as she is extremely finicky, and I am extremely picky about what I will allow my cats to eat.

Originally Posted by Minka

I just gave someone a list for a ton of chicken (and grain) free foods for their allergic cat and as soon as I get home, ill give you that link.

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I would like that very much, thank you.

my cat Gilda sounds like Queen Eva in everything except the allergy. she seems incapable of eating the same food more than once in a row. so i have to constantly juggle her foods to keep her eating properly (she is recovering from giardia so she needs to put on weight).

anyway she seems to have an affinity for tuna-based foods, especially Weurva's Asian Fusion. It contains tuna and shirasu and is one of the only foods she will eat with any frequency. I also just got some "Fussie Cat" brand food that is also tuna and shirasu, it was a little cheaper.

Good luck with your Queen!

Originally Posted by jimmylegs

my cat Gilda sounds like Queen Eva in everything except the allergy. she seems incapable of eating the same food more than once in a row. so i have to constantly juggle her foods to keep her eating properly (she is recovering from giardia so she needs to put on weight).

anyway she seems to have an affinity for tuna-based foods, especially Weurva's Asian Fusion. It contains tuna and shirasu and is one of the only foods she will eat with any frequency. I also just got some "Fussie Cat" brand food that is also tuna and shirasu, it was a little cheaper.

Good luck with your Queen!

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Thanks for your support! I am trying to stay away from fish as much as possible but it is difficult, trying to find foods without chicken that are not fishy, even the fishy ones often ahve chicken. (I also have "rules" about wheat and wheat gluten and artificial things and dyes)

I dare not even give her a taste of any tuna foods, for fear she may reject anything else ever.

I did find a kibble for snacks that she likes, the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Pea and Duck. It remains to be seen if it agrees with her digestive system, I only just started it yesterday. I use kibble only for snacks, she'll be getting about a tablespoon a day of it.

I did bring in a stool sample today, as I was going in to the vet anyway with Mazy (routine stuff) and Queen Eva was nice enough to give me one before I left.

However I would think if it was a parasite, by now the others would be having the same problems, and they are not.

I have a cat on the LID duck food. she didn't take to it at first but now loves it. so that could be a good option.

can i ask the reason for avoiding fish-based foods? then again, maybe I don't wanna know, these tuna-based foods are the only thing working for my Gilda now!

Queen Eva is doing pretty well with the two canned foods I've managed to find that don't contain chicken, that she will eat: Before Grain Beef and California Natural Venison and Brown Rice.

But she's finicky and likes more variety than that. So when she balks by the third or fourth offering (she is fed multiple times a day, as she won't eat more than an ounce at a time) I garnish the next couple of servings with a very small bit of one of three Fancy Feast Classic fishy flavors. This helps her get the rest of it down, so I am getting about 6 oz a day of canned food into her.

However that still leaves me without a kibble for snacks. She is still trying to steal Mazy's c/d, and the last time she managed to eat almost a whole tablespoon of it (Mazy lets her barge in) she had very bad diarrhea about 12 hours later.

She has gotten a little thinner since not having any kibble snacks, and Queen Eva cannot afford to get thinner.

The Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Pea and Duck made her vomit. I don't know if it was the duck or the pea, that food is heavy on the pea. I considered the NB limited ingredient Pea and Salmon, but if it is the pea, or partly the pea, then I would be stuck in the same place.

So today when I brought the Natural Balance back, after many trips up and down the two aisles (there isn't much available here) and much wincing at the loud barking of dogs in the store, I finally reluctantly* decided to try the Evo Herring and Salmon grain free dry food. It also has pea, but much lower on the list. It is very high in protein (50%), and higher in fat (18%), both of which I think will benefit Queen Eva.

It also contains other things that cats don't need, such as carrots and apples and such, I know that stuff is put into these 'premium' foods for the humans, as they have no benefit to cats.

But the kibble is for snacks only, she craves a kibble, and I've got to keep her from stealing Mazy's c/d. The extra protein and fat will be very good for her, anyway.

*I say reluctantly because after P&G bought out Natura I wasn't planning on using their products any more. Whenever one of these quality foods are bought out by big business, eventually the quality suffers. I resent paying big bucks for sub par food, though I don't think it's happened to Natura yet, the buy out is only a year old. I have got to get this cat eating more! So I am taking my chances with the California Natural Venison canned and the Evo Ancestral Diet kibble, with all paws crossed!

Here are a couple of pics of Queen Eva giving me a peek of her Secret White Crescent, and one other with an expression that speaks volumes.

See...?


Look fast!


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