Lucas is so picky!!

momto4kitties

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hello everyone:

I'm giving Lucas Royal canin Hypoallergenic for his allergies and he likes it, in fact, he loves it. But I went and spent a lot of money on Hills canned z/d and he hates it, OMG I need him to eat it. I don't know what to do, he is just too picky! I really want him to try canned food, I know it is healthy to eat it.

He is a little better with the hypoallergenic food, but niot great. I will wait another month and if he is still all itchy, I will get grain free food and try it. If he is still sick, I will go back to the vet to see what is the next step. I just read that cats can be allergic to grain and this food has rice and soy, who knows, maybe he is allergic to those, i need to find out.

Tammy
 

feralvr

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Oh our finicky furbabies. It causes us so much worry especially when they have to eat the special diet. I am having trouble too with Pip all of the sudden being picky about having to go to all wet food because of his bladder issue. He wants his dry back. Allergies much be so difficult to deal with on top of trying to find something they will like to eat. Grain free or one of the limited ingredient diets might be worth a look.
 

carolina

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Tammy, the soy on this food is hydrolyzed soy protein, so it is not recognized by his body as an allergen btw...
My babies will not eat Z/D out of the can either, but they love it if I blend it with some water.... Yep, spoiled, I know....
I Give each 1/4 can per meal, blended with a couple tbsp of water - make into the consistency of heavy cream. They lick their plates clean!
That makes it perfect for me to mix in Bugy's fiber, their lysine and bugsy's supplements as well

But just out of the can..... nope, they would not eat it at all....
Try blending it on a processor or mixing it with water - mash it down to a cream with a fork.
 
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momto4kitties

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Thank you both. I will try adding water to the food and se if he likes it. About the soy protein, I was just thinking that since Lucas is a little better, but not as good as he should be by now, he still has red spots and scratches, maybe he needed a food that contained no soy at all. I 'm not sure, just thinking.

because I know he has a food allergy for sure because he is doing better, but I think there;s still something that is still affecting him and I don't know what it is. It is driving me crazy. That is why I was thinking about grain free food. I will see how he does in the next month and I will see what I can do. I want to see him 100% better.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

Thank you both. I will try adding water to the food and se if he likes it. About the soy protein, I was just thinking that since Lucas is a little better, but not as good as he should be by now, he still has red spots and scratches, maybe he needed a food that contained no soy at all. I 'm not sure, just thinking.

because I know he has a food allergy for sure because he is doing better, but I think there;s still something that is still affecting him and I don't know what it is. It is driving me crazy. That is why I was thinking about grain free food. I will see how he does in the next month and I will see what I can do. I want to see him 100% better.
It is not the soy - it can't be as it is hydrolyzed.... if it is in the food..... possibly the rice.
in this case, the best bet would be the Z/D wet. That one is 100% Ultra allergen free. Can you afford feeding him wet only for a couple of weeks?
I blend my food in a little milk-shake maker/blender
kids loooove it!
 
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momto4kitties

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I wish Lucas would eat only canned food, all I want is for him to get better, but I don't think Lucas will never want canned food only, he sits in front of his plate and screams, he loves dry food. I wish i had known what I know know when he was a baby, but I gave him dry food from the start, my mistake


If it is the rice then what to do? Most dry food have rice. I will do a search to see what foods are rice free.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

I wish Lucas would eat only canned food, all I want is for him to get better, but I don't think Lucas will never want canned food only, he sits in front of his plate and screams, he loves dry food. I wish i had known what I know know when he was a baby, but I gave him dry food from the start, my mistake


If it is the rice then what to do? Most dry food have rice. I will do a search to see what foods are rice free.
I would wait... at least 8 weeks with him on this food before changing it...
 

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Originally Posted by Carolina

It is not the soy - it can't be as it is hydrolyzed.... if it is in the food..... possibly the rice.
Hydrolyzed anything in human food means MSG. Would this be the same for cat food? It is an excitotoxin known to have neurological effects in those who are sensitive - anything from a mild headache to much more severe symptoms.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by parsleysage

Hydrolyzed anything in human food means MSG. Would this be the same for cat food? It is an excitotoxin known to have neurological effects in those who are sensitive - anything from a mild headache to much more severe symptoms.
nope, nothing to do with it. A hydrolyzed protein just meas it is broken down to such a small chain that the body doesn't recognize it.
And BTW - are you sure about what you are saying??? MSG is an ingredient/seasoning.... Hydrolysis is a process.... This is a strange statement IMHO.
 

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From Wikipedia: "The USDA states that "[t]he chemical breakdown of proteins may result in the formation of free glutamate that joins with free sodium to form MSG" [1] When added this way, American law does not require the labels to list MSG as an ingredient."

Since it's a known allergen, and can cause itching, I thought it might be worth consideration. But I've never owned an allergic cat so I wouldn't really know.
Good luck!
 
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momto4kitties

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I will keep giving him the RC Hypoallergenic of course, but after the 8 weeks if he is still sick I will try grain free.

Thank you for all the info, it is greatly appreciated.
 

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Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

I will keep giving him the RC Hypoallergenic of course, but after the 8 weeks if he is still sick I will try grain free.

Thank you for all the info, it is greatly appreciated.
You might want to talk to your vet again about changing his diet. He's under a vet's care so I would not try to outguess the professionals. Best of luck!
 
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momto4kitties

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It is just so difficult for me to trust what vets say, they have misdiagnosed Lucas many times, so I've been doing researches abut food and health to help Lucas the best way that i can. BUt I"m doing what he said, I'm giving him the Hypoallergenic food and I will take him to the vet in a month so he can check on his progress.
 

just mike

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Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

It is just so difficult for me to trust what vets say, they have misdiagnosed Lucas many times, so I've been doing researches abut food and health to help Lucas the best way that i can. BUt I"m doing what he said, I'm giving him the Hypoallergenic food and I will take him to the vet in a month so he can check on his progress.
Best of luck to you and Lucas! I've never had an occasion where I felt mistrust in my vet so I feel for you. That must be tough. Will you do an update on him when you find what is working best for Lucas?
 
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momto4kitties

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I've taken Lucas to three vets so far, the one we have now is one of the best in the area, and I know Lucas is a difficult case, but sometimes he doesn't listen to me, for example, Lucas is having a bad allergic reaction and he refuses to prescibe something for the itch, just told me to change the food to hypoallergenic and give him two baths a week. I kept calling and insisting and he doesn't want to prescribe something for the itch, and I think what is happening is that he doesn't know how to deal with Lucas's condition.
Most people in Puerto Rico don't take their cats to the vet, dogs are more popular here, so I guess he never had a patient like Lucas, who was diagnosed by our last vet with Skin lupus (without doing any testing, just by symptoms alone) and has been taking prednisolone for 2 years now.
 

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Hi, Tammy!

<<<Hugs>>> for having to deal with this. I can only imagine how frustrated you are watching Lucas scratch and claw at those sores.


Have you tried sprinkling some type of enticing treat over the canned food you'd like for him to be eating? Whole Life makes some Freeze-dried 100% Meat treats from various meats; I have six cats and not one of them can refuse to eat something that has the freeze-dried chicken sprinkled over it. Parmesan cheese might also work, as will fish food or Bonito flakes.

Also, you're not alone in preferring the grain-free foods over filler-containing products, even if they're labeled as a "prescription."

Good luck!

AC
 
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momto4kitties

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Thank you all. Hi AC, I can't give him cheese of any other treat because he has to be on the Hypoallergenic food only for now. He doesn't want the canned food, and I tried everything. I guess I will have them on dry only until I figure out what is really wrong with him.
 

minka

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Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

It is just so difficult for me to trust what vets say, they have misdiagnosed Lucas many times, so I've been doing researches abut food and health to help Lucas the best way that i can. BUt I"m doing what he said, I'm giving him the Hypoallergenic food and I will take him to the vet in a month so he can check on his progress.
I don't blame you for being wary. Vets in the states don't even get proper training in nutrition, so who knows what the training in PR is like. I would give the food 8 weeks however, and then try something else. Has it been mentioned to try raw? Or is that not doable?
Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

Thank you all. Hi AC, I can't give him cheese of any other treat because he has to be on the Hypoallergenic food only for now. He doesn't want the canned food, and I tried everything. I guess I will have them on dry only until I figure out what is really wrong with him.
If you truly want to switch to canned, you have to remove All dry from your house. None ever again. I tried to do 75% wet 25% dry with my cat and it didn't work because he Knew that dry was there. He would hold out for it. Cats get just so addicted to it they can't stay away!
Catinfo.org has more info on the matter.
 
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momto4kitties

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hello, Thank you for the info
I"m very worried about Lucas, he is not doing well with the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, he is red and scratching again
I think he is allergic to something in the Hypoallergenic food, I read that it has fish oil and I was thinking that maybe Lucas is allergic to fish. I real the ingreadients in the bag of the Hills Z/d and it doesn't have fish oil. Ahrggggg I don't know what to do anymore. he hates canned food and he doesn't like Hills z/d dry that much. he does love the RC Hypoallergenic, but is not helping. I will wait nother two weeks and then I have to do some changes.

Tammy
 

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Originally Posted by Momto4kitties

hello, Thank you for the info
I"m very worried about Lucas, he is not doing well with the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, he is red and scratching again
I think he is allergic to something in the Hypoallergenic food, I read that it has fish oil and I was thinking that maybe Lucas is allergic to fish. I real the ingreadients in the bag of the Hills Z/d and it doesn't have fish oil. Ahrggggg I don't know what to do anymore. he hates canned food and he doesn't like Hills z/d dry that much. he does love the RC Hypoallergenic, but is not helping. I will wait nother two weeks and then I have to do some changes.

Tammy
WOW! What a terrible dilema you are facing. I really don't know what to tell you. Your vets haven't been any help and you've tried different foods. I know this has been brought up but maybe a grain free? You might want to consider going to the raw forum here and see what some might say there.
 
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