Hi everyone, I have two wonderful monsters age eight and seven. My seven-year-old cat developed a mild itch last year and it's blown up into a persistent allergy; constant itching and scratching, grooming, self-biting, etc. I took him to his regular vet who'd recommended a dermatology specialist. The specialist first tried a very aggressive flea treatment program and put him on a low dose of oral steroids.
Cut to two months later; the fleas are under control more or less, but the itching hasn't stopped. I've decided to start a food elimination trial and since chicken was their primary protein source it seemed the likely culprit. Our issue is this: the cat I'm doing the elimination trail on is quite possibly one of the most finicky eaters I've ever encountered. It was all I could do to find a combo of wet/dry food he was willing to eat (currently the dry is Natural Balance LID chicken/pea and the wet is Wellness minced chicken). I'm trying to transition to Natural Balance LID duck/pea dry and wet, but mixing in just a little bit causes my cat to reject the food; he KNOWS it's different no matter how little I try mixing into his old food. He's also preferred chunky varieties of wet food his whole life and it seems like most alternative protein/hypoallergenic varieties of wet food are smooth/pate style
Granted, the smell is very pronounced from the duck/pea food (if I notice it then my cat whose sense of smell is a thousand times better than mine will probably notice it much more), but I'm not sure about trying out the venison/pea variety since I've read that the smell is even stronger. Anyway,
I'm just wondering, has anyone here had to do a food elimination trial on a very picky cat and what kinds of foods have they had success with? Is there such a thing as a chunky style alternative-protein wet food? Any advice/experiences would be appreciated.
Cut to two months later; the fleas are under control more or less, but the itching hasn't stopped. I've decided to start a food elimination trial and since chicken was their primary protein source it seemed the likely culprit. Our issue is this: the cat I'm doing the elimination trail on is quite possibly one of the most finicky eaters I've ever encountered. It was all I could do to find a combo of wet/dry food he was willing to eat (currently the dry is Natural Balance LID chicken/pea and the wet is Wellness minced chicken). I'm trying to transition to Natural Balance LID duck/pea dry and wet, but mixing in just a little bit causes my cat to reject the food; he KNOWS it's different no matter how little I try mixing into his old food. He's also preferred chunky varieties of wet food his whole life and it seems like most alternative protein/hypoallergenic varieties of wet food are smooth/pate style
Granted, the smell is very pronounced from the duck/pea food (if I notice it then my cat whose sense of smell is a thousand times better than mine will probably notice it much more), but I'm not sure about trying out the venison/pea variety since I've read that the smell is even stronger. Anyway,
I'm just wondering, has anyone here had to do a food elimination trial on a very picky cat and what kinds of foods have they had success with? Is there such a thing as a chunky style alternative-protein wet food? Any advice/experiences would be appreciated.
