Elimination diet questions

So Loki got back from the vet and although it was not the reason for his admission the vet suspects food allergies because Loki has been scratching his ears. I'm trying to think back when this really started and it was a few days after Isis got here. He has always been an avid groomer though and scratcher. His ears are showing some damage now though.

Diet: Loki has been fed a grain-free diet for about 1 month. Except for treats. My first plan is to eliminate any grains. Do I do this for 2-3 months? When will I see improvements...if it's grains? I'm guessing it's not grain since he didn't have such bad itching when he was eating grainy-kibbles.

Where do I go next? Should I start by eliminating a protein?

He is on so many different kinds of foods I don't even know where to start!!!

Proteins: chicken, turkey, fish (combined with other proteins), beef, venison, rabbit, quail and duck.

Now what? Any advise would be greatly appretiated.

Mia was having problems for a little over a month with really low energy. I thought back to when it started and the only thing I could think of that had changed was her diet. I started feeding her Taste of The Wild (its grain free). I found a sale on Eagle Pack Feline Kitten Food (not grain free). When I started her on it she gradually perked up over a few days. She has been on it for 2 weeks now and doing wonderful. Maybe grain free isnt for all cats.

He has done very well on grain free wet...lots of energy and stuff. I googled around a bit and I think I'm going to start him on duck. Allergies develop over time and his scratching has gotten worse, I also must consider non-food allergies I suppose. Glad the eagle pack worked for you, I'm not quite ready to give up on grain free just yet...not after all this work. I found BB Wilderness, Natural balance LID and Evo all have a duck flavour with no other protein source, no grains and no eggs.

Can I combine those so he has some variety or should I just find one that he likes and stick to it? I also have some of that $$$ Hill rx stuff that is duck and brown rice. I felt like I had to buy it since they treated Loki so well. He wouldn't touch it at the clinic so I won't hold my breath.

Ty for the reply!

I did just switch my cat's to Wilderness Duck because three of my cat's were having chin acne issues - allergy related. Since starting on the duck, they are so much better and I am able to spread out the Pred doses too . I think you should just stick to one dry brand. I feed mostly wet grain free canned to my cat's. They love the Wilderness canned foods too.

On an elimination diet, you need to completely rule out any issues. So you would want to feed nothing but the food you are using on trial. That means no treats, no snacks from you plate (which was the hard one for me :lol3: ). Food trials should be done for a minimum of 8 weeks.

It's tough to suggest foods, because every kitty is so different. For my Eden who has food issues, Natural Balance Chicken & Green Pea is what works for her. But that doesn't work for every kitty.

When she was on an elimination diet, I fed the NB Chic/GP dry & canned. When I wanted to give treats I just gave the kibble as a treat.

My Lucas has food allergies.  I tried grain free but it didn't work on him.  I then started him on Hypoallergenic food, Hills z/d canned, but he was allergic to that too, but he is doing great now that he is eating hills z/d dry,   But that is only temporary, I'm trying to figure out what he is allergic to, so I tried giving him limited ingredient canned foods, like Natural Balance green peas and duck.  I already tried duck, chicken and turkey and Lucas is allergic to all. 

In my case is not that hard because Lucas reacts almost immediately to the food he is allergic to.  In minutes he gets a rash on his belly. 

You have to try the food and then wait before trying other proteins.  Right now I'm waiting at least two months to try another protein. 

My plan is to try them in this order:

1. Nature's variety Intinct Lamb canned food 

2. Evangers rabbit

3. Natural Balance venison

4. Natural Balance salmon and green peas

I hope you can find out what is causing Loki's allergies, is not an easy thing to figure out, but with patience and love, we will be able to do it.

Hugs!

Tammy 

Commercial raw foods are a great option for elimination trials, as they generally contain very few ingredients. Besides offering only one or two clearly-stated proteins and presenting these proteins in their natural, non-cooked state, raw products include very few supplements and no additives (that I'm aware of). Ingredients such as gluten and carrageenan, used primarily to change the consistency of a product and a frequent source of allergy symptoms, are not needed or included in raw products.
 

ilovemia said:

... Maybe grain free isnt for all cats.

Click to expand...

Cats all share the same basic physiology - they have no nutritional requirement for carbs (grains/fruits/veggies), they are not able to effectively or completely process these products, and their digestive systems are put under stress when forced to do so (the likely cause of IBD/vomiting/diarrhea). Cats have one of the most beautiful and well-designed digestive systems in the animal kingdom, but that system is specifically engineered to process animal protein and parts; feeding them plant material is rather like throwing low-quality fuel in a high-performance engine (think Lamborghini)...

Whatever caused your kitty to perk up was most-assuredly not related to the grain content of the new food.

AC

As a side note I only feed wet because if I give them dry at all they snub the wet...having some wonderful issues right now with Isis.

I do like the idea of raw but I'm not ready to go down that route yet. Too many changes and uncertainties in my life right now and I just can't tack on another challenge at this time. Just getting them to eat everyday seems to be a royal pain....life was simpler with dry food.

I looked up the ingredients in all 3 varieties and they all have carrageenan. Sadness. I'm still going with the duck, right now he's eating Evo duck (all I had) but Evo is a real pain to find in stores and quite pricey compared to the others.

The two other options: BB wilderness duck and Natural Balance Duck and green pea

They use different carb sources but I want to give him some variety. Bad idea to have all 3?

Thanks again for the replies. Oh and since Loki has had either no food or duck I haven't seen him scratch his ears and my allergies are better this morning! I think my allergies were due to his excessive grooming.