TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Nutrition › Food options for hacking/coughing caused by possible allergies?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Food options for hacking/coughing caused by possible allergies?

post #1 of 6
1/20/12 at 1:43pm
Thread Starter 

I've posted recently about my 2 yr old male who frequently hacks or coughs, but no hairballs come up. I was told by the vet that his lungs sounded fine and that, outside of losing a pound or two, he was completely healthy. Well, he still hacks every few days. I may try a different vet, or ask for an x-ray to rule out asthma. (He crouches down, extends his neck, coughs, and nothing comes up).

But in the meantime, I'm contemplating switching his food to a limited-ingredient kind. (Currently I feed Taste of the Wild dry, plus varying cans of quality wet food like Wellness, Chicken Soup, Merrick)

I am not very familiar with allergy foods, but I know Natural Balance has a few flavors that are LID. Are there any others? Should I try the Duck, since that's a novel protein? They all seem to do well with chicken flavors (I never feed fish), but I don't know if chicken could be an allergen.

Would the wet foods need to be LID, too? And should my other cats be switched as well?

 

Any other thoughts? Anyone else experience with this type of hacking and was food the issue?

 
 

Reply
post #2 of 6
1/20/12 at 8:24pm
I do remember your other thread - hugs.gif. I would definitely get an xray or two done agree.gif Natural Balance would be a good choice if you are worried about allergies. Instinct also makes a LID - I personally love Nature's Variety and all of their line of foods. I still would go ahead and get that xray though - food allergies don't usually cause a chronic hacking cough like that. vibes.gifvibes.gifvibes.gifvibes.gifvibes.gifvibes.gifvibes.gif
Reply
post #3 of 6
1/21/12 at 8:23am

One of my cat was allergic to Wellness.  He first had itchy skin, and the vet said it was ringworm.  After 2 weeks, he started coughing, like your description.   X ray shows the lungs were clear.   It took me 3 months to figure out it was Wellness that caused the allergy.   I think he is allergic to most of its flavours, more so to the two flavours with brown rice.  The weird thing is that he has never been allergic to brown rice before.   After I stopped feeding Wellness, all the problems were gone. 

 

Reply
post #4 of 6
1/21/12 at 5:59pm

Sorry you are still going through this.  I would definitely get the x-ray done if possible. The coughing part is a little disturbing.  Do you know which ingredients he might be allergic to in the brand you are currently using? I know, it could be so many things it might be impossible to pin down any one ingredient. Feral mentioned a brand that I've heard helps with allergic issues.  Wish I could be more help with this but without knowing which ingredient(s) might be the cause the only advice I can give is to rule out this brand, that brand etc. by trying them to see which results you get from each.  Best of luck in trying to track this thing down. 

Reply
post #5 of 6
1/22/12 at 6:53am
Thread Starter 

Yeah, I'm definitely going to talk to the vet about getting an x-ray. I have no idea it's asthma or allergies, or even what he could be allergic to. The TOTW Rocky Mountain formula has a mixture of many ingredients, and Puck has been eating it since he was a kitten (he's now 15 months).

 

I also don't know if his weight is causing the hacking. The vet says is a big cat, but still could lose 2 pounds. ( he's 19 lbs.) We've had him on scheduled feedings the last 6 months, and have slowly reduced his dry food and increased the wet. He gets 1/2 cup of dry, 1/2 can of wet per day.  We have exercise sessions every day or every other day, and while he tires out, I think the more we exercise him, the more energy he keeps.

 

Switching foods, especially for 4 cats, as many of us are all too familiar with, can be frustrating, so I'd rather not do that unless I had to. No matter what, hopefully the x-ray results will give some kind of answer as to what the next step should be.

 

Thanks for the replies - I will keep you posted!

Reply
post #6 of 6
1/24/12 at 2:28pm

I think you're definitely on the right track with the reduction of kibble and the increase of canned foods, Kittysback.

 

If you're looking for "novel" or limited-ingredient foods, you might want to consider raw. There are several brands out there that contain single protein sources and pretty much nothing else... which is perfect for a limited-ingredient food trial (RadCat and Primal are two good examples). In addition, the ingredients are in their freshest, most easily-digested form, which means the cats will obtain more nutrition with less effort... and be the healthier for it.

 

The Feline Nutrition Education Society has an article Another Furball? It Might Be Feline Asthma that you might find interesting or helpful.

 

I'm sorry you're going through this. That cough sounds scary! alright.gif I hope you're able to identify and address the source ASAP!  heartpump.gif

 

AC

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cat Nutrition
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Nutrition › Food options for hacking/coughing caused by possible allergies?