Limited Ingredient food?

I know this has been discussed before, but the vet wants me to try Cindy on a limited ingredient diet because of her allergies.  The food she sells is very expensive, and Cindy is so fussy, I hate to spend $50+ on something she may not eat.  I don't want to get the Natural Balance one because Swanie has had troubles eating their products, and I know he'd be eating some of whatever I get.  Is there anything readily available in both wet and dry limited ingredient that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?  If I have to get the vet stuff, I will, but wanted to see what my other options are first.

If you are mainly concerned she may not eat the food, I would check if you can get samples of the foods you're interested in. Many pet stores have samples available and if they don't you can often order some online or contact the food company and ask if they can send you some.

The foods I know of are Nature's Variety Instinct turkey limited ingredient, Royal Canin's veterinary formulas, Addiction Viva la Venison, and I just found out that Canine Caviar has a Buffalo and a Venison formula that may be considered limited ingredients (or at least, they're single/novel protein sources.) I also tried Natural Balance with my cats and they refused to touch it.

There may be others out there but my vet had me use foods with no chicken, fish, or grains and my cat would only eat dry, not canned so I only know about the ones with those criteria. I think California Natural might have one that is considered limited ingredient too?
 

Yes, I don't want to pay $50 for a bag of food if she won't eat it.  But also I want to make sure I get a good quality food.  I can't get samples at the pet stores near me, I've already asked, but that's a great idea to ask the companies for samples.  I've made a list of the ones you recommend and I'm going to contact them to see if I get a few samples to try.

You might check your local pet store's return policy. The PetCo in my town permits (with receipt) the return of opened food for a refund if the pet doesn't like it. According to the clerk at the store, this policy varies a bit between stores.

Maybe switching to a raw diet could help with the allergies? It is, in general, more wallet-friendly in the long run.

kittylover23 said:

Maybe switching to a raw diet could help with the allergies? It is, in general, more wallet-friendly in the long run.

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I'm a bit nervous about trying raw.

Are you feeding any wet food or only dry? It would be much healthier for her to be eating wet foods, and then you can just test individual cans. :dk:

You might find this helpful: http://www.catinfo.org

LDG said:

Are you feeding any wet food or only dry? It would be much healthier for her to be eating wet foods, and then you can just test individual cans.

You might find this helpful: http://www.catinfo.org

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I feed her both wet and dry.  She's very fussy about what she eats and only eat a few licks of the wet food, and won't even consider any of the better quality stuff. So I was giving her fancy feast wet and a better quality dry.  I started giving her dry initially because she likes to graze and was waking me up all hours of the night when she first came to live here.  So I started putting a little dry down at night.  Now she's still like that, we don't free feed anymore, but she will follow you around and meow until she gets some dry food.  She was meowing in my ear the other morning.  I am going to go over to this one pet store nearby, the guy there seems to know quite a bit about what cat food is out there and nutrition and stuff, maybe he has some recommendations.

Well, it can be difficult to transition to new foods, whatever they are. But with creativity on your part, it can be done.

Personally, I view the cats like children. Ultimately I don't let them dictate how or what they eat. Mine were on prescription food for years; they grazed on dry food and got wet food for breakfast and dinner. But as I learned more about what cats need, I changed what and how they ate.

My cats had issues with texture and tastes, but using something they liked to incorporate what I wanted them to be eating (and altering texture with water and/or a small blender and smell with various things sprinkled on top) gets them where you want them to be. :dk: It wasn't easy, but now they eat three timed meals a day, the food I want them to be eating.

I had to stop the grazing because of kitties that were getting fat - that wasn't easy, and you're already over that hump. My cats were NOT happy about the removal of kibble from their diet, but they got over it. Then I had to alter what I fed, because our last rescue had serious allergies/itching problems/rodent ulcers, etc. We were able to help him with Chinese herbs prescribed by a holistic vet, but now we control his health solely through diet - he no longer needs any meds or herbs.

I will say, the canned food didn't satisfy them between the late night meal and breakfast. The waking me up in the wee hours of the morning stopped, though, once we switched to raw. It is more satisfying for them. So if you're feeding primarily canned, I do understand you want a kibble you can leave out at night.

Have you been able to identify what she's allergic to? We never did figure out what Chumley's triggers were.

Obviously you need to feed your kitty food you're comfortable with and in a manner that works for your lifestyle and her needs. I hope you're able to find something that works!

No, unfortunately, we don't know what she is allergic to, I wish I did and I wish there was a easy way to figure it out.  How did you get your Chumley over the itching? 

The problem I've always had is that Cindy is really fussy and not only fussy, if she doesn't like what I give her she won't eat.  At all.  I know they say if they get hungry they'll eat, but I just don't know if I feel comfortable taking that chance.  Today, for example, she's not happy with me for giving her the pills so she's hiding behind the bed (or was, I have no idea where she is now.  Looks like she found a good place this time).  I had DH take her some food, but she wouldn't eat it.  I know she needs food on her stomach when taking the pills, so I caved and took her a little bit of kibble.  Which she ate some of that. 

I also don't like having to feed them two separate things, since neither of them will eat leftovers (I've tried a bunch of different ways of presenting it).  So I get the smaller cans with less waste.  And of course cost is an issue unfortunately. 

I'm going over to the pet store tomorrow where the guy there carries good, quality food and he seems very knowledgable.  I'm going to ask him about limited ingredient foods and also I know he carries raw and had some samples there before, so I may revisit that option.

For Chum, we saw a holistic vet. She's a DVM but also trained in Chinese meds (and nutrition). She's the one that prompted us to move to raw - though we didn't, not at first. I did get them off the kibble entirely and moved them to timed meals of grain-free wet food. I used mostly Nature's Variety Instinct cans at first (because they have one protein source, and the peas and carrots are easy to pick out, and they have no carrageenan or guar gum, which can contribute to "allergy" problems and gastric upset). So we got him over the itchies with her prescription for Chinese herbal meds. It was clear within two weeks it was going to work. :nod:

I continued to research nutrition, and over a year later (of being on timed meals of wet food only) I transitioned them to raw. Two weeks into eating raw, Chumley stopped eating his herbal pills. It's been... seven months now he's been off of them. I can feed him any protein, and no itchies.

You can search to see if there's a holistic vet you can get to here: http://www.ahvma.org

And you're right - you cannot starve a cat into eating. That's not a good approach. I don't know if you feed her at the same times, and in the same place, or give her treats... but having a routine you don't break with no treats between meals can go a long way to getting you where you need to be. Skipping a few meals for a fussy eater while establishing the routine (and not giving her something wherever she is after meal time because she didn't eat, and not giving her any treats) can go a long way to fixing "the fussies." (The trick is to not violate the routine. Food is at meal time, and meal time is at X o'clock and in this location. And don't offer more than one food at any given meal. If a meal gets skipped, offer a different food at the next meal, etc.... ).

Our Spook skips meals sometimes. And I let her. I just don't let her go an entire day without eating - but so far, she hasn't let it come to that. If you have to resort to kibble at a meal, so be it. But put a small bit of what you WANT her to be eating next to the kibble, in the same dish. Or put the kibble on top of it. The idea is to ensure she eats, but to also have her associate whatever food you want her to be eating with the food she does eat.

When I transitioned to wet food, I already knew my cats liked the food with gravy. In fact, what they liked was the gravy. But none of those foods were particularly healthy (although now I know Weruva makes one). So I put the Nature's Variety Instinct pate in a small blender with some water and made the whole thing "gravy." It helps to work with what you know she likes. So, for instance, crushing kibble and using it as a topper is an option. And this is for any food transition, to get her eating what you want her to eat. :nod:

LDG, you have given me some excellent advice.  I don't know of any holistic vets nearby (I searched once.  I'll search again in a few minutes), but I've never tried Nature's Variety either.  They both like gravy and they like pate as well, but I never thought of putting the pate in a blender to make gravy!  I will have to see if I can find a small blender and try that.

As for when they get fed, I stick roughly to the schedule of when I get up (between 5:00 and 5:30 AM), when I get home (between 4:00 and 4:30 PM), and around 9:00 PM before bed.  They get 1/3 to 1/2 of a 3 oz can each time, and rarely finish it.  In Cindy's case, she never finishes it.  Swanie is a bigger boy, so I let  him eat more, sometimes some of hers that she doesn't finish.  I also give them a little bit of kibble on a plate which I pick up when they are through.  And by little, I mean 10-12 pieces of kibble.  They also get occasional treats, which of course I shouldn't do but they're so darn cute.

I don't have one set place for the wet food.  I spoiled them when Cindy was sick years ago and not eating and I was putting food in front of her everywhere trying to get  her to eat or at least lick the gravy.  Swanie is also a funny little guy, he likes to pick his spot for eating, and I've accommodated so far.  He likes to eat in odd corners and under things.  Cindy is very vocal when she's hungry, she'll get up in your face of sit in front of you in the "pose."  Yes, both cats are spoiled.  I have to get over all that and try to do what is best for her and not what she wants.  And try really really hard to get DH on board, which has always been my stumbling block.   He can't resist them when they give him those kitty eyes.

I still didn't make it down to the mall to talk to the guy at the pet store.  It's not really a pet store, it's an adoption store but he sells food and stuff and is pretty well up on nutrition and what is good food and what isn't.  I wanted to go last weekend but it was bad weather and didn't want to go out in it.  I'm going to try to make it over there on my lunch hour and see if he still has samples of the raw diet.  I got one once, but didn't use it.

Anyway, thank you very much for all the good information, I'm trying hard to process it all

Misty8723 said:

...And try really really hard to get DH on board, which has always been my stumbling block.   He can't resist them when they give him those kitty eyes.

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Yes, well, those eyes are SO difficult to resist! It's one thing to be "mean momma," but if Daddy's not helping.... Tell him to think of them as kids, not nieces and nephews. Maybe that will help! :lol3:

Hi! I have tried the Natural Balance LID foods, which my Naku ate for awhile, and did well on (we were able to rule out poultry, because it made him vomit), but both my cats stopped eating the NB after awhile. For wet foods, I have had a lot of luck with Nature's Variety. It's a little bit more pricey than some of the others, but I like their ingredients and protein selection (rabbit, venison, lamb, etc.).

I am also in the process of transitioning my cats to raw, due to the limited proteins Naku could have with wet, and he could not stomach dry at all. In raw form, he can have poultry without any issues, so this may be something you want to read up on. I have been lurking in the raw forums for almost a year (more so, when Naku started having his tummy issues after we adopted him), and decided in the past week to make the switch and it has been amazing so far (although, Esme is the difficult one... little princess).

I would recommend though, like LDG said, switching your kitties over to at least all wet. We did the same with our kitties (although, we kept some kibble on hand when Esme was being a stinker, and she would get a "kibble sprinkle" to eat her wet).

Now that I am transitioning to raw, she knows I am up to something with the kibble sprinkle, so we are now using Forti Flora, which is working wonders (although, other members have recommended using it sparingly, which I agree, if you consider the Forti Flora option)

I hope you are able to find something that works well with Cindy and Swanie!

Misty8723 said:

I feed her both wet and dry.  She's very fussy about what she eats and only eat a few licks of the wet food, and won't even consider any of the better quality stuff. So I was giving her fancy feast wet and a better quality dry.  I started giving her dry initially because she likes to graze and was waking me up all hours of the night when she first came to live here.  So I started putting a little dry down at night.  Now she's still like that, we don't free feed anymore, but she will follow you around and meow until she gets some dry food.  She was meowing in my ear the other morning.  I am going to go over to this one pet store nearby, the guy there seems to know quite a bit about what cat food is out there and nutrition and stuff, maybe he has some recommendations.

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I don't have a product from my line that will be appropriate for your kitty but I can tell you how I would approach this.   I actually feed my cats the same way and I think this might help you make a decision.  You've indicated eliminating dry might be a difficult task.  I would begin feeding small amounts of kibble in between 2 wet feedings per day.  I started timing my kibble feedings with a timer and gradually reduced the amount of kibble while increasing the amount of wet.  Their diet is now at about the ration of 85% wet to 15% dry.  I want to get that consistently reduce to 90/10 and then I'll be happy. 

This is the route I would take in your position.  I would gradually change the current kibble to a grain free kibble over the course of 2-3 weeks by mixing the new with the old.  I would gradually increase the wet food to a very limited ingredient or grain free wet food.  There are several brands out there that sell good premium kibble and wet with grain free and limited ingredient lines.  I'm sure people will be able to make suggestions regarding brands.  Again, I would space the kibble feedings between the wet feedings.  Today the wet feedings are the highlight of my meezer's day and I used to free feed them their Max Cat kibble.  Thankfully none of them overeat so I didn't have the weight issues associated with cats that overeat their kibble.  

Don't know if any of this helped.  If you need help with investigating a raw diet you can also check out the raw forum here on TCS.  Best of luck!

NutroMike and PrincessEsme - Thank you for the suggestions. 

I would like to get them to all wet, but I think with Cynthia I may always have to provide some dry to satisfy her. and putting some kibble on the wet food doesn't work with her, she's such a pricness she will just refuse both of them.

I've read somewhere (maybe on here, I think), that feeding totally grain free could end up causing some long term problems.  I'm okay with a little bit of grain, but I do try to limit.  Right now they're getting California Natural and I've tried them on (drawing a blank) from the company that makes Orijen, but they don't like (Cindy in particular, Swanie is not too fussy).  I've also given them Orijen in the past, and may go back to it.  They like it, but it's very expensive.  Also, Swanie has been on a vet diet for tummy issues.  I'm trying to gradually get him back on non-vet food (which I don't care all that much for the ingredients, or the price) and he also has a weight issue.  We really do try limit the kibble he gets while letting Cindy have a little more (since she has no weight issues).

I don't want to go with Natural Balance because that is the food that gave Swanie the tummy problems initially and also they just had a recall not long ago.  I think I tried Nature's Variety at one time as well, but maybe I'll give it another go.  Maybe I'll write the company, see if they will send me some samples.  I haven't had much luck getting samples from the pet food stores around here.

And Forti Flora is not an option either, because I tried that and Cindy wouldn't eat it.  Also the other one, can't think of the name right now. Swanie will eat it right out of the scoop, but Cindy says no thanks.

I guess I will go lurk around the raw forum for awhile - good advice.  All of this food stuff gets me so confused. And just when I think I've got it all sorted out, they have a recall, or change the formula, or some such thing.

LDG said:

Yes, well, those eyes are SO difficult to resist! It's one thing to be "mean momma," but if Daddy's not helping.... Tell him to think of them as kids, not nieces and nephews. Maybe that will help!

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Yeah, I doubt it

I had him convinced for a few minutes to open a can if he HAD to feed them, but I guess that was too much work because he's back to the kibble.  However, he SAYS he only gives them a few pieces, so I guess that's better than nothing.