looking for a new diet

im looking to start a new diet for my cat. he is about 5 years old and has flea allergies. the recent weather change we are trying to get rid of the flea but with a dog thats hard. i took him to the vet she gave him an allergy shot and hes getting better. Im wondering what kind of diet anyone would suggest that could possibly help his immune system when he starts breaking out and stuff. hes been on dry food for years he dont much prefer canned food i can only get him to eat special kitty from the pouch....im not sure what the difference is in them all but its the only one he will touch. im looking for maybe a better dry food or if someone has a "recipie" for food i could cook that wouldnt cost too much. im just tired of my kitty suffering i want him to live a great life but he keeps getting sick from the fleas...we have dewormed him from tapeworms and will continue to do so until the fleas are gone...just in case but im worried about him. his name is boo bear!

Changing his food isn't going to help much if it's a flea allergy. Yes, a high-quality diet will help him be generally healthier, but if he's allergic to fleas you just have to get rid of the fleas. Ask your vet about Comfortis, for him and the dog both. It's expensive ($15-$20 a month each) but that's cheaper than taking the cat to the vet for steroid shots all the time. And it will definitely take care of the flea problem.

As for his diet, make sure his food has meat as the first ingredient, no food dyes, and no added sugar. Canned food, in general, is healthier than dry food. www.catinfo.org

i have tried all canned food i could possibly try that is available here and i cant get him to eat it. as far as dry food. we do not have a pet store in our town actually the closest one you have to drive 1 hour to get to. and when i finally tried several of the brands that start with meat as first ingredient he would not eat them. i know that with a better diet his outbreak from fleas would not be as bad. i do not want to use any kind of topical flea meds because of his skin problems already and my vet only carries topical. i know capstar is a pill that kills the fleas on them it just not prevent fleas and it works great to treat them when we bomb the house. it is also expensive but it does work. i just want to be able to boost his immune system with the foods that i feed. was wondering if anyone had a good "recipe" for cat food that i could use with him.

That website I linked to has a good recipe. But he may not be willing to eat "real food" if he's addicted to kibble. It takes a lot of time and patience to transition a kibble addict to a better diet. If you're willing to do all that, it would probably help him.

Comfortis is a pill, not a topical. It's like Capstar but lasts an entire month. If your vet doesn't carry it, you can ask for a prescription and find an online pet pharmacy that does have it.

thank you i will def. check it out! i am willing to do what i can to help him...i know he likes real food because every now and then he sneaks onto the counter tops to see what we have out! lol

Oh, I forgot to mention---flea bombs are very toxic, and the chemicals can stay in the house for a long time. That may be adding to his sensitivities. Same with powders, sprays, and any topicals that don't come from the vet. Best to stick with the pills and vet-quality topicals.

Willowy said:

Changing his food isn't going to help much if it's a flea allergy. Yes, a high-quality diet will help him be generally healthier, but if he's allergic to fleas you just have to get rid of the fleas. Ask your vet about Comfortis, for him and the dog both. It's expensive ($15-$20 a month each) but that's cheaper than taking the cat to the vet for steroid shots all the time. And it will definitely take care of the flea problem.
As for his diet, make sure his food has meat as the first ingredient, no food dyes, and no added sugar. Canned food, in general, is healthier than dry food. www.catinfo.org

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Comfortis is more expensive than other flea meds but boy does it work GREAT! I give it to my cats monthly (my next door neighbors dog seems to have fleas year round and we share a hallway). I pay $10 a month per cat for a pill that covers 10 -20 lbs. It cost me the same amount whether I buy it monthly or several months at a time. I buy mine directly from my vet.

If you are going to feed him homemade food make sure it is balanced with the vitamins and minerals a cat needs.  Unless you are feeding a specific balanced raw diet, just giving  meat without supplements won't be enough.   The website www.catinfo.org has info on this and  members in the nutrition forum could answer questions you have about what to add to cooked or raw food.

thank you all soo much for the help! i really really appriciate it...any other advice on the fleas...i will talk to vet about a perscription and try to order the pill any idea on how much it would cost for my dog(65-75 lbs)? and is there a website thats cheaper then others or a better place to order it? is that the flea pill that takes care of all the worms and stuff too? or am i thinking of something else?...i was using frontline topical on both and it was working for a while but with his skin problems it was doing more harm then good. i need advice on how to treat the house...we have them bad since we had the drought they came in through our basement (which is unfinished and wet) they love it down there and when i go down for laundry they come up on me...i need ways to get rid of them all over the house...our house is not dirty or packed full and stuff...but i also have no carpet accept on our front porch (enclosed but has kitty door so the cat can spend time "outside") i need ways to get rid of them in the bedrooms especiially my poor toddler is always covered in them...and they pets dont even go in his room. im desperate!

Get a big bag of diatomaceous earth: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039UX8ZC/?tag=&tag=thecatsite and dust it everywhere. Don't breathe it in, or let kids or pets breathe it in (it's not toxic, but it's bad to inhale, same as talcum powder), and vacuum it up after letting it sit awhile. In places kids and pets don't go, you can let it sit longer. It dehydrates the fleas and should make a pretty good dent in the flea population without making anyone else sick.

If you don't live in the U.S. and can't order that specific brand of diatomaceous earth, just make sure what you buy is FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth.