Kitty recovering from pancreatitis/possible IBD and food allergies.... Food recommendations?

I'm new here but have been lurking for awhile. I need some advice from people who have experience with my kitty Sam's issues.

Background: Sam is 11 and just now almost fully recovered from pancreatitis caused by getting into some dry food samples given to us at a pet store. He ate almost the entire small sample bag of Fromm's chicken a la veg dry food. Vet says this is what caused his pancreatitis due to the extensive list of ingredients including tons of fruits and veggies, which he NEVER consumes. Normal food before the pancreatitis was Purina Pro Plan indoor care dry out all day and half a can do Friskies wet every day. I know he has food allergies, as he picks at his skin until it scabs and licks till he's bare. This is a secondary condition to the pancreatitis, and I also have suspected Mild IBD for awhile due to bouts of diarrhea once in awhile.

My question: I want to start mainly feeding him only wet food, but would like a good dry food to give him in the event I will be gone from the house and cannot get him his wet food right away. Right now until the end of next week, vet has him on the Royal Canin GI High Energy prescription wet food. He said I could also do the Hills w/d. Sam likes both a lot, so during the recovery process, not a big deal.

So..... Once he is done with the prescrip food, I am wanting to lower his chances of food allergies but also another pancreatitis attack. I am looking at Natural Balance Limited Ingredients wet and dry food both (the wet would be what he primarily gets). My biggest concern is the pea added..... I know that was one of the ingredients (among a trillion others) in the FROMM food that set him off. It would seem more likely to me that the grains and corn were what were causing issues in the Pro Plan dry food but its so hard to tell. What do you guys think? I want him as healthy and happy as possible...... Oh and also, since going on wet food only since his pancreatitis attack, he is definitely scratching less and his eyes have no discharge as they did before. I know a raw diet will be suggested, I think it's a great thing but not something I'm wanting to tackle at the moment along with everything else. Any advice for me and my Sam?

Also wanted to add... The vet saw no issues with going bad to his normal food regime after he fully recovers from the pancreatitis. I thought this was odd as I know a low fat diet is important to prevent a recurrence.... I brought this up to him and he said they have found that is more the case for dogs and not as pertinent with cats. And like I said, the food allergies are secondary, and discussed briefly with his doctor, but I was really only left with the advice to try different food until I find something that doesn't make him react. Sigh.

I feed my cats three meals a day: before work, after work, and before bed. Since he's doing so well on the wet food, is a schedule like this possible? :dk:

FYI, one of my cats just had a bout with pancreatitis. My vet said she does not recommend reducing the amount of fat in the diet: cats have a high requirement for fat, and their bodies are designed to manage it. The type of fat may be sn issue, and rendered fats (as in kibble) may be an issue, and rancid fats (ad in fish oil added to canned or kibble) may be an issue, but fatty meats used in canned food are not considered the problem in pancreatitis in cats. Dogs, yes, but one of the first things drilled in to them in vet school is that cats are not small dogs.

Our vet did not have us change her diet during the pancreatitis flare per se. She suggested we stick to bland food like poultry for a few days (but she isn't allergic). We fed many small meals, and gave her 100ml of fluids daily. I did use Beechnut babyfood the first two days (no cornstarch in it like Gerbers).

But if your kitty did well on a limited ingredient, novel protein diet, I'd feed that canned food diet, and try to avoid the kibble if possible.

I would wager that the grains are what set him off. I'e not yet met a cat that has issues with peas or pea protein, but it's definitely a possibility. Unfortunately, pea protein or potatoes is going to be your binder(what makes the kibble stick together) in anything grain free. If you're really concerned about what he might be allergic or sensitive to, Glacier Peak Holistics sells an amazing non-invasive allergy test(just some hair and a swab of saliva!) that is AMAZING. My store regularly recommends it to customers, and I've used it on my cat to try and find out the reason behind his diarrhea(still don't know). You can message me if you have any questions about the test(:

I don't know any kibble without/low in pea protein off the top of my head, unfortunately.

If you're wanting to incorporate some raw without having to thaw frozen stuff, I love Stella and Chewy's freeze dried raw food. I mix in a few nuggets with my cats' wet food, and though I'm not sure if it has any real effect on them, I definitely feel better adding that little oomph to their daily wet food.