Looking for hypoallergenic dry food.

Hello there. Just joined this forum as it kept coming up when I was searching for an answer to this. But all the posts I saw were years old so thought I'd try asking myself.

One of my two cats is a rescued 3-year-old with his fair share of health issues. He is positive for the Feline Leukemia Virus and is also diabetic. Additionally he has been dealing with recurring upper respiratory symptoms, snotty, congested, had ear discharge at one point but that's gone thank god. Several months ago my vet, who is the amazing vet behind the no-kill shelter I volunteer at, suggested we give a hypoallergenic diet a try in case his snottiness is due to an allergy. She said to stick to duck, rabbit, or venison. No chicken or turkey or fish.

First I tried Natural Balance Green Pea & Duck but my other cat would not eat it and I'm not in a position to keep their food separate somehow.

Second I tried Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet: Duck Meal Formula which both my cats liked but it is expensive and I had to special order it so I was hoping to find something else if at all possible.

Third, and what I currently have them on, is Natural Balance Indoor Ultra Rabbit & Salmon. They like this food but it does have Chicken Fat as the 7th ingredient and my sick cat's symptoms coincidentally flared up not long after I started feeding them this.

I still have doubts that he is even allergic to chicken, because his symptoms seem to usually come and go arbitrarily. He is kind of just a chronically sickly cat it seems. But on the off chance that it is in fact the chicken that's causing him this discomfort I'm once again trying to find another food I could try.

I also feed both my cats two small portions of wet food a day and the sick one seems to be tiring of having EVO Duck every day... so I will probably be on the lookout for more varieties of wet food too. He doesn't care for EVO Venison.

So, sorry for the overload of information! Hoping someone out there knows of a cat food brand I haven't explored yet!

Recurring URI symptoms, sinus problems, and ear discharge are all signs of Feline Herpes, in my experience. Have you tried giving l-lysine supplements?

I am not knowledgeable about hypoallergenic foods, but someone will give you some ideas soon.

Welcome to TCS.

Hi and welcome to TCS. I am really not a fan of dry food for diabetic cats. Dry foods are way too high in carbs for a diabetic cat. Is your cat on insulin? Here is a good article on managing diabetes written by a vet. http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

I am also not a fan of hypoallergenic diets. This article written by another vet explains why as well as addresses food allergies in general along with some suggestions.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...012/05/07/protein-diets-for-pets-allergy.aspx

catspaw66 has a good point about the Feline Herpes/l-lysine supplements.

 You might also think about searching for more limited ingredients wet food. 

Also, have you considered Raw feeding? You can control exactly what your cat eats, no additives, no preservatives.  Raw food can be surprisingly inexpensive, depending on the types of protein you feed.  You could start off with commercial raw, such as RadCat, which is single source (i.e., everything is lamb).

Good luck!

By the way, this thread might help you; it is slightly off topic, but addresses allergies.

Natural balance and natures variety are the 2 I use for my allergic cat.

How much are you feeding. My cats get 1/4 a cup each feeding for a 10lb cat, with 2 feedings a day. If you are feeding more than that, your cats are probably over fed and not interested in the new food.

If your cats are over fed, they might not be hungry so it isn't that they won't eat the food, it is that they don't want too! You can also try adding real meat to the cat food, or try canned instead of dry etc.

If it is dry food, mixing meat, or canned food to it can improve the taste.

Thanks everyone. I was not familiar with the particulars of Feline Herpes so I checked out the Pets WebMD article on it. It is possible my cat has it, though the only symptoms listed on that article that he has shown are "sneezing attacks", "discharge from the nose" (snot), and he is occasionally congested. No loss of appetite or lethargy. The ear discharge he had once occurred right after my vet performed an ear flush on him and she suspected it was just crud that was loosened up as a result of that.

Regardless of whether or not he actually has Feline Herpes, this [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]l-lysine supplement idea is interesting, hadn't heard of it.[/color]

@vball91 - Yes, my cat is on twice daily insulin. A while back (before he was even diagnosed with diabetes) I actually read a lot of the articles on catinfo.org and I find them very compelling. The conflicting information and opinions on the issue are overwhelming. I mentioned the idea of switching to all wet-food to my vet and she said I shouldn't, that it is bad for their teeth. This was very difficult for me to hear because I respect my vet a lot, but I have read several times that the idea that cats need kibble to keep their teeth clean is a falsehood. As you can see I have grappled with these issues before and frankly never came to a conclusion and just pushed it out of my mind. I don't know whether to thank you or to be annoyed that you've made me think about it again, haha.

@Ritz - I am always interested in learning about new "advances" in cat food, such as raw, freeze-dried raw, etc. The trick is figuring out if I can afford it and if it's really a sustainable practice for me. I know my parents would think I am CRAZY if I started spending big bucks on fancy raw food for my cats. Not that that would stop me if I really decided to go for it. Checked out RadCat, no nearby retailers sell it unfortunately.

I just chatted with another volunteer of this cat shelter I work at and she feeds her cats a combination of raw and Wysong Epigen 90 which is a dry food but it is 90% animal protein which is waaaay higher than virtually all other dry food I've ever seen. She has a cat with IBD and this diet completely cleared him up.

I really appreciate your thoughtful responses. I have a lot to think about.

ChristinaEbbers said:

Thanks everyone. I was not familiar with the particulars of Feline Herpes so I checked out the Pets WebMD article on it. It is possible my cat has it, though the only symptoms listed on that article that he has shown are "sneezing attacks", "discharge from the nose" (snot), and he is occasionally congested. No loss of appetite or lethargy.

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Well, most cats with herpes aren't bothered enough by it to be lethargic or have a loss of appetite. The main symptoms are the one your cats displays. :nod:

ChristinaEbbers said:

@vball91 - Yes, my cat is on twice daily insulin. A while back (before he was even diagnosed with diabetes) I actually read a lot of the articles on catinfo.org and I find them very compelling. The conflicting information and opinions on the issue are overwhelming. I mentioned the idea of switching to all wet-food to my vet and she said I shouldn't, that it is bad for their teeth. This was very difficult for me to hear because I respect my vet a lot, but I have read several times that the idea that cats need kibble to keep their teeth clean is a falsehood. As you can see I have grappled with these issues before and frankly never came to a conclusion and just pushed it out of my mind. I don't know whether to thank you or to be annoyed that you've made me think about it again, haha.

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Well, here's interesting info about dry food and teeth. Perhaps it's worth asking your vet the question about how (non-dental-prescription) dry food can be good for cats' teeth when dental disease is the #1 diagnosed problem in cats and 85% of cats over the age of 3 have some form of dental disease - yet the predominant form of food fed to cats is dry food? http://www.thecatsite.com/t/263102/vets-that-say-kibble-is-good-for-cats-teeth

As to the conflicting info on how to best manage a diabetic cat, I really don't know to what you refer. :dk: "Tight regulation" is the accepted form of management for best result. My dad was a Type 1 diabetic, diagnosed in 1940. He just passed away this summer at 82. He didn't know what he was doing for the first 50 years of his life was practicing "tight regulation," but that is just what he was doing: limiting carbs and calories, managing his weight properly, and keeping steady blood sugar levels. Cats need the exact same thing, only moreso because they are obligate carnivores. This site is written by the foremost expert on feline diabetes in the U.S., Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins. She worked in the Pet Food Industry - at Hill's Pet in particular for 8 years (Hill's Pet non-prescription foods are Science Diet. Hill's Pet is one of the companies with many prescription foods). When her own cat developed diabetes, she found that it was best managed with a high protein, low carb diet, NOT a prescription diet. Many cats, if the diabetes has been managed, are able to get to the point where they do not need insulin (unless there is an actual impairment of the pancreas) when on a proper diet. This is her site: http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com If you believe anyone about how to best manage diabetes, it is Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins. Some info about Dr. Hodgkins: http://www.traciehotchner.com/cc/vet.htm

Vibes for your and your kitty. :heart2:

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LDG said:

As to the conflicting info on how to best manage a diabetic cat, I really don't know to what you refer. 

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I meant conflicting info on how to feed cats generally speaking, not on how to manage diabetes.

I am checking out yourdiabeticcat.com now. Thank you!

Oh! Well, it's easier to learn about what it means to be an obligate carnivore (which is what a cat is), and the evolutionary aspect of a cat's biological needs (moisture from the food). Then the "conflicting info" becomes easier to sort.

Oh - sorry, I keep thinking of things. :lol3: As to the cost of food, even commercial raw, if available locally (and some even shipped!) is often less expensive than a lot of canned food. And cats with "allergies" often don't have problems with the unprocessed/less processed form of proteins.

Here's a comparison table for you: http://catcentric.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Canned-Raw-Table-1.pdf

There are also homemade cooked diets as options if you're not comfortable with raw. There are also low-cost, low-carb canned food options (though ingredient quality may be an issue for a sensitive kitty, given you think there may be an "allergy" issue) if budget is an issue.