Cat Food Allergies... Please help!

Hi,

I have two cats that seem to be experiencing food allergies. They have always been on a grain-free diet since I got them as kittens, and they were eating call of the wild dry, and weruva and tiki cat wet foods, but about 6 months ago they both started licking the hair off of their stomachs and legs, and seem particularly itchy. They've been tested for fleas, mites, ringworm, hypothyroid, etc and the vet gave them a completely clean bill of health, and we now suspect my girls have developed an allergy to their food. They're sisters and will be 6 in January.

What recommendations do you have for a good grain-free food that may help with allergies. I've been looking into limited ingredient diets, and they've been eating Instinct brand limited ingredient turkey dry and wet for a little over a month now, but I haven't seen much improvement in their over grooming. I've also incorporated naturvet digestive enzymes with pre and probiotics. In my reading I've seen some connection between chicken allergies carrying over to all fowl, including turkey and duck, so now I'm wondering if I should pick another protein source. 

Have you had any success with a food for allergies? 

Thank you so much! I hate seeing my girls so uncomfortable  

It could be an allergy but have you considered stress. Cats will overgroom when they're stressed about a change. Have there been any big changes in the last 6 months?

To see if it is food allergies, I would try a novel protein limited ingredient diet, something like EVO venison or duck. I would eliminate all dry and all starchy vegetables including peas and potatoes which are in a lot of grain free foods.

It does seem strange for both cats to develop food allergies at the same time, so I'm wondering about any environmental allergens. Stress could be a factor so something like Feliway pheromone diffuser may be helpful.

@vball91 actually my one cat, ruby, developed the overgrooming about 6ish months ago and her sister followed 3 months ago, so it wasn't at the same time though still pretty weird. their lives are pretty chill, they get pampered a lot and things aren't particularly stressful from what i can tell. i'll look into evo venison. i'm reluctant to try duck because it seems that some cats with chicken allergies will also respond poorly to duck or turkey. i was thinking rabbit might be good? 

@petcrazy76 i don't think they're stressed but they could be. i did adopt a dog two months ago, but the overgrooming started months before him and they don't mind him at all... they pretty much ignore him and get just as much tlc as they always have. i have been trying pet naturals brand calming treats and bach flower rescue remedy in their water. i'm wary of the calming treats now since they have chicken in them as well as yeast, and if i think they have a food allergy i don't wnat something that will trigger that. it's really confusing! 

That is strange for the sisters to develop food allergies 3 months apart. If there are no stressors that you can think of, I would definitely try the most limited ingredient diet you can find (or make). Rabbit would be good. So would any protein they have not had before, like lamb, bison, kangaroo, etc.

thanks vball91. I just bought Instinct L.I.D. rabbit and will see how that goes. they seem to like it. would you suggest I avoid all other sources of protein during this  trial time? I have some assorted wet cans that are venison and fish based, but do not contain any fowl, beef, or pork. would you suggest I hold off on giving them any of that wet? the store I went to was out of the LID rabbit wet food.

Too bad the store was out of the rabbit wet. If he hasn't had venison before either, I would personally be ok with doing rabbit dry and venison wet. However, to do a real test, you should just stick to one protein. I just hate recommending an all dry diet, even for elimination reasons.

Fish isn't a good idea right now for a variety of reasons. I would avoid fish temporarily. It may be possible to add it back in later, but in limited (twice a week) doses.

@vball91

ok, thanks! the elimination diet is a little confusing bc I didn't know how much to eliminate. we'll stick to the rabbit dry and venison wet for now. hopefully I can find rabbit wet soon. the store said there's been a "shortage" of rabbit lately, which is kind of sad for the rabbits, but I have to put my girls health first right now. i'll skip the fish. thnks again!