Patches Possible Chicken Allergy

I took Patches to the vet for his 6 month check.  He had a lot of junk way down in both ears.  She looked at it under the microscope and it had yeast in it.  She said that yeast infections in the ears are often a secondary food allergy especially given his chronic problems.  He has been on chicken or turkey for years.

I know he can't tolerate beef which means venison is out.  Does an allergy to chicken transfer to things like duck or pheasant?  I just now got him doing really well with chicken wet food.  I had been wanting to try lamb for awhile so I guess I will try it now.

Mogli can't tolerate chicken. I thought he might do okay on turkey, duck or ostrich, but the results were the same, so all poultry is out now. I have heard of other cats that couldn't eat chicken being fine with duck or turkey. Duck is fatty, so it might not be the best thing for his stomach.

Is venison that similar to beef? Have you tried rabbit or kangaroo?

Sorry to hear that about Patches. I have read conflicting reports about chicken allergies. Some people report that a chicken allergy does seem to translate to an overall fowl allergy. Others that have a chicken allergy are fine with duck and goose and pheasant. I think you won't know until you try it. If you don't want to risk it, I think lamb and rabbit are probably your safest options right now.

Rabbit, lamb, and goat are certainly worth a try. What chronic conditions does he have?

peaches08 said:

Rabbit, lamb, and goat are certainly worth a try. What chronic conditions does he have?

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He has probable IBD.  When he has flares he is anorexic, vomiting bile, and constipated.  Never did figure out what was triggering them so he is on a low steroid dose.  This is the first time he has had these types of symptoms.  He has been on mostly chicken for several years.  He gets some turkey.  Every once in a great while I give them fish just because they both really like it.   Years ago before he went on the steroid I tried beef and he had an immediate reaction.  But it was the vomiting followed by a flare with what is usual symptoms for him.  That's why I don't want to try beef and by extension venison.  

I just got back from the pet store and I am definitely going to need to do more with home cooked food.  The only foods that have the novel proteins to try are very expensive.  I can get lamb at the grocery store usually but the only choice for liver is beef or chicken.  The same is true for the pre-mixes.  I always thought cats very rarely have health problems but Patches has certainly had more than his share.

Sounds like a diet change is worth a try. I feel your pain, I live in a resort area known for fine dining yet my grocers don't carry what I need. Even the ethnic stores look at me like I'm crazy.

I have 1 cat that is allergic to Beef and Rabbit; but, can have Chicken, Turkey, Duck and VENISON. He had a severe reaction to Rabbit the 2nd time he ate it.

I also have 1 cat who is allergic to Chicken and Venison. He can eat Turkey and Duck. (He won't touch anything else, so don't know about other proteins.)

Also have several in the rescue who have allergies.

1 is allergic/intolerant of chicken; but can have duck/turkey.
1 is allergic/intolerant of Duck, but can have chicken/turkey.
1 is allergic/intolerant of Duck and Turkey, but can have chicken.

I don't think you said if you are feeding a homemade or commercial diet. Are you sure it is the meat source in the food and not corn, wheat, soy, eggs, or something else in the food? A lot of foods have these ingredients in common. If one or more of these ingredients were in all of the different foods that you tried, then that could be the problem and not the meat. Just a thought.

Tabbysia said:

I don't think you said if you are feeding a homemade or commercial diet. Are you sure it is the meat source in the food and not corn, wheat, soy, eggs, or something else in the food? A lot of foods have these ingredients in common. If one or more of these ingredients were in all of the different foods that you tried, then that could be the problem and not the meat. Just a thought.

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I feed both.  I need to keep changing the wet food to keep the kitties eating it.  I know none of their food has corn, wheat, or soy.  It does have some rice in it because one of my cats get diarrhea if she doesn't get any rice at all in her food.  There may be a small amount of egg in some of the canned food but if there is it's something they only get very occasionally.

jcat said:

Mogli can't tolerate chicken. I thought he might do okay on turkey, duck or ostrich, but the results were the same, so all poultry is out now. I have heard of other cats that couldn't eat chicken being fine with duck or turkey. Duck is fatty, so it might not be the best thing for his stomach.

Is venison that similar to beef? Have you tried rabbit or kangaroo?

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I think it is common for a cat that is intolerant of beef to also be intolerant of venison.  I got some lamb right now to try.  I thought about also getting some rabbit but I thought one thing at a time.  I don't think we can get kangaroo here in the states.  I knew chicken was a common problem.  The vet said that it is common because it is in so much food. He was fine for a long time so it's an allergy that he has developed.  I am just glad it wasn't the kind of flares that he had before.  I ended up getting Nature's Variety Instinct which is pricey.  The cheaper foods that said they were lamb or rabbit had chicken in the ingredient list.  That's probably why they are cheaper.