Food allergies

My 14 year old American Shorthair developed a large sized bald spot on his right back leg and thigh. He was over grooming and coughing up good sized hair balls. I took him to the vet. and was diagnosedcwith a food allergy and placed on a prescription food. Be has been on this diet since March, and his litter box odor is awful. He still coughs up hairballs. He is strictly indoors, no fleas or parasites, and is in good health. I always fed him top food such as Royal Canin and Wellness. What suggestions for other things I can do? What can I do about the hairballs?

There are commercial limited ingredient pet foods for cats with sensitive tummies and food allergies. Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredients is one food. The ingrediens are a lot better than the prescription stuff which means less stink in the litter box.

A raw or home cooked diet can also help cats with food allergies because you can control what ingredients that go into the food. You can learn more about these diets on the Raw and Home Cooked forum.

Do you know what food your cat is allergic to? Proteins and eggs are common.

The Nutrition forum is a better place to get answers on all things about food, http://www.thecatsite.com/f/64/cat-nutrition

For hairballs, try a hairball gel from the pet store. Some people give their cats a little butter or Vaseline. There are more suggestions here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/299988/what-do-you-do-for-hairballs

I guess the question here is...did the bald spot go away?  That was the indication that he had food allergies, right?  So, if he's not licking himself bald anymore, then the food is working in that area.  Was this hypoallergenic food, like Royal Canin Rabbit? 

Hairball season this year is awful for some reason. Seems like there are more threads on it lately than usual .   As I mentioned in the thread that LTS3 referred to above, I use Egg Yolk Lecithin every single day, and so far we've seen NO hairballs this season.  And we also comb our furkids daily to rake out the undercoat best we can.  Plus feed them low carb wet food with extra water added in AND probiotics added in to keep their gi tract in good working condition.

So anyway, bottom line, if that bald spot isn't gone, and he IS on hypoallergenic food, then I suspect it is NOT food allergies.  They usually cause itching elsewhere anyway, usually around their heads versus one back leg .   This could be caused from stress.  Is anything new happening around your place?