My male cat was breaking out all over his skin. The vet gave him several shots over a period of time that would clear him up but only temporary. This went on for 6 months. We then changed his food to science diet because we suspected a food allergy. Over the next 3 months his skin cleared up but he has had diarrhea on the new food. I had him on probiotics for 1 month but that didn't help. His litter box has to be cleaned out twice a day because he has so much diarrhea. He is missing the litter box or can't make it and has gone in other areas. This past week I started incorporating iams sensitive stomach. He is starting to have normal stools but now is breaking out and scratching miserably. I can't afford allergy testing . What do I do?
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Question on what to feed my cat
- Thread starter udander
- Start Date
I suggest selecting a food with a single protein and a single carb source.
I personally use Nature's Variety Instinct's limited ingredient turkey formula. They also have a limited ingredient rabbit formula. Both are available in canned and dry.
Blue Buffalo also has limited ingredient diets in turkey, duck and fish(?).
You may even be able to simply try a grain-free diet (both of the above options are grain-free) but, I always choose a single protein first when I suspect a food allergy.
The most common food allergies in cats are:
Corn, Wheat, Soy, Chicken, Beef and Fish.
Among my cats, we have grain/gluten allergies, one highly allergic to chicken and chicken products (fat, eggs...), one highly allergic to beef and rabbit, one allergic to venison and two allergic to pork. I'm lucky that my cat that is allergic to chicken ONLY likes turkey (won't touch anything else, including fish...he despises it!) so the others often get foods with chicken as a main ingredient.
It can take a little while to figure out exactly what food(s) are the triggers, but there are more and more options these days to work with.
Also, allergy testing works best when the concern is environmental, not food as the latter is pretty unreliable. Food trials are done almost all the time.
I personally use Nature's Variety Instinct's limited ingredient turkey formula. They also have a limited ingredient rabbit formula. Both are available in canned and dry.
Blue Buffalo also has limited ingredient diets in turkey, duck and fish(?).
You may even be able to simply try a grain-free diet (both of the above options are grain-free) but, I always choose a single protein first when I suspect a food allergy.
The most common food allergies in cats are:
Corn, Wheat, Soy, Chicken, Beef and Fish.
Among my cats, we have grain/gluten allergies, one highly allergic to chicken and chicken products (fat, eggs...), one highly allergic to beef and rabbit, one allergic to venison and two allergic to pork. I'm lucky that my cat that is allergic to chicken ONLY likes turkey (won't touch anything else, including fish...he despises it!) so the others often get foods with chicken as a main ingredient.
It can take a little while to figure out exactly what food(s) are the triggers, but there are more and more options these days to work with.
Also, allergy testing works best when the concern is environmental, not food as the latter is pretty unreliable. Food trials are done almost all the time.
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