Howie won't eat new allergy food

My 2 year old male, Howie, has been having itching/stress symptoms for a few weeks. The vet wants us to try him on an allergy food for the next eight weeks, plus he is taking an antidepressant. We just stared this yesterday.

Howie won't touch the food. He is usually a good eater, and gobbles it right up. However, he hasn't touched his bowl in 24 hours. I tried putting a little of his old food on top and he just picked it off to eat it. It tried warming it up a bit to make it smellier (it's already pretty smelly on its own), but it didn't make a difference.

From what I'm reading, it's not ok to just let him not eat. What can I do? :dk:

Which allergy food are you trying?

It is Hill's Z/D dry. They make a canned too, but he doesn't like wet food.

Many cats don't like prescription food I wonder if you can try a commercial limited ingredient pet food instead? Limited ingredient foods are for pets with food allergies and sensitivities. Here are some you can try:

http://www.instinctpetfood.com/instinct-limited-ingredient-food-dogs-and-cats

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/cats/limited-ingredient-diet-grain-free

http://bluebuffalo.com/for-cats/product-lines/basics-cat-food/

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/cat-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets/

I agree with the comment above. I am not a fan of RX foods at all, especially not for allergy issues. In my opinion you'd be better off buying high quality food with limited ingredients and feeding that over the crappy RX food your kitty doesn't like. You could also look into making your own food. It's really easy, but requires time and the right mix/supplements, which you can find on the raw/home cooked forum. Good luck. 

Hills z/d, Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP and Purina HA are diets specially formulated for food allergies. The protein molecules are hydrolyzed so they are smaller. The body does not recognize them as a protein so the cat does not react. The food still has the same amino acid profile. These foods are made in a controlled environment to prevent cross-contamination from other foods. You must feed these diets for 6 weeks as your cat's sole diet to.determine if the food is having an affect. Cross-contamination cannot be guaranteed with pet store foods. I am not a big fan of rx foods but as I work at an animal clinic, I feel that rx foods have their place. Especially when it comes to allergies and urinary issues. There is also another new company that has developed new veterinary diets and are based on whole foods. Rayne Clinical Nutrition has novel protein diet made with rabbit I believe. They don't have a huge selection of diets yet but their main ones for cats are novel protein and urinary diets.